Tip - how to make a background transparent

Say you have a picture of an object on a white background and you need it on a coloured poster. You need the white to be transparent. This works best when the background is plain and even, such as white paper or a clear wall. For busy backgrounds or hair, read the longer background-removal guide.

Four steps

1. Open the picture in the editor with File ▸ Open….
2. Choose the Magic Wand (W) and click the plain background. A moving dotted line shows what is selected. Then choose Select ▸ Inverse so the object is selected instead.

3. Choose Layer ▸ Layer Mask ▸ Add, then Select ▸ Deselect. The checkerboard around the object means that area is transparent.

4. Choose File ▸ Export ▸ Export As…, pick PNG and click Export. PNG keeps the transparency. JPEG fills transparent areas with a solid colour.

If the edge is not clean

• Lower the wand's Tolerance in the bar at the top and click again.
• Click the mask box in the Layers panel and paint black with a small brush to hide a leftover halo, or white to bring a piece back.

Next

• Use your cutout on a poster: Lesson plan: cut out a subject and use it in a poster
• How to remove the background from an image
• Tip: how to use a layer mask