Remove a Background in Photoshop with Select and Mask
Removing a background in Photoshop is quick with the Select and Mask workflow. You’ll automatically detect your subject, refine tricky hair edges, and clean color spill for a realistic result. Follow these steps to create a high-quality cutout you can place on any background.
Step-by-step instructions
Unlock the image layer
Open the Layers panel (Window → Layers).
Select the image layer and click the padlock icon to unlock it.
Auto-select the subject
Go to Select → Subject.
Wait for Photoshop to generate a selection around the main subject.
Open Select and Mask
Go to Select → Select and Mask…
In the View dropdown, choose On Black.
Enable Smart Radius and set Radius to 9.
Refine hair edges
In Select and Mask, choose the Refine Edge Brush Tool.
Open the brush size dropdown (top-left) and set Size to 135 px.
Paint along the hair edges to recover fine, wispy strands.
Decontaminate colors and apply
In Properties, check Decontaminate Colors and set it to 80%.
Click OK to output the refined cutout back to the document.
