Put a Person into Another Photo in Photoshop (Cut Out, Match, Shadow)
Want to place someone into a different location convincingly? This walkthrough shows how to select and refine the subject, move them into a new background, match light and color, and ground them with a natural shadow. You’ll get a clean, believable composite from start to finish.
Step-by-step instructions
Open both images
Go to File → Open and load your background and subject photos.
Select the subject
Choose the Object Selection Tool (W) and click Select Subject.
If you’re on an older version (e.g., CS6), use the Quick Selection Tool to paint a selection.
Refine the edge
Go to Select → Select and Mask.
Set Radius to 1 px; add a small Feather and increase Contrast to smooth edges.
Use the Refine Edge Brush Tool to clean up hair and tricky areas.
Enable Decontaminate Colors and set Output To: New Layer with Layer Mask; click OK.
Move the subject into the scene
With the masked layer selected, drag it to the background image tab, then into the canvas and release.
Press Ctrl+T (Cmd+T) to Free Transform and scale/position as needed.
Match the light direction
If necessary, right-click inside Free Transform and choose Flip Horizontal to align shadows.
Reposition to fit the scene’s light direction.
Match the color
Newer Photoshop: go to Filter → Neural Filters → Harmonization. Turn it on, set Reference Layer to the background, lower Strength, and slightly raise Brightness; click OK.
Older Photoshop: go to Image → Adjustments → Match Color and choose your background as the source.
Create and shape a realistic shadow
Go to Layer → Layer Style → Drop Shadow. Increase Size (softness) to around 21 px; click OK.
In Layers, right-click Effects under the subject and choose Create Layer to separate the shadow.
Select the shadow layer and press Ctrl+T (Cmd+T); drag the shadow to match light direction.
Right-click → Skew or Distort to angle the shadow if the sun is low.
Go to Filter → Blur → Gaussian Blur to soften; reduce Opacity to blend naturally.
Finalize and save
Fine-tune position and scale of the subject and shadow.
Save your composite (File → Save As).
