How to Cut Out Images Like a Professional in Photoshop
There are many different ways to cut out images in Photoshop. Well, in this tutorial I am going to show you how I cut out images. I haven’t really seen this method anywhere else on the web, so I figured I’d share it. It uses a soft brush edge so the edges don’t look so sharp. This is not a magic wand tutorial!

Step 1
Find a picture that you want to cut out. The one I’m using can be found at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/808969.
Step 2
Set the Foreground color to Black and the Background color to White.
Step 3
Select the brush tool and set your Master Diameter to 10px and your Hardness to 0%.
Step 4
Unlock the layer, then add a layer mask to the photo.
Step 5
Zoom in close and use the brush tool to outline your image. Hold down shift for long straight areas. (I usually hold down shift practically the whole way through to get a natural/flowing line.) If you want to get the smaller parts, you can change the size of your brush to a size smaller than 10px.
Step 6
When you’re done, hold down OPTION (ALT for Windows) and CLICK (at the same time) the layer mask. Be sure you’re clicking the mask on the layer and not just the layer itself. Once you click, this is what your image should look like.
Step 7
Select the Magic Wand tool and make sure Contiguous is checked and Anti-alias is not checked. Then click the outside white area (aka the area you don’t want in the picture). Also be sure to add other areas of the image that might get left out to the selection, such as the middle part in between the two stems.
Step 8
Go to the the toolbar and go to SELECT > MODIFY > EXPAND and change it to 5px.
Step 9
Change the Background color to black and then press the Delete key.
Step 10
There will still probably be a few tiny areas that I didn’t get, such as in the corners of the flowers. So in that case, I will go back and take my 5px brush and fill in those sections to make them black. Make sure the foreground is Black when you’re doing this. You can hold down Option and Click at the same time on the layer mask itself to go back and fourth to see the actual image.
Step 11
When you’re finally done cutting it out, go ahead and hold down Option and Click at the same time on the layer mask itself and that’s it. You’re done!
Related posts:







08-21-09
I personally tend to use Quick Mask when doing changes like this because it’s possible to change back and forward when masking it.
08-22-09
Sweet. Thanks for the tip
08-22-09
Thanks for nice tutorial
08-23-09
Thanks for the tip. I have never cut out my images using this process but I will give it a go.
I have always used the pen tool, zoomed in for accuracy and created the work path. I then save the path and make selection from it. I then invert the selection and delete the area I have inverted. Some parts of the image will need softening up with a brush.
Great thing about Photoshop is there are lots of methods with the same outcome.
08-23-09
this was like the first method i used when i started using photoshop, honestly it’s really not that professional but it can get your work done… only things u need to be careful at are the hardness and size of the brush…when gettin into really tight angles it’s really a pain resizing the brush every time…so…those are the pro and contras
08-23-09
There’s obviously many ways to cut out images. This is one way that I thought many people weren’t aware of. I just love how it gives a soft edge for blending.
08-24-09
Greg – I wasn’t aware of this method so many thanks for introducing it.
08-26-09
amazing
08-29-09
I haven’t tried this method of removing the background form an image. I will have to try it.
09-24-09
this was awesome…..very easy instructions to follow, and the best way to cut out images! perfect, thanks!!!
09-25-09
Great tutorial, I will have to give this a go the next time I am using layer masks.
09-26-09
The method explained by you is just amazing. Previously, I knew some simple methods of cutting but not this one. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
11-06-09
i need yalll to help me out. how to cut picture in to shapes .
11-25-09
I have never seen this method and right now I have to say I TOTALLY LOVE It, thank you so much you made it so much easier than the nasty extract too lol
11-29-09
Not seen this method before, totally going to try it next time, thanks!
12-16-09
Hi…
very good tutorial. i am webdesigner, looking for more like this one.
thanks.
12-31-09
Nice smooth option but for me, Photoshop Pen tool always: create path using the pen then load as selection from the paths palette. A one-step process which, when mastered, means you never have to use any other for cutting out.
01-01-10
this will help me
01-19-10
Wow!
This tut is absolutely fantastic.
I have to take many product shots at work and before I was just zooming in and cutting away at the background.
This is going to save me so much time.
I need to hook up my tablet as well so I can quickly just draw around it more precisely with it.
02-13-10
Cool tip it will help many people ( like me :p )
thanks
02-16-10
i usually duplicate my pic,go 2 channels,color range……………………………………. n make my entire pic as dark den ipaint unwanted parts white and missed areas i want to keep w/a sharp brush(black) then u select the area go back to layers and click delete. this works perfect especially if u want to cut out an afro.lol or loose hair. link me up if u want the entire tut.photoshop tips and tricks
03-10-10
Nice.
04-05-10
А можно узнать как это делается?