Remove the background

[paulopires]

Hi
I'm new around here...and i don´t have too much expirience in Photoshop.
Can someone please tell me what is the quickest and best way to remove a background from a picture. First i was using the magic hand tool but the results were not good then i tryed the magnetic lasso tool with better but not good results...i tryed Corel Knockout but its not precise as i need. Now i'm using a mask with white painting but it takes to much time with the pen.
It's very difficult to remove the background from a picture with a women with the hair flying.

Thank you

[Jacorre]

You can use the Pen tool to trace around the object you're trying to extract, but check out this tutorial because I think it's probably the quickest way.

[tamlin]

Yeah - Jacorre's right. The Extract tool is definitely best for this job, especially if your subject includes strands of hair.

[Jimbo Jones]

It all depends what exactly you want to cut out and how complex that certain image is. Considering it's flowing hair, it doesn't really matter that much if you make a mistake, as you can touch up errors and create flowing hair yourself with the healing brush, smudge and blur filters.

If you're new to such techniques pick up some books on image manipulation. They should cover a lot of different cutting out techs used for various types of image. One book I recommend for both novice and pro alike is this...

Amazon.co.uk: How to Cheat in Photoshop: The Art of Creating Photorealistic Montages - Updated for CS2: Books: Steve Caplin

I know online some people don't like paying for stuff lol but if you're just starting out, one of the few desktop references you should have is that one. You'll learn a lot from it, fast.

Steve Caplin writes some great tutorials!

[Chamenas]

healing brush? never heard of it....

[Jimbo Jones]

Originally Posted by Chamenas

healing brush? never heard of it....

Press J for Jimbo Jones

[tamlin]

I've also got Steve Caplin's book and can definitely recommend it. The Pen Tool tutorials on their own make it worth the money, but it's got lots of other cool stuff in it, too.

[Chamenas]

oof, I unfrotunately dont have an extra 30 dollars...

[paulopires]

Tk for your replays

I have used the Extract tool before but i forgot about it...thank you Jacorre for remind me about it...it's similar to Knockout but in some cases is very usefull.

About the books...i bought one like "Learning Photoshop" but you are right Jimbo i need something about "tricks & tuturials". I will look about those in my library shop. I rather buy thecnical books in the library than online because i'm able to see inside.They are very expensive so we must buy the right ones.

Thank you all

[Jacorre]

Originally Posted by paulopires

Tk for your replays

I have used the Extract tool before but i forgot about it...thank you Jacorre for remind me about it...it's similar to Knockout but in some cases is very usefull.

About the books...i bought one like "Learning Photoshop" but you are right Jimbo i need something about "tricks & tuturials". I will look about those in my library shop. I rather buy thecnical books in the library than online because i'm able to see inside.They are very expensive so we must buy the right ones.

Thank you all

No problem. Nice to see a fellow Portuguese member here also! I'm from the USA but my family came from Madeira, Portugal. Viva Benfica!

[paulopires]

Very nice, Madeira...good people, excelente fresh fish, cheese and a very nice night life expecially on new year...i have been all around the island.

About Benfica no...thats not good...i'm from Oporto.

Thank you for welcome me.

[Uniko]

(OOT)

Benfica rulez!!!!

[paulopires]

Hi brother ...how are you?

[alex1dan]

you could even use the magnetic lasoo tool or the extract, even it requires a steady hand

[paulopires]

Thank you but i just found out the miracle!
Fluid Mask
Fluid Mask, Photoshop Plugin, Photoshop Plugins