How To Remove Extremely Difficult Backgrounds in Photoshop
TLDRThis tutorial guides viewers through the process of removing complex backgrounds in Photoshop. It begins with using the 'Calculations' feature to create a high contrast between the subject and the background. The green and blue channels are recommended for the best separation. The 'Add' blending mode with a negative offset is applied to enhance the contrast further. The polygonal lasso tool is then used to select and preserve important parts of the image. The 'Curves' adjustment is utilized to brighten the background and separate it from the image. Brush tools with overlay mode are employed to manually brighten or darken specific areas. Details that may have been lost are recovered using the levels adjustment. Finally, any remaining blue color cast from the old background is corrected with a color overlay and manual brush painting. The end result is a clean subject with a removed background, ready for further editing or composition.
Takeaways
- 🎨 Use the 'Calculations' feature in Photoshop to create a high contrast between the background and the subject by manipulating different color channels.
- 🔍 Select the appropriate channel (e.g., Green or Blue) that best separates the background from the image.
- 🖌 Adjust the blending mode and offset to enhance the contrast further, with a focus on negative values for the offset to darken the background.
- 📐 Utilize the Polygonal Lasso Tool for making precise selections around the subject to protect it from being removed.
- 🖊 Fill in selected areas with black to ensure they are kept and not removed during the background removal process.
- 🔄 Deselect the selection using Ctrl+D after filling to prepare for further adjustments.
- 📈 Use the 'Curves' adjustment to further separate the subject from the background by tweaking the input and output levels.
- 🖧 Employ the Brush Tool in Overlay mode with a large size and white color to manually brighten the background.
- 🔍 Lower the brush opacity for more subtle adjustments and maintain details in areas with fine or faded features.
- 🌈 Adjust the hardness and size of the brush for blending and fine-tuning the background brightness.
- ✅ After the background is removed, address any faded or missing details by manually recreating them using the Rectangle Tool and adjusting opacity.
Q & A
What is the first step to remove a complex background in Photoshop?
-The first step is to go to Image > Calculations in Photoshop, which will bring up a window that allows you to work with different channels to separate the background from the image.
How do you choose the right channel to separate the background from the image?
-You should look through each channel (Red, Green, and Blue) and select the one that provides the best contrast between the background and the image you want to keep. The goal is to make the background extremely bright and the main image extremely dark.
What blending mode is most effective for enhancing the contrast between the background and the image?
-The 'Add' blending mode is the most effective for this purpose. It helps to further separate the background from the image by increasing the contrast.
How do you use the polygonal lasso tool to protect certain areas of the image from being removed?
-You use the polygonal lasso tool to create a selection around the areas you want to keep. Then, you fill in the selection with black to ensure that these parts of the image are not removed when the background is being separated.
What tool can be used to manually adjust and enhance the background after using the Add blending mode?
-The brush tool can be used to manually adjust the background. You can set it to 'Overlay' mode and use a white color to fill in the sky, making it brighter without affecting the main image.
How do you fix faded or lost lines in the image after applying the background removal technique?
-You can use the polygonal lasso tool to select the area with faded lines, then open the Levels adjustment (Ctrl/Cmd + L) and move the middle slider to the right to make the lines more visible and bold.
What is the purpose of creating a new channel in the Calculations window?
-Creating a new channel helps to store the result of the contrast adjustments made to the image, which aids in the background removal process by providing a clear separation between the background and the main image.
How do you remove the color cast from the bridge after the background has been removed?
-You can use a new layer with the brush tool, set to 'Normal' mode, and paint over the blue lines with a color that matches the bridge. This can be done by sampling a part of the bridge using the Alt/Option + click method and then painting over the lines.
What is the final step to ensure the background is completely removed and the image looks clean?
-The final step is to use the polygonal lasso tool to select the entire image and copy the selection (Ctrl/Cmd + J), then hide the original layer and use the selection to create a mask on the background layer (Alt/Option + click on the mask icon) to remove any remaining background elements.
How can you ensure that the details of the image, such as the bridge, are not affected when making the sky brighter?
-By setting the brush mode to 'Overlay', you can fill in the sky without affecting the details of the bridge. This mode only affects the background and allows you to brighten the sky without losing detail in the image.
What is the role of the 'Color' blending mode in the final adjustments to the bridge?
-The 'Color' blending mode is used to apply a color overlay to the bridge layer, which helps to match the color of the bridge and remove any remaining blue tint. It's adjusted with blending options to ensure the color correction looks natural.
Outlines
🖼️ Photoshop Background Removal Tutorial
This paragraph introduces a Photoshop tutorial by Vertic Designs that focuses on removing complex backgrounds. The process involves using the 'Calculations' feature to create a high-contrast image, selecting the appropriate channel (blue in this case) to differentiate the background from the subject. It then describes using the 'Add' blending mode with an offset setting to further enhance the contrast. The selection tools are used to preserve parts of the image that should not be removed, and the 'Curves' adjustment is applied to brighten the background and separate it from the subject.
🖌️ Refining the Selection and Adjusting Details
The second paragraph details the refinement process of the image selection. It explains how to use the brush tool in overlay mode to brighten the sky and darken the ground without affecting the main subject. The importance of maintaining detail in faded areas is emphasized, and the use of opacity adjustments to achieve this is described. The paragraph also covers using the 'Levels' adjustment to enhance the visibility of lines and details that may have become faint due to the contrast adjustments.
🌉 Recreating Lost Details and Masking
This section covers the process of recreating details that may have been lost when the background was removed. It describes using the shape tool to manually recreate lines that have disappeared. The use of smart objects and layer masking is also explained to clean up excess areas outside the main subject. The paragraph concludes with the steps to remove the old background color cast from the bridge by using a selection to isolate the area and adjust its color.
🎨 Color Correction and Final Touches
The final paragraph deals with color correction and final adjustments to the image. It guides on how to use the brush tool to paint over areas with a color that matches the bridge, removing any unwanted blue tint. The use of an eraser tool to clean up any unnecessary color is also mentioned. The paragraph concludes with adding a color overlay to match the bridge's color and using a mask to remove any extra colored areas. The end result is a clean image with the background removed and the subject's colors corrected.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Photoshop
💡Complex Backgrounds
💡Calculations
💡Channels
💡Blending Modes
💡Opacity
💡Polygonal Lasso Tool
💡Quick Selection
💡Curves
💡Brush Tool
💡Smart Object
Highlights
Photoshop tutorial on removing complex backgrounds.
Use Image > Calculations to create a black and white version of the image.
Select the 'Background' layer to work on in the Calculations window.
Choose the right channel (Green or Blue) to separate the background from the image.
Set blending mode to 'Add' and adjust the offset to create contrast.
Create a new channel for the adjusted image and confirm with 'OK'.
Use the Polygonal Lasso tool to select areas of the image to keep.
Fill the selected area with black to ensure it's not removed.
Use Curves adjustment to enhance the background separation.
Brush tool with Overlay mode can be used to brighten the sky without affecting the bridge.
Lower brush opacity to maintain details when brightening the background.
Use the Levels adjustment to make faded lines more visible.
Recreate lost details manually using the Rectangle tool and Shape fill.
Duplicate shapes to fill in missing lines and maintain consistency.
Convert filled shapes into a Smart Object for easier editing.
Remove excess areas outside the bridge using the Polygonal Lasso tool.
Use a brush with a color overlay to correct the blue color cast on the bridge.
Create a mask to refine the edges and remove any unwanted blue areas.
Final cleanup and blending to ensure a seamless background removal.