best & quickest way to remove a background..?

nicknack

nicknack

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Edit My Images
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I use photoshop cs5 EXT

The method I use is the magnetic lasso tool..I find this soooo tedius and i dont always get a very good mask...anybody know a better, quicker way of doing this...or of any software extention i can use?:thumbs:
 
it all depends on what type of background and how cluttered and the colours too. If the colour of the background is close to the foreground then it will become harder.

Try the background eraser tool if it is one colour.
 
Agree with what tiler65 said.

Asking this is rather like asking "what's the best way to take a photograph?" To which the correct answer is: "research & practice". Sorry, not very helpful!
 
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In most cases I find the quick selection tool better and a lot faster, but as said above theres a lot of factors that will affect the choice of best selection method.
 
Watched a you tube video recently where the bloke used Filter-extract I think to remove some people in the foreground from quite a complicated background. Even did a good job where flyaway hair was too. Shame I cant rememeber who or link to it for you.
 
If the subject is on a bright background (or at least around the subject's silhouette) a good way is to apply an image into its own layer mask, then you can play with level/curves to adjust the 'Fuzziness' and dodge/burn to separate the transitions a bit better too. You can even choose what channel (R,G or B) to go into the mask to get better separation.

I dont get on with the extract tool at all, for me it makes edges all broken up, and its just doesnt work out for me, i'm probably doing something wrong.
 
its a tough one eh...ps is such a fantastic and complex tool..but it still seems difficult to key something you want from a touch of a button.
 
It really depends on the background of course. I would usually go for Quick Selection tool or the Select Color Range option (keeping the Shift key pressed as you drag the arrow).

Whenever you do this selection work don't forget to Select>Modify>Expand by one pixel.
 
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Topaz Remask
 
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