How to Remove Background in Photoshop: 6 Easy Methods

With many advances to Photoshop over the last several years, removing the background from an image has never been easier or quicker. Learn how to remove the background of a picture in Photoshop.

Knowing the best method to use for the type of image you’re working with is key to getting the best results with the best technique available.

Here are six ways to remove backgrounds from your photos using Photoshop Creative Cloud and when to use each technique to achieve the best results.

1. Remove a Background in Photoshop with the Object Selection Tool

One of the most remarkable features to have come to Photoshop is the new Object Selection tool, which is new to Photoshop 2022. The Object Selection tool utilizes Adobe Sensi AI technology to do just about all the work for you in selecting the subject in your photos.

Object Selection Tool Steps

Open your photo in Photoshop and select the Object Selection tool in the toolbar on the left (in the same menu as Quick Selection Tool).

Now, hover your cursor over your subject and wait for it to turn blue. (Move your cursor in tiny circles if it doesn’t immediately turn blue.)

In an instant, your subject is ready to be selected.

To erase background material from here, press the shift key while selecting all objects you’d like to keep in the photo. This shortcut will auto-select each object for you (showing you the marching ants around each entity).

Next, go to Select > Inverse to invert the selection (meaning that your background is now selected instead of your objects).

Depending on what you want the background to be (in my case, I want it to be transparent), you’ll likely need to unlock your image, so it’s no longer considered a background.

Next, click the lock on the right side of your image’s layer to unlock it. The layer name will change to “Layer 0” if you have no other layers. To remove the background, click the Eraser Tool (making sure your brush is large) and start erasing the background.

You don’t have to worry about Photoshop losing the selections. If you ever need to reselect your objects, select the Object Selection tool and hover over your objects again.

You can learn how to edit the resulting mask created by the Object Selection tool (if it didn’t get everything in the initial selection).

Photo credit: Chris Hardy on Unsplash

2. Remove BG in Photoshop with Quick Action

Best to use when: you’re doing it for you, you need it fast, and you’re not necessarily looking for perfection. Best to use with high contrast between subject and background, and when the subject has fairly simplistic lines.

By far, the quickest method discussed here is the built-in Photoshop Quick Action for removing backgrounds in Photoshop. It was introduced in Photoshop 2021 (in the Creative Cloud subscription) and provides an Adobe background remover that’s effective and easy to use.

With speed, however, comes less accuracy. Using Photoshop Quick Action will do most of the work for you, but the results may fall short of your expectations, depending on your image. If that’s the case, you can use any methods described here to polish up the result.

Quick Action Steps

With your image open in Photoshop, right click your Background layer and click Duplicate Layer. In the dialog box that pops up, name your layer (calling it whatever you like) and click OK. Click the eye icon to the left of the original layer to turn that layer off. Make sure your Properties panel is open by going to Window > Properties. (If it was already checked, there’s no need to click it; if it isn’t checked, click it to open it up on the right-hand side by default.) In your Layers panel, click your new layer. In the Properties panel (by default this should be above your Layers panel), click the Remove Background button under Quick Action. The quick action has now removed the background, leaving your layer with a mask around the subject.

From here, you can make refinements by going into the mask and adjusting as needed (such as around the dog’s feet at the bottom left of the image). While outside the scope of this article, if you need help with working with masks, check out this Adobe tutorial.

Photo credit: Karsten Wingert on Unsplash

3. Remove a Background in Photoshop with the Background Eraser Tool

Best to use when: working with high contrast images, although it takes a fair bit of time and effort to produce a good outcome.

The Background Eraser tool is excellent if you need more control over removing a background in Photoshop but still want Photoshop to do some of the heavy lifting for you. For more control, you’ll have to sacrifice some time to get the desired result. Depending on your photo, using the Background Eraser tool could be highly effective and a time saver and get you closer to your desired outcome with some time involved.

