Replacing the background in photos using Photoshop

Sometimes it becomes necessary to change the background in the photo. Also, many are interested in the different possibilities provided by a graphic editor: how to blur the background, make it transparent for creating collages or other work with images.

Deleting

Let’s take a look at how to remove a background in Photoshop. There are several ways. First open your image, convert it to a layer by double clicking on it in layers.

1. If the background is monochrome with clear boundaries for the object that you want to leave, it is convenient to use the Magic Wand tool. Select the background places for them, then press Delete, and the selection will be deleted, forming a transparent background. Remove selection with Ctrl + D.
   
2. Also with a homogeneous background with clear boundaries of the image to be left. If it is done in different colors, you can use the Background Eraser tool. Swipe them over the picture, starting from a place where there is only a background. The eraser will “remember” the colors, and the picture itself will not be deleted, even if you accidentally go beyond the borders later. But there are some nuances in the settings. You need to set the clearance level. If you set the tolerance to 1%, the color that you clicked first will be removed strictly, and its shades will remain. If you set the tolerance more, then not only the color that has become the starting point will be erased, but also the shades close to it.
   
3. The Magic Eraser tool will also help you replace your regular background with a transparent one. Set the required tolerance (for example, 80) and do not drag it, just click anywhere in the background. The entire background will become transparent. If the tolerance is less, then only part of it will be removed.
   
4. If the picture is all colorful and complex, then you need to select the object that you want to save in any way (Lasso, Pen). Then copy it with Ctrl + C, create a new file by setting the “Transparent” parameter, then transfer the copied picture from the clipboard with Ctrl + V to the field that opens.
5. Save the picture in GIF, PNG8 or PNG24 formats. Please note: JEPG format does not support transparent background, converting it to white.

The change

Here we will look at how to change the background in Photoshop by transferring an object from one photo to another using the Pen tool, and then adjusting the image.

First of all, you need to choose the right image. Shots where the boundaries of the subject are clearly visible are better suited for this kind of modification, because you will need to select the subject and separate it from the old image, which is difficult to do if it is blurry.

1. Zoom in and select the image you want to transfer to another picture. You can outline with the Pen tool, then the path must be converted to a selection. To do this, right-click inside the shape, in the menu that appears, click “Convert Selection”. Set the feathering radius depending on the size: the larger the selected shape, the larger the radius. At medium sizes, the optimal feathering is 2 pixels.
2. Open the background prepared in advance.
3. Drag an object onto it, confirm the color conversion.
4. For further transformation press Ctrl + T. Set the desired size using the scaling points. To make this operation proportional, hold down the Shift key. When the desired size is selected, press Enter to apply the transformation.
5. To fit the object into the big picture, you need to create a shadow. We act in the following order:
   • Go to the background layer, create a new one above it.
   • Take a soft black brush about 35 px in size.
   • Draw on a new layer a shadow at the feet of the subject. Reduce the opacity to 55-60%. Remove the extra shadow with the Eraser.
   • Create another layer for the shadow from the shape itself.
   • Hold down the Ctrl key, click on the layer with the object, making a selection.
   • Make sure the layer you added for the shadow is active. Fill this layer with black.
   • Press CTRL + D to deselect the selection.
   • Press CTRL + T to transform the shadow.
   • Right-click inside the transformation area, select the “Distort” function from the context menu.
   • Tilt the shadow based on the light source in the background.
   • If there are several light sources, duplicate this layer with the keys Ctrl + J and place the second shadow by pressing the keys Ctrl + T and “Distort” again to transform this layer.
   • Select both layers with shadows using Ctrl and merge them by choosing “Merge Layers” in the context menu that appears after pressing the right mouse button.
   • Change the opacity of the resulting merged layer to 35-40%.
6. For realism, go to Filters – Blur – Gaussian Blur. Select the level of blur, click OK.
7. Adjust the colors to fit the subject into the big picture.
   • Create a Curves adjustment layer. Bend the curve to correct it. To apply the curve only to the object, and not to the background, hold down Alt and move the cursor to a position between the layers.
   • Create a Color Balance adjustment layer. Make the desired changes by moving the sliders. Adjust the Midtones first, then the Highlights.
   • New Adjustment Layer – “Levels”. Make the necessary adjustments there for balance, remembering to apply all adjustment layers only to the layer with the object.

It remains to create a merged copy of all layers, for which press Alt + Shift + Ctrl + E. You were able to replace the background by transferring an object from one image to another.

Blur

If the question is how to blur the background in Photoshop, then here you need to act like this.

1. Duplicate the image on a new layer with Ctrl + J.
   
2. We go to the “Filters” – “Blur” tab, here we see a lot of options. You can try different filters. It is convenient to use Gaussian blur. Let’s show how to work with this filter further.
   
3. Set the radius you need, click OK.
4. You have now blurred the entire image. We fix this with the “Mask”.
5. Press the Mask button, then there are two ways:
   • Take a soft brush with black color, set a convenient size, drag over the image of the object from which you want to erase the blur. This method is useful when the background is large and the subject itself is small.
   • If, on the contrary, you have a large object that you want to keep blurry, then it is more convenient to use another method. After applying the Gaussian blur filter, press Ctrl + i. Create a mask and fill it with black. Then we take a soft brush, set it to white and draw it over the background, which becomes blurred at the same time.

