In this Photoshop Tutorial we will learn how to take a picture and replace the background or make it transparent. Here is a method using the extract tool that first appeared in ps 5.5. Notice the strands of hair near the shoulders.

Step 1

Open your image, and double click on the "background" name in your layers pallette. This will turn it into a layer.

Step 2

Open the extract tool: Image>Extract or Option/Alt+Cmd/Ctrl+X

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Step 3

1. Take the marker tool and trace around the image you want to extract. Keep the marker 1/2 way on the image and 1/2 on the background. For solid areas use a small brush, for softer areas like the loose hair, use a larger brush. Tip: to adjust the brush size use the [ and ] keys.

2. Now take the bucket tool and fill the area you want to keep.Click OK .

Step 4

There will be a few areas that have been accidently deleted. You can clean up the image using the eraser and the history brush.

Step 5

In the history pallette, click next to the image before the extract state. Select the history brush.

Step 6

Select a small brush size and "paint" back the image.Now you can place the image onto any background you wish.