Background Eraser Tool Steps

With your image open in Photoshop, right click your Background layer and click Duplicate Layer. In the dialog box that pops up, name your layer (calling it whatever you like), and click OK. Click the eye icon to the left of the original layer to turn that layer off. Select the Background Eraser tool from the toolbox on the left-hand side. This tool may be hidden below the Eraser tool. Click and hold the Eraser tool to reveal more options to and select the Background Eraser tool. In the tool options bar at the top of the screen, click the brush icon to reveal the brush panel. Change the hardness so that it’s near or at 100%. The size can be whatever you deem appropriate for the image you’re working with. In this case, I’m starting with 50px. You can adjust it as we go by using the square brackets ( [ and ] ) to decrease and increase the size of the brush. Still in the tool options bar at the top, set the Sampling to be Continuous. It’s the first of three icons after the brush size option. Next, set the Limits to Find Edges and the Tolerance to be somewhere in the range of 20–25%. Note that the lower the tolerance, the fewer color variations it will pick up. Conversely, the higher the tolerance, the more colors the tool will select. Start erasing the background around your subject using the Background Eraser tool by clicking and holding while moving the brush. The goal here is to keep the crosshairs inside the tool from touching your subject. Zoom in on the image if you need to see more close details. I recommend you do short strokes with the brush (remembering to let go of the mouse from time to time) so that you can always Undo if the brush goes too far. In the more difficult areas, you may find that you need to adjust the size of your brush as you go. You can do this by revisiting the tools option bar at the top, or using [ and ] to adjust down and up the size of your brush. If resizing the brush doesn’t work and it’s erasing your subject, first undo your action. After that, go into the tool options bar at the top and adjust the Sampling to Once (the middle icon in the set of three), the Limits to Discontiguous, and Tolerance to around 10%. As a result of these settings, the brush will only use the color under the crosshairs in that moment and not resample as you go along.

While this process can be quick or tedious depending on your image, it provides good result. You’re in control of determining what the subject is and what isn’t. If this doesn’t complete the job, other methods mentioned here could help you get closer to your desired result.

Check out this Adobe tutorial for more detailed info on the Background Eraser tool.

Photo credit: Enrique Ortega Miranda on Unsplash

4. Remove a Background in Photoshop with the Pen Tool

Best to use when: the subject and background are not highly contrasted or when other tools such as the Quick Action or Background Eraser tool mentioned above aren’t producing desired results. It gives you the most control out of all the methods listed here.

The Pen tool is one of the most tried and true ways to remove backgrounds from images in Photoshop. It gives you the most control over the outcome. However, because it gives you the most control, it can also be the most time-consuming. The Pen tool requires patience.

Pen Tool Steps

With your image open in Photoshop, right click your Background layer and click Duplicate Layer. In the dialog box that pops up, name your layer (whatever you’d like), and click OK. Click the eye icon to the left of the original layer to turn that layer off. Select the Pen tool from the toolbox on the left-hand side (above the Text tool). Zoom in to an area of your image to start. Start at the edge of your subject (or a suitable starting point) and click to start the first anchor. Then start working your way around your subject, adding additional anchors to start outlining your subject. If you need to make a curved line, click-hold-drag to produce a curved line, moving the mouse to adjust the curve as needed. To adjust an anchor point or directional lines for fine tuning, use the Direct Selection tool (hidden under the Path Selection tool) in the toolbox. To undo an anchor, go to File > Undo or use your keyboard shortcut ( Command + Z for macOS, Control + Z for Windows). For more info about the Pen tool and working with paths in Photoshop, read this Adobe tutorial . Make sure you complete the path once you’re done by meeting up with your first point. Once you’ve completed the path and you’re happy with the results, you’ll want to save the path. Go to Window > Paths to reveal the Paths panel (it should appear on the right-hand side by default). Click the three bar menu at the right and click New Path, and name your path. Now your path is saved in the Paths panel. Next, right click your new path in the Paths panel and select Make Selection, then click OK in the dialog box (leave all defaults for now). This will give you the marching ants outline where your path was. Since we don’t want to delete what’s inside the selection, we’ll want to change the selection to be everything except the subject. Go to Select > Inverse. You’ll see the marching ants are now around the entire image and the subject, essentially selecting the background. To delete the background, press Delete. You should now see the white/gray checkered background instead of your previous background.

As with the other methods listed, you may find that this doesn’t get you to 100%. Using a combination of the Pen tool and other methods here will help you get closer to your desired result. (For instance, I would use a different method to help refine the woman’s eyelash area in this particular photo.)

