We will start with this photo I found on Adobe Stock.
Step 1.
Choose the Quick select tool.
Step 2.
With a reasonably large brush, make a rough selection around the subject
Step 3.
Use a smaller brush to clean up the edges. Alt/Option drag to deselect eras where you went too far.
Step 4.
Use a smaller brush to cut holes in the areas that are disconnected, such as inside chair legs etc. Turn on pressure if you have a Wacom/Surface tablet. (see the video above)
Step 5.
Almost no cutout tutorial Ive seen online does this.. Zoom in close, to 100%.
Now you can see lots of areas that aren’t selected so well.
With a really small brush, go all the way around your image getting a really nice, tight select. Watch the video above for a demonstration of this as well as some tips to speed up the work.
Making these better selections will help when we refine.
Step 6.
Choose Select And Mask, by clicking on the button in the top toolbar.
Welcome to the Select and Mask workspace. This is where we refine the edges.
Choose white as the background and turn opacity all the way up.
Step 7.
Choose the refine brush to paint over areas of hair and fur.
See how it selects hair nicely.
Step 8.
See the straight edges need some help. You will love the tip I’m about to share.
Choose the brush below the refine brush.
Zoom into 100% for this
Hold down Alt/Option and paint away the edge
Step 9.
Turn the opacity down, so you can also see the original edge on the chair arm.
Step 10.
Click on the edge of the line with the brush tool. (1)
Move the cursor to the other side of the edge. Make sure the brush circle is lined up with the edge.
Hold Shift and Click
You will see a straight line was drawn that gives a perfect edge. If you missed it, undo and try again, the video demonstrates this really well.
See the edge.
Step 11.
Repeat for the second edge on the metal brace.
Turn the opacity back to 100% to see you edge.
For a perfect cutout, repeat the above for all the straight edges. Also make a small brush and fix all the nooks and crannies. This is closeup and detailed work. For social media and web, you don’t have to get too perfect. However, if you are doing commercial or print resolution work, you need to get really close and really precise.
When you are done (It’s not yet finished here) Change output to New Layer with Layer mask.
Click ok
You will have your nice cut out and also a layer mask, so you can further refine it if you wish.
I really hope that you found this video and written steps useful and that this helps you cut out backgrounds from your photos. If it was helpful, please tell everyone about PhotoshopCAFE and share this tutorial on your social media. Also if you want to get batter at cutting out anything in Photoshop, take a look at the Photoshop CC Selections Secrets course.
Great to see you here at the CAFE
Colin
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You can get my free Layer Blending modes ebook here
PHOTOSHOP CC SELECTION SECRETS
NEW COURSE BY COLIN SMITH
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All the images are included for you to follow along.
You will be able to select and cut out anything: faster and cleaner.
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