Simple techniques for cutting a person out of an image in Photoshop

 

 

A common situation when doing heavy Photoshop work is having to cut an object out of a photo, either to move it within the same frame or to perhaps create a new composite image. What if you need to cut a person out of a photo? This is certainly a bit trickier than a simple shape, but it doesn't have to be difficult. In the tutorial from tutvid, Nathaniel Dodson shares numerous techniques you can use to utilize the array of tools in Photoshop to make a clean, precise selection of a person.

The first step is to evaluate the subject you want to select and the image overall. It's important to identify different edges and see which ones will require more complicated selections. In the example image used in the video below, Dodson identifies three primary selections: one for the model's head and hair (which has a lot of fine details to consider), another for her body (smoother edges) and finally, a selection for her handbag (which is complicated by transparent elements). To see how Dodson makes these various selections, watch the full video below.

(Via tutvid)