For more detailed info on the Pen tool, have a look at this Adobe tutorial.

Photo credit: Kim Carpenter on Unsplash

5. Remove a Background in Photoshop with the Magnetic Lasso Tool

Best to use when: the subject is mostly high contrasted from the background and with complex edges, and where you want to save time and have Photoshop detect the path for you.

If the Pen tool is too labor-intensive, or you don’t want to take the time to draw out your subject, the Magnetic Lasso tool may be a good starting point for quickly getting you where you need to be so you can spend your time refining the details.

Magnetic Lasso Tool Steps

With your image open in Photoshop, right click your Background layer and click Duplicate Layer. In the dialog box that pops up, name your layer (whatever you’d like), and click OK. Click the eye icon to the left of the original layer to turn that layer off. Select the Magic Lasso tool from the toolbox on the left. Start drawing along the edge of your subject with the tool. You’ll see it will start drawing the path for you as you move your cursor. Patience is key here, as you’ll want to be slow, steady, and deliberate with your moves. Once you’ve started the tool, you’ll need to go around your subject completely and connect to your starting point. Once you’ve made it back around to the beginning, click the starting point. The selection will then turn into marching ants around your selection. Save your selection by going to Selection > Save Selection and giving it a name. To delete the background, go to Select > Inverse to invert the marching ants (they should now be running around the edge of the image and your subject). Click delete . You should now see the white/gray checkered background instead of your previous background.

If you feel you need to make adjustments to the selection, you can backtrack a couple of steps and redo them to get better results, or use a combination of other techniques listed in this article to get you closer to your desired result.

For more detailed info about how the Magnetic Lasso tool works, check out this Adobe tutorial.

Photo credit: Dlanor S on Unsplash

6. Remove a Background in Photoshop with the Quick Selection Tool

Best to use when: the subject is somewhat contrasted and/or the image has “wispy” or intricate details, or when you want to save time and need decent accuracy and the ability to quickly refine.

The Quick Selection tool is perhaps my favorite method here because it’s the fastest way to select a subject and allows for quicker refinements. It also can be used on a much wider range of possible photos than other methods listed here, because it works by detecting color changes to determine where the selection should be.

Quick Selection Tool Steps

Steps: Removing a Background Image with the Quick Selection Tool Duplicate the image layer With your image open in Photoshop, right-click your Background layer and click Duplicate Layer. In the dialog box that pops up, name your layer (whatever you’d like), and click OK. Click the eye icon to the left of the original layer to turn that layer off.

Select the Quick Selection tool Select the Quick Selection tool from the toolbox on the left (may be hidden under the Object Selection tool). Paint the subject of the image Using the tool, start painting your subject. You’ll see the marching ants start appearing while you paint. To adjust your tool size, use the [ or ] keys to decrease or increase the size. Clean up the selection path If you find you’ve painted outside of the subject, click and hold the Option key (macOS) or Alt key (Windows) and you’ll see the center of the tool turn from a + symbol to a - symbol, indicating it will now take away from the selection. Paint on the part of the selection you want to remove while holding the Option / Alt key. Save your selection Save the selection by going to Select > Save Selection and giving it a name. This is in case you want to come back and make adjustments. Delete the background To delete the background, go to Select > Inverse to invert the marching ants (they should now be running around the edge of the image and your subject). Click delete .

If you find you’ve missed a spot or need further refinements, you can backtrack a couple of steps to do the refinement and resave your selection and try again.

For more detailed information on how the Quick Selection tool works, have a look at this Adobe tutorial.

Photo credit: Natural Goods Berlin on Unsplash

Removing a Background in Photoshop Has Never Been Easier

Through these methods in Photoshop, it has never been easier to remove a background from an image. Whether you’re looking for a quick and easy way to pull a subject out of a photo, or you need a way to replace the background of a more detailed image, the methods above will help you get to your end result much quicker and with better results.

Knowing which method to use and when will not only make your workflow go much quicker, but you’ll also end up with a much better final image.

Finally, depending on your ultimate use case, if you need to save your image without the background, don’t forget to save it as a transparent PNG so that you can use it in other applications and maintain your new background-free image.

