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With the rise of social media and online content sharing, it has become important to have high-quality images without distracting the backdrops. Whether you’re posting photos on Instagram, updating your LinkedIn profile, or designing images for your website, removing the background can take your images to the next level.
Follow these tips, and you can remove objects from photos and create a polished portrait in no time. Let’s get started!
In this blog post, we will explore 10 effective ways to delete backgrounds from your photos with ease.
1. Try Background Removal Apps
If you don’t have advanced photo editing software, apps dedicated to deleting backgrounds from images offer excellent, free or inexpensive alternatives. One of the most user-friendly exhaust systems is the YOUCAM by Anthropic. With more than 500 million downloads worldwide, it’s easy to back up selfies and photos taken on your device with just a few taps.
Some key benefits of YOUCAM include:
- One-click background removal using state-of-the-art AI models for fast and accurate results. No selection or masking are needed.
- Live previews so you can see the extracted subject overlayed on various background images, textures or colors before applying the change.
- Ability to customize background colors, images, blur intensity and more. This allows you to get creative with stylized composite shots.
- Support for HD video backgrounds means you can place yourself into scenes or add virtual backdrops for vlogs, tutorials and other content.
- Intuitive controls and guides are optimized for touchscreens, making background swapping on mobile devices seamless.
YOUCAM delivers professional-level background edits right from your phone with minimal learning curve.
2. Use the Magic Eraser Tool
One of the easiest ways to delete backgrounds from images is by using the Magic Eraser tool available in photo editors like Photoshop and Pixelmator. This tool uses advanced AI algorithms to automatically detect and erase backgrounds with just a few clicks.
To use it, select the Magic Eraser tool and click on any part of the background you want removed. The tool analyzes the image and erases similar colors surrounding your selection. It works best on images with clear subject-background separation using distinct colors.
3. Manually Select with the Lasso Tool
For images with solid backgrounds or subjects touching edges, manually selecting your subject using the Lasso tool adds greater accuracy. Select the Lasso tool and start by searching in the outer corner of your theme. Be sure to follow all contours carefully.
Then, go to Select > Inverse to invert the selection. This selects the background rather than the title. Then delete the selection or remove your theme by cutting and pasting a new layer. Going slow and blowing heavily helps to get clean edges.
4. Use Selection Brush for Hair and Fine Details
When you remove objects from photos around hair, clothing fringes or other fine details, the Selection Brush comes in handy. Like the Lasso tool, it allows for precise manual selections but has a brush-like interface.
Set the brush size small, choose Selection Brush from the toolbar, and paint over the areas you want to select or deselect along borders. This non-destructive method preserves hair and other delicate areas better than auto tools.
5. Cut-Out Subject on White Background
When all else fails to remove objects from photos, you can cut out the main subject and place it on a plain white or any solid color background. This is useful for complex images that defy automatic or manual selection methods.
First, select and copy just the main subject onto its own layer or file. Then, open a new image with a white or solid color background and paste the cut-out subject layer on top. Some refinement around edges may still be needed.
6. Extract Foreground with Layer Masks
Advanced users can use layer masks in Photoshop to isolate subjects from the background. Paint a mask on the back side and darken it to highlight the foreground theme below.
Start the coverage in a smooth manner, and finish with a soft-tipped brush set to low opacity. Paint the areas where the subject meets the background until the subject shows up easily. This non-destructive method gives you complete control over the extraction.
7. Try Selective Color Adjustments
With images and subjects with monotonous or similarly colored backgrounds, selective color variations can help separate them. For example, red and orange accents can contrast a red sweater with a pink background.
Use the Color Range Selector to select the same color throughout the mask. Then adjust the hue, Saturation and luminance sliders to highlight the theme colors. Some areas may need further brush finishing.
8. Experiment with Threshold Tool
The threshold adjustment selectively turns pixels in the shadow channel white or black. It works well for different images with completely different subjects and background tones.
Use Threshold to adjust the layer slider until the title changes to white (or black) on a neutral background. Some noise is visible but can be eliminated with the resulting layer selection tools.
9. Try the Decontamination Filter
To delete background from images where colors bleed into the subject, the decontamination filter comes in handy. It detects and removes similar colors between the subject and background for a clean separation.
In Photoshop, go to Filter > Filter Gallery > Sketch > Decontaminate Colors. Adjust the Radius and Threshold sliders to refine the effect. This non-destructive filter isolates subjects effectively with minimal manual work.
10. Use Background Subtraction for Videos
To remove backgrounds from videos, Adobe After Effects offers a powerful background subtraction feature. It scans each frame and separates the moving subject from the static background over time.
Apply effects, set generous keylight ranges, and adjust thresholds. The theme has been removed as matte, which can be used to isolate additional background images or set for creative video edits and effects.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many different ways to easily erase background images, from manual selection to automated AI-powered tools. Experiment with images of different complexity to find the best techniques. With it, you can effortlessly remove backgrounds and enhance your photos, videos, and other visuals.