You were able to change a simple background to a blurry one, you can further work with various effects to make the picture expressive.

Despite the impressive instructions, working with the background is not difficult, a novice user can easily blur it or remove it on his own. And the photos will take on a new and interesting look. The use of various filters helps to liven up and diversify the picture. When creating collages, you will need to be able to remove unnecessary background, making it transparent. If you are interested in the question of how to replace the background in Photoshop, then this also does not require much professionalism. With some practice, you will learn how to quickly transfer objects from one image to another.

An illustrative example of background replacement

Most often, when working with backgrounds, the user wants to take one object and move it to an image with a different background. The capabilities of Photoshop allow you to do this as realistically as possible.

It is worth going through the steps through the instructions on how such a technique is performed.

You can take a full-length photo of any celebrity as a basis. It can be an actor, actress, one of the vocal performers, etc. The background will be a brick wall.

All actions are conventionally divided into 4 stages:

• cutting out an object;
• transfer to a new background;
• creating a shadow;
• finishing work.

It is worth going through each of the stages separately.

Cutting an object

The first thing to do is edit the original photo with our celebrity. It is necessary to get only an image of a person, without the existing background.

Photoshop offers several tools for this at once. One of the simplest and most convenient is the “Pen”.

To work with the pen, you need to consider the following points:

• when choosing a photo, put the first anchor point at which the selection should end;
• the fewer points are used, the better it actually is;
• if there is a bend in the selected photo, you need to put a dot at its beginning and at the end;
• between these two points, another one is placed in the center;
• holding down the Ctrl button, gently drag the center point, thereby setting the desired bend of the line.

Carefully and carefully you need to walk through the entire object. Only the body of the celebrity stands out this way, since you need to transfer it to another background.

Only the celebrity is left without the background of the original photograph.

But among all these methods, it is the pen that is the most convenient and versatile. If you need to really neatly select an object, it’s best to arm yourself with a pen.

Transfer to another background

There is a cut out image of a famous person. Now it needs to be added to another background. In this case, it’s a brick wall.

Upload a suitable brick wall photo from the web in advance. Further, the sequence will be as follows:

• Open the brick wall image in Photoshop.
• Go back to the tab where the celebrity was cut.
• Press the key combination Ctrl and T. Immediately after that, click on the tool called “Move”.
• While holding the left mouse button, drag the selected object to the tab where the brick wall is.
• Wait for the program to switch to this tab and drag the cursor to the canvas. Release the button.
• In order not to drag the object, you can use an alternative method. To do this, copy the object and then paste it. The easiest way to do this is by pressing Ctrl and C, and then Ctrl and V.
• Now adjust the image so that it blends harmoniously and proportionally with the background. In this case, it is better to hold down the Shift button. This will keep the original proportions of the object. But sometimes it also happens that the size of the background itself changes.

The transfer phase is complete.

But many will probably notice that while the “star” does not look quite natural. Therefore, it will have to be corrected.

Shadow creation

To enhance the naturalness of a celebrity’s presence on an unoriginal object, you need to add a shadow. This will give the desired realism.

You need to do the following:

• on the layer where the actress is located, double-click the left mouse button and open its properties;
• in the window that opens, put a checkmark in front of “Shadow”;
• set the parameters to your taste;
  
• confirm the changes made by clicking on the “OK” button.

You need to set the shadow individually. There are no universal tips on shadow parameters. Plus, everyone wants to achieve a different effect and result.

Finishing

At the final stage, you need to slightly correct the resulting image.

Here it is recommended to do the following:

• Go to the topmost layer of the image, and click here on the button to create an adjustment layer. In the list of options that opens, select the “Hue / Saturation” item.
• Press the bind key and set the required parameters. It is necessary to ensure that there is practically no difference between the background image and the celebrity herself.
  
• The brick wall itself is sometimes worth tweaking as well. She should act as a background, and not focus all the attention on herself.
• In the layers palette, you need to switch to the background.
• It makes sense to try a filter called “Gaussian Blur” in action. It is located in the blur group in the Filters tab.
• Set the blur radius to about 0.3 units, then click on “OK”. Experiment depending on the background you choose.
  
• For the background, you can also create an adjustment layer called Curves. When you start it, you need to pull the line down a little. This will make the background darker than the original.
• Also, details in the dark areas of the photo can be made more pronounced and noticeable. Here you need to switch to the top layer “Hue / Saturation” and then create another adjustment layer “Curves”.
• Bending the line up already, watch the changes. Stop at the moment when you consider the result to be optimal.
  

It will not be superfluous to go through the color tone parameters, work on contrast, saturation and other aspects of the photo.

But since each project has its own characteristics, then the adjustment of images should be carried out based on specific tasks and editable objects.

Simply cutting out an element from one photo and pasting it onto another background is pretty straightforward. The main difficulty lies in the subsequent editing. After all, many want the non-original background to look as natural and realistic as possible. And for this you have to try.

But now you will not have any problems in order to change the background in the photo yourself. If this article was useful to you, leave your comments in the form below.