All Methods to Change Photo Background in Photoshop

All Methods to Change Photo Background in Photoshop

There are a couple of different ways that you can change the background of your photographs. This article will introduce you to different methods that you can use to change the background of images in Photoshop as well as a couple other programs. We’ll be including step-by-step procedures of the first two, and will follow that up with quick breakdowns on the other five. If you want to learn more? Continue reading!

Part 1. Change Background in Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is a piece of complex software. Most people that use it had been trained in order to do so. This training consists of months or years learning all the little tricks, keyboard shortcuts, terminology, etc. In short, Photoshop wasn’t made for just your regular Joe, it’s a premium product that was made specifically for professionals. Still, you can follow these steps if you want to do a quick photo background editing.

How to Change Background in Photoshop

Step 1: Import Photograph

The first thing that you have to do, in order to change the background of your images in Photoshop, is to import the file that you want to edit. You can do this by clicking on the “Open…” button on the main menu page.

Step 2: Apply Mask

This next part will require you to apply a ‘transparency’ mask on your image. There are a couple of ways that you can do this:

Method 1: Click on the “Select” tab > “Select and Mask…” (as shown in the image below.)

Method 2: Use the keyboard shortcut Alt + Ctrl + R

Doing this will change the look of your Photoshop editor so that you can erase and apply the mask based on your needs.

Step 3: Erase the Mask

You can control the parts that you want transparent by erasing parts of the mask. There are a couple of different tools that you can try (highlighted in the image below.) By the end, only the background should be covered by the mask. When you’re done, click the “OK” on the bottom right-hand side of the screen to be moved back to the original editor.

Step 4: Applying the Mask

Once you’re done picking out the parts that you want to keep, you’re going to have to apply the Layer Mask. Do this by right-clicking on the original layer. This will open a drop-down menu with a couple of different choices. All you have to do next is press “Apply Layer Mask.”

Step 5: Change Background in Photoshop

You can change the background of your images in a couple of different ways. But first, you’re going to have to “Create a New Layer” so that the new background can be applied under the original image. As for changing the actual background, you can try one of the following methods:

Method 1: Import an image for your new background

Method 2: Create a blank layer and make your own background

Tip: Whatever kind of background you want to apply, make sure that it’s below the original layer (as highlighted in the image below.)

Step 6: Save Image

The most important part is saving your final product. With Photoshop you can go about this a couple of different ways.

Method 1: Click the “File” tab > “Save as…” option and choose where you want your new image to be.

Method 2: Automatically save by using the keyboard shortcut — Ctrl + S

Part 2. Easier Way to Change Photo Background

This is an online background changer for PC users, especially for beginners who do not equip with any professional graphic design skills. You are allowed to easily drag or drop every single element to make your design much more stunning.

Key Features of Wondershare PixStudio

Fixed-size templates are provided for you to choose from and do not need to resize your image repeatedly.

Enable to remove photo background and change background with massive photos easily.

Developed for beginners who want to design something but do not equip knowledge about graphic design.

Massive templates, elements, writing text features are available for you to use.

Download for free, but if you have higher requirements you also can upgrade your plan at an affordable price.

How to Use PixStudio to Change the Background of Photo

Step 1: Go to the official home page of the PixStudio and click on “Start Design Now”.

Step 2: Choose the target design you would like to have. After you’ve uploaded the image, try to click “Remove Now” to remove the background.

Step 3: Click to “Background” on the left and you can change the background color or massive exquisite background at your will. Also, you can add the effect that you favorite.

Step 4: You can download the photo for free and get the resulting image.

2. Wondershare Fotophire Editing Toolkit

Now that you’ve been introduced to changing backgrounds in Photoshop, let’s look at an easier way. This method will be demonstrated using the Fotophire Editing Toolkit. It’s an intuitive set of graphics editors that offer premium tools and an easy-to-understand interface at a low cost!

Wondershare Fotophire Editing Toolkit Enables you to apply more than 200 effects to your photos to make them better.

Crop or cut pictures to the size to meet any of your need.

Help you to remove any unwanted objects from your photos.

