How to Remove the Background in Photoshop Elements

Step-by-Step Guide

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   Step 1: Prepare before the shot.

   Removing a background is easiest when it is a very different color from the foreground (say, as in a graduation photo).
   
   It’s hardest when the colors are similar, for example, with a white horse standing in the snow.
   
   For best results, plan ahead:
   Shoot your foreground subject against a different and uniform color such as the sky or a painted wall.
   
   As an example, removing the sky in the top photo will be easy.
   
   Removing the background in the lower photo with smaller green trees will be hard.
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   Step 2: Start Adobe Photoshop Elements 11.

   Click "Photo Editor," then "Expert" in the top menu bar. ,,, A sub-window appears at the bottom.
   
   In the bottom menu, click the pink Eraser and Scissor Icon. , (You don’t have to be precise.) , An area with similar colors is erased.
   
   Note the checkerboard, which means that all color is removed from that area.
   
   If too much is erased, then use "Edit > Undo" in the top menu, and try again in different spot.
   
   Trial and error is important to get the best results.
   
   Concentrate on easy areas first.
   
   Hard areas are erased either by changing the parameters of the Background Eraser Tool, or by carefully painting out the background by hand.
   
   For best results, many photos require both. , Your goal is to erase as much as possible, without erasing anything you want to keep in the photo. , Identify areas where you still want more background removed. , The basic Eraser would be useful, to refer back to the earlier example, erasing the snow in the background of a white horse. , Carefully erase unwanted background.
   
   Drag the brush over small areas, using Undo whenever you have erased too much. , Using the default file type PSD leaves you the most options for future editing.
   
   For a smaller file suitable for Web and email, choose JPEG, and then click OK to use the defaults. , Later, when you cut-and-paste the photo on top of another, you will discover that the original background is gone, and your second photo is now the background.
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   Step 3: Use "File > Open" and select the photo you want to edit.

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   Step 4: In the top menu

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   Step 5: select "View > Actual Pixels" or "View > Fit on Screen".

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   Step 6: Click the pink Eraser Icon in the left menu.

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   Step 7: In the bottom menu

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   Step 8: select Size to 25 pixels and Tolerance to 15%.

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   Step 9: Move the cursor

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    Step 10: which is now a circle with a center Plus Sign

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    Step 11: to the photo background

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    Step 12: and click.

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    Step 13: Experiment changing Tolerance sliding bar to 10% or to 30%.

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    Step 14: Once your photo is close to the way you want it

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    Step 15: enlarge it with the View menu zoom items to closely examine the borders of the image that remains.

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    Step 16: If there are more background areas to erase

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    Step 17: then at this point you have two options: continue using the same Background Eraser Tool

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    Step 18: or switch to the basic Eraser Tool that simply erases everything it touches.

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    Step 19: To use the basic Eraser

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    Step 20: click the Eraser Icon next to the eraser and scissors icon and press "CTRL-A" to select the whole image.

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    Step 21: Save your hard work in a different file using the top menu "File > Save As".

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    Step 22: Close Photoshop

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    Step 23: or use CTRL-D to de-select the photo so you can continue doing other edits on it.

Detailed Guide

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