How to Remove a Background in Photoshop
Removing a background is the single most common Photoshop task. Whether you are cutting out a product for a store listing, isolating a portrait for a poster, or making a quick collage, you need a clean cutout that does not look like it was attacked with scissors.
This guide covers the three methods worth knowing, ranked by how fast they get you to a usable result. Method 1 is what you should reach for nine times out of ten. Methods 2 and 3 are for the cases where Photoshop's automation gets it wrong.
Method 1: Select Subject (the one-click win)
Step 1: Open your image and unlock the layer
If your photo opens with a layer named "Background" with a padlock icon, click the padlock to unlock it. Photoshop cannot mask a locked Background layer.
Step 2: Run Select > Subject
Go to Select > Subject. Photoshop's machine learning model identifies the main subject and creates a marching-ants selection in about a second.
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Browse Photoshop courses on UdemyStep 3: Refine the edge in Select and Mask
With your selection active, click Select and Mask in the top options bar. The Select and Mask workspace opens. Use the Refine Edge brush (the second tool in the left toolbar) and paint over wispy areas like hair and fur. Photoshop reanalyzes those edges with much higher precision.
Set the Output dropdown on the right to Layer Mask. Click OK.
Step 4: Sanity check on a contrasting background
Add a solid color fill layer beneath your cutout (Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color, pick something high contrast). Stray fringe pixels and missed bits stand out instantly. Click back on your subject's layer mask and paint with a soft black brush to clean up anything you missed.
Method 2: Pen Tool (when precision matters)
For product photography, logos, or anything with a clean hard edge, the Pen Tool gives you a path with subpixel accuracy. It takes longer, but the result is perfect.
Step 5: Trace the subject with the Pen Tool
Press P to grab the Pen Tool. Click to add anchor points around your subject. Click and drag to create curves. Close the path by clicking your starting point.
Step 6: Convert path to selection and apply as mask
Open the Paths panel (Window > Paths). Right-click your path and choose Make Selection. Set Feather Radius to 0.5 px for a barely-soft edge. Then click the layer mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to apply.
Method 3: Background Eraser (rare, but useful)
The Background Eraser tool samples the color under your cursor and erases similar pixels as you drag. Good for hairy edges against a uniform sky. Skip it for anything with mixed backgrounds.
Pro tip: never delete pixels, always mask them
Use a layer mask, not the Eraser tool, for every cutout you do. A mask is non-destructive, which means you can undo any mistake by painting white back into the mask. Once you erase pixels, they are gone for good.
What to do when Photoshop's automation fails
Select Subject struggles with backgrounds that closely match the subject (a person in a dark coat against a dark wall, for example). When that happens, switch to the Object Selection Tool (W) and draw a loose rectangle around just the subject. The narrower analysis area gives Photoshop fewer pixels to confuse itself with.
For complex hair against a busy background, run Select Subject first, then refine inside Select and Mask using the Refine Edge brush. The combination handles 95% of portraits.
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