Allow you to use the Creative Blur to refocus your photos in a click. TRY FREE TRY FREE

Here are just a couple of its relevant features:

Use the Photo Cutter editor to change the background of your photos

Keep Tool that can be used to mark the parts of the image that you want to keep

Remove Tool to delete the background of the image

Control the quality of background removal with quality and edge blur sliders

Background presets in the PHOTO MODULE for quick background photo editing

How to Change Photo Background with Fotophire Editing Toolkit

Step 1: Get the Fotophire Editing Toolkit

First of all, you’re going to have to download and install the software. The Full version can only be unlocked if you purchase the Fotophire Editing Toolkit. However, you can try out some of its features by downloading the FREE trial.

Step 2: Run the “Photo Cutter” editor

The product might take a couple of minutes to install. However, once you’re done, you can finally launch the “Photo Cutter” editor. This is the part of the editing toolkit that will allow you to remove and replace the background of your images.

Step 3: “Open…” Photo

Import the image that you want to edit into the Photo Cutter by clicking on the “Open…” text on the main menu screen. This will prompt a Windows/Mac pop up that will ask you to locate the image file of your choosing.

Step 4: Remove Background with “CUT-OUT” module

The Fotophire Editing Toolkit will allow you to easily remove the background of your images. This can be done using the “CUT-OUT” module. It offers a couple of tools that will help you cut the unwanted background and isolate the foreground of the photograph.

Paint Areas to Keep Tool: This will allow you to isolate the parts of the image that you want to keep, it comes in a green (low-opacity) highlighter.

Paint Areas to Remove Tool: On the other hand, we got the removal tool. This is a red (low-opacity) highlighter that you can use to mark the parts that you want to delete.

Other tools that can be found under the “CUT-OUT” module are:

Brush Size: Enlarge or Minimize the size of your highlighter tools

Erase Painting: An eraser tool that will allow you to delete the highlights

Quality: Adjust this slider to control the overall quality of the image

Edge Blur: Decrease and/or increase the blurriness of your automatic clip

Step 5: Change Background in Fotophire

There are a couple of different ways that you can change the background of your photos with the Photo Cutter. For example:

Method 1: Use the available preset images under the “PHOTOMONTAGE” module (as shown in this example.)

Method 2: Upload your background of choice by clicking on the “+” box. Tip: You can adjust the cropped image as much as you wish to make it match the new background— move it around, resize it, rotate, etc.

Step 6: “SAVE”

Once you are satisfied with your work, remember to save! You can do this by clicking on the “Save” icon on the top menu-bar (highlighted in the image below.)

Part 3. Another 5 Programs that Help to Change Photo Background

If you’re still not convinced, consider the next 5 programs down below. All of these will allow you to change the background of your photographs. Some of them are made specifically for background photo editing, and others will offer you a variety of other premium editing tools. We’ll be breaking down the price, pros, cons, etc. of each product so that you can see which is the right one for you.

1. Teorex PhotoScissors

Price: $19.99

The first one that we’re going to be talking about is the Teorex PhotoScissors. This program falls under the ‘made specifically for background photo editing’ - role. However, it can be purchased in a bundle with other Teorex photo editing tools for around $119.99. Of course, if you’re looking to purchase only the PhotoScissors, that will be much cheaper — costing $19.99 for the full license.

Pros:

Will allow you to remove unwanted background easily

Isolate the foreground of the image for background photo editing

Offers a DEMO version (free-to-try)

Cons:

You will need to pay for the FULL license — $19.99 to use the PhotoScissors

Expensive photo editing bundle — $119.99

Limited background customization

2. GIMP

Price: FREE

GIMP is used by a lot of novice artists because it is 100% free and made to accommodate people who are new to graphics editing. It’s better known for its illustrator tools, however, you can still use it to easily remove and change the background of your images.

Pros:

GIMP is 100% FREE

Remove the original background with precise brush tools

Illustrate your own background

Cons:

Needs a lot of updating — bug fixes

Limited photo editing tools

Spotty background photo editing

3. Acorn6 Image Editor

Price: $39.27

We didn’t forget all the Mac users out there! If you’re looking for a background photo editor for a computer that’s running Mac OS (Operating System) then you can try out the Acorn 6 Image Editor. This is a standard photo editor that allows for the removal and the changing of your background.

