How to Create a Transparent Background in Photoshop
Knowing how to create a transparent background in photoshop will give us a broad spectrum of unique opportunities that we can go for to make our image stunning and eye catchy. You can place your transparent background image against any backdrop you want. This method works best when you have product photos because these images are often required to place on a different backdrop. It can change the perspective of your image drastically and make your image stunning.
So grabbing those opportunities where you can use your product image anywhere you want by creating a transparent background in photoshop might give you an edge over your competitors. In this photoshop tutorial we will learn to create a transparent background in photoshop using some simple steps.
How to create a transparent background for an image in Photoshop
It doesn’t matter whether you are a photoshop expert or a beginner in photoshop, the method we will learn today is very easy and straightforward. Following this tutorial you can easily edit your image and make the background transparent.
Step 1: Open your image in photoshop
First thing first!!!
Open your product image in photoshop artboard. To do that you can go to the menu bar and select File→ Open and navigate through your files, select the file, hit the Open button. Or you can just drag and drop your image into the artboard directly to open it.
Step 2: Create a duplicate layer
After inserting the image it’s time to create a duplicate layer from the original layer so that later we don’t ruin the original file with some disoriented and moderate editing skill. To create a duplicate layer click on the original layer and select Layer > Duplicate Layer, or choose Duplicate Layer from the Layers panel. Name the duplicate layer, and click OK.
Step 3: Make the selection
Adobe photoshop cc offers much different selection tools and all of them are easy to use. You can use anyone for this lesson but I will suggest you to go with the magic wand tool.
Apart from the magic wand tool in photoshop, you can use these selection tools as well.
- Object selection tool,
- Lasso tool
- Quick Selection tool
- Pen tool
Okay as we are going to use the magic wand tool for our selection, let’s find out the tool and select it to start. You will find the tool in the left toolbar section along with the other tools.
Select the Magic Wand Tool and from under the menu bar click on the select subject option. Photoshop will automatically select the subject of your image with the help of its AI. It will select almost accurately but there will be some tiny space where the tool will miss.
Zoom in and find those areas, then use the select and deselect method to fix them. There will be some areas where the tool will overdo the selection. You will find the select, deselect the option in the left corner under the menu bar.
Adjust the selection according to your need. Most of the selection tools in photoshop offer this customization so if you are using other tools not to worry at all.
Step 4: Inverse the selection
After completing our selection part we will get our subject selected and now we can do anything with our selected part. But in this tutorial, we will make the background transparent using photoshop. So now we need to invert the selection from our subject to the background.
To invert the selection you simply hold SHIFT+CTRL and press I or you can go to the menu bar, click on the Select menu, and from the drop down window with different options click on the Inverse option.
Step 5: Erase the background
Now that our background is selected, click on the Delete button to erase the background. Now your image background will be transparent but if you save it in a jpeg format, you won’t get the transparent background. So how will you export the image with the transparent background? We will see that in our next step.
Step 6: Make your image web ready format
After deleting the background we will have our image file with transparent background but we have to make it web ready format as we are going to use it on the online platform with a different background.
Making the background transparent in photoshop is the initial step of producing a product image in web ready format. Before going forward we must know what is the web ready format in photoshop and how would you know that your image is saved in web ready format correctly.
PNG-24 is the correct format for the web ready images. So when you are saving your file you must select PNG-24 to make the perfect product image with a transparent background. The format ensures multiple layers of transparency. So when you add your product on amazon product listing platform or any other online product listing platform, your image doesn’t get any pixelated “halo” effect.
To make your image format PNG-24, while saving your image go to File > Export and select the Export As option. A window will pop up to confirm your file format where you will tick the “Transparency” box and your image file will be saved as PNG-24 format.
Pro Tip: While making sure the file format, check the image file size as well. Heavy image files will slow down your store and consumers will get discouraged by the longer loading speed. Try to keep the file size between 170 KB to 200 KB. If you are going to upload on an eCommerce platform like amazon check your product image dimensions and follow the recommended image dimensions described in amazon product image requirements.
Step 7: Save the file
After making sure all of the above now all you have to do is click on the Export All button. You will get a window from there select where you want to save the file and while doing this make sure your image format is showing .png.
If everything is okay then hit the save button and with that now you know how to create a transparent background in photoshop for any kind of image.
Emma Rivett
Author
“Emma Rivett is a brand photographer and copywriter who has a strong tendency to prepare, change and teach. Her photographic works were published in Uppercase, Travel + Leisure, Gayot Guide, Paula Deen Cooking, Design Guide, the NHOME Magazine, Urban Home, etc. Helping creative businesspeople create an online brand and PS”
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