How to use the quick selection tool and remove backgroundsBy Jennie Keegan

Short cuts in Purple Tips in Blue

Before you start, there are a few keyboard shortcuts which will come in useful: To undo - CTRL and Z To zoom in - CTRL and + To zoom out - CTRL and - To select all - CTRL and A To deselect - CTRL and D

1. File - Open - Select image from folder. Tip - Select images for editing beforehand and put in a clearly labelled file.2. Choose the Quick Selection Tool from the Toolbox palette. It works like a brush and the size of the selection tool can be adjusted.

3. Drag the tool over your subject and stop when the “marching ants” get to the edge. The tool is smart and can detect the change in pixels so most of the time it will stop on the edge correctly. If it selects something that you don’t want it to, just click on the Alt key to switch to “deselect” mode and drag the selection back to where it should be. To zoom in - CTRL and + To zoom out - CTRL and - Tip - Zoom in if the image is detailed, it makes it easier. Use the move tool to focus on chosen areas.

4. Click on the Refine Edge button on the top menu. In this area, you’ll adjust the pixels around the edges of the selection. This will make the “cut” more smooth and realistic.

Remember to select output to 'new layer with layer mask'

5. To remove unwanted marks, use the eraser. Tip - change the eraser to different sizes and softness to get a smoother, refined edge. Zoom in to make it easier.

6. Once it is done, this is what you should see.

7. Add the new background layer - Open the image you want to use as your new background. Shortcut - CTRL and A to select the whole document /Shortcut - CTRL and C to copy. Click on the quick selected area and paste, Shortcut - CTRL and V to paste. Tip - make sure the quick selected area is the top layer.

8. Experiment with composition and scale.

Edit - Transform -Scale. Make the quick selected area larger or smaller using the vector points. Once done, click on the move tool and click apply. Move the quick selected area around on the background until you are happy with the composition. Tip - Experiment with different backgrounds and compositions.

9. Once you are happy with the image, click on the crop tool and crop to the desired composition.

10. Flatten and save your image. Select: Layer - Flatten Image.

File - Save As - Title and location which is clearly identifiable. Save it as a Photoshop File PSD if you want to work on it again or as a JPEG to be easily e-mailed and opened on various devices. Tip -When you flatten an image in Photoshop it collapses all open, visible layers into one layer. This does not decrees the image quality. If you do not flatten your work, you will end up with a PSD (Photoshop Document) that has a very large file size, and can only be saved as a PSD file. After you have flattened the image, Photoshop will then give you the choice of many different file types under which you can save the image.