Pros:

Automatic background removal with the Instant Alpha Erase Tool

The background can be customized with shapes, texts, other images, etc.

The magic wand will allow you to select large parts of the image for deletion

Cons:

Is a pay-to-use program — full license costs $39.27

Can only be used on Mac OS (Operating Systems)

A couple of the premium tools require you to pay for in-app purchases

4. Movavi

Price: Personal License ($39.95); Business License ($79.95)

This next background photo editor is called Movavi. It can be purchased on its own, or with the other editors that they offer. The Movavi, in itself, offers a set of editors. One of which can help you remove and customize the backgrounds of your image.

Pros:

Pick out the parts that you want to keep using keep tools

Remove the background using the delete tools

Is available for both Mac and Windows OS (Operating Systems)

Cons:

The full personal license for Movavi costs $39.95

The full business license costs $79.95

The Free trial will automatically watermark all saved images

5. Super Photocut

Price: $14.99

Our last recommendation is another shout out to Mac photo editors. This one is called the super Photocut and it costs around $14.99 for the full license. It’s made specifically for background photo editing, so there’s not much else to it. Still, it’s pretty easy-to-use.

Pros:

Easy removal of the background of your image

Background can be customized with effects

A variety of other editing tools made available

Cons:

In order to purchase the full version you have to pay for the full license $14.99

Can only be used on Mac OS (Operating Systems)

Limited photo editing capabilities

Conclusion:

Looking for a good photo editor is tough! However, there’s enough of them out there that you can pretty much pick and choose the one that works for you. Of course, that takes some trial and error, but if you want a recommendation? Check out the Fotophire Editing Toolkit first. It’s a lot easier to use than Adobe Photoshop. Which makes changing the background of your photographs simple and quick – making Fotophire the most helpful of them all.

How To Change Background Color In Photoshop Automatically

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How to change the background color in Photoshop is one of the most common editing questions in digital photography. There are many reasons to do so for both amateurs and professional photographers.

If you’re a professional photo retoucher, you’re going to change the background often to meet the needs of your clients.

But even if you’re not a photographer you might find yourself trying to change the background color in Photoshop. For example, if you run an e-commerce website and you prefer to change the color palette to fit a specific brand identity.

Don't Have Photoshop? Download Adobe Photoshop Download the latest version of Adobe Photoshop to follow along with this simple tutorial. Start a free 7-day trial today LEARN MORE

Or you may want to change the background color of your favorite profile photo on social media because you didn’t have the right colour background for your headshot at the time.

Whatever the reason is, this article will help you change the background color in Photoshop even if you’re a beginner, and there’s no need to use any 3rd party tool of plugin either.

[Related: How to whiten teeth in Photoshop | How to make a transparent background in Photoshop]

Automatic Background Change

This solution is great for any beginner or amateur because it’s easy to do, and completely free. No downloads, no membership fees, no previous knowledge required.

This is done online with Photoshop Express.

Step 1: Log in

If you have an Adobe account, you have to log in. If you don’t have one then you’ll have to register. Don’t worry though, it’s free; you’re not buying any membership with this.

It’s worth noting that this account will be useful if you want to use any of the Adobe products for your phone or desktop. So I recommend having it regardless.

Step 2: Upload your image

On the landing page of the website, you get the option to upload your image, use one of the example images, or continue with your previous work.

So just click on the Upload button and choose the image you want to change the background color of. I’ll use the example image just to show you how it works.

Step 3: Remove background

On the left side of the screen, you’ll find the menu. Click on Remove Background and then click on Auto-Remove Background on the right-hand side.

Here are some other ways to remove the background in Photoshop.

Step 4: Change background-color

On the right side of the screen, Photoshop will offer to blur your background or replace it. On the Replace Background portion, you’ll find a menu to choose your new background color.

Step 5: Download your image

When you’re satisfied with the new background color, you can save the image by clicking on the Download button. It will ask you to choose the size and then you just need to download it.

Very easy right? Well now let’s give you more control by doing things manually.

Manual Background Change

If you have Photoshop on your computer, then you can change the background color with full control of the process and the result. You can also record the steps and create an Action.

