If you are regularly editing images, you’ll want to know how to cut out objects efficiently. I often use Photoshop for editing images and video thumbnails. In the past, I used Photoshop’s Filter Extract feature, but that’s now been removed in Photoshop CC. That means we have to rely on Select and Mask to cut out images. Let’s take a look at how to use Select and Mask below.
How To Use Select & Mask To Cut Out Objects
To begin with, open Photoshop and drag in the image you’d like to cut out. For this tutorial, I’ll be using a royalty-free image as an example. I’ll be cutting out this person by using Select and Mask. You can use the same tool and follow the steps below to cut out your own object.
To begin with, select the Quick select tool from the toolbar. You can click the tool as shown in the image above, or press the W key.
Next, click and drag over your object with the Quick Select tool active. The tool will intelligently stick to edges on your image, so it becomes very easy to select an entire object. You will see an outline of the area you are selecting as you drag your mouse.If you need to make minor adjustments, you can let go of the mouse button and click each area to include it in your quick selection. To make minor removals, hold Alt and click on the areas you’d like to remove from your selection.
This whole process will take under a minute, even for complex images with lots of shapes, colors, and limited contrast.
If you need to make even more minor adjustments, hold Ctrl and scroll your mouse wheel up to zoom in. Next, adjust the Quick select tool brush size by clicking the brush icon in the top of the screen, as showcased in the image above.
Next, click Select and Mask at the top of the Photoshop window. This will take your selection and allow you to make further edits to it.
On the left side, you will see a properties tab. You can adjust these sliders to remove the background and improve the image you have cut out.
Firstly, drag the transparency slider to 100% to completely remove the background.
I personally like to drag the smooth slider to around 50 to create a smoother image. Add around 5 to 10 px to the radius slider to add more depth to the image too. You can then click OK and your object will be cut out.
The cut will be clean, the image will stand out among any other background you may add, and so long as you did the quick select tool process correctly, there won’t be any missing pixels from your object.
For the final step, make sure to press Ctrl+X and Ctrl +C to cut and paste the selected object onto a new layer.
At this point you have multiple choices. You can hide the background layer and save the image as a PNG with transparency. This will allow you to add this object with no background to any photo or image in the future. Alternatively, you can create your own background right in the same Photoshop tab you are in now. Simply add new layers and position them as you see fit. As an example, I have created the image above.