The most important thing for a realistic background change is to have a good selection of the subject. If you do this manually then you’ll have many tools available, allowing you to be as accurate as possible.

(To perfect your selections, check out our guide on how to use the Refine Edge Tool in Photoshop.)

Also, you’ll have endless color possibilities, gradients, patterns, or a different image to use as backgrounds. Let’s get started.

Step 1: Duplicate layer

Imagine that your image is printed on paper. If you want to change the background you need to separate it and put the new one underneath the subject.

This is the same concept. You need a second layer for your subject, so you can put a new one beneath it.

You can duplicate a layer by going to the Layer menu and then selecting Duplicate Layer.

Alternatively, you can drag your original background layer into the Create A New Layer button at the bottom of the panel.

Step 2: Select background

There are many different selection tools in Photoshop. There’s no right or wrong when choosing which one to use; each one has a different advantage. Often you’ll need to use a combination of tools to get the complete subject.

If your current background is a solid color and your subject is contrasting to it, you can use the Magic Wand tool.

While you’re on the layer you just created, click once the background and the Magic Wand will select it for you.

If there were any unselected areas like the ones on the bottom part of this image, make another click on that part to add them. You can also make the Tolerance lower or higher to include more variants of the same color in the selection.

Step 3: Invert selection

Now that you’ve selected your background you need to invert the selection so that your subject is the one selected.

You just have to go to the menu Selection and then select Inverse. Another way is to use the keyboard shortcut by pressing the keys Cmd+Shift+I.

Step 4: Refine selection

Often with these types of selection tools, it’s easy to have problems around the edges. Sometimes you need to expand the selection a little or feather it so that you get a more accurate result.

Zoom in to see if your selection is correct or if you left out some pixels. Even if it looks right, I always like to add at least a minimum feathering to get a more realistic transition.

You can do this by going to the Selection menu and opening up the Modify option. Then select Feather. This will open a window where you can type how many pixels. The amount you need will change from image to image.

Another way to get a more accurate selection and pick up all the small or difficult details is to use the Refine Edge tool. Check out this tutorial for an easy step-by-step guide to doing that.

Step 5: Add a layer mask

Now that your subject is selected, you can easily mask out the background. This is a non-destructive way of editing, because if you erase the background then there’s no room to correct any mistakes.

So, click on the Add Layer Mask button from the bottom of the panel. This will show up as an icon on your layer showing in black the parts that were covered and in white the visible ones.

Now your background is still there, you just can’t see it. This is useful in case you made a mistake during the selection process. You can just paint black or white on the mask to add or remove parts from the visible area.

Step 6: Add a new fill layer

Now select the original layer and click on the Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer button that you’ll find on the bottom.

From the menu choose Solid Color to open up the color picker. From there you can choose whichever color you want.

If you change your mind later on, you just have to double-click on the color thumbnail and choose a different one.

Also, if you prefer to have a gradient to add some depth to your background instead of a solid color, you can choose a Gradient fill layer.

If you need to change the colors of the objects in the layer, check out our guide: how to change the color of an object in Photoshop.

Step 7: Save

Ok, now some considerations when saving your work. If you want to keep the layers so that you can come back and change any time you want, you need to save as .psd file.

This is the native file format from Photoshop and it will save the layers and keep your file editable. Keep in mind that this will make the file size larger, and also you won’t be able to open it with other programs.

If you’re sure you won’t need to work on it again, you can spare some storage space and save it as a .jpeg.

First, you need to flatten your image so that all the layers become one original background layer – just as it was when you opened it, but now with a different color.

This will make your file accessible from any software as well, so it’s the ideal way to save your image if you want to share it.

Finally, if you didn’t change the background color and just removed the original leaving only the subject, then you need to save as .png.

This format allows the image to be saved with transparency, whereas .jpeg would fill the empty pixels with white. (You can also use an app to change a picture background.)

Final Words

If you’ve been looking for instructions on how to change the background color in Photoshop, hopefully, this guide has helped.

As you’ve seen above, it’s not all that complicated. It just takes a little bit of familiarity with the Photoshop functions and perhaps a little bit of practice to gain confidence.

From there, the sky’s the limit on choosing a new background color or texture for your photo.

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