How to Remove Cluttered Background on Your Photos

Crop the background., Select your subject., Blur the background., Saturate/Desaturate., After de-saturating the background, change the sponge tool to saturate and set it at a smaller value (7-8%) Paint over the subject to slightly bring out the...

6 Steps 2 min read Medium

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Crop the background.

    Cropping out as much of the background as possible is a simple easy, short-cut.

    Just make sure that you don’t detract from some of the basic rules of composition and symmetry.
  2. Step 2: Select your subject.

    Use the lasso tool from our toolbox to very roughly select around our subject.

    Make sure that you leave a little bit of space around his body.

    Eliminate some of the extraneous space by feathering our edge.

    In Photoshop, go to Select
    - Feather.

    The value will differ depending on the final size of our image.

    You want to choose a number of pixels that brings the marquee selection closer into your subject without crossing over any of their edges. , To blur the background use the Gaussian blur tool.

    Go to
    - Filter
    - Blur
    - Gaussian Blur.

    Choose a value that blurs the background without totally eliminating our perception of the subjects.

    If you have the preview button ticked you can keep trying until you get something that works perfectly. , In the final stage, desaturate the background slightly to further increase the emphasis on the main subject.

    Select your sponge tool and set it to desaturate 15%, then brush over the majority of the background. , The final effect should be subtle
    - but should help the subject of your image
    - just pop a little out of the background.
  3. Step 3: Blur the background.

  4. Step 4: Saturate/Desaturate.

  5. Step 5: After de-saturating the background

  6. Step 6: change the sponge tool to saturate and set it at a smaller value (7-8%) Paint over the subject to slightly bring out the colour.

Detailed Guide

Cropping out as much of the background as possible is a simple easy, short-cut.

Just make sure that you don’t detract from some of the basic rules of composition and symmetry.

Use the lasso tool from our toolbox to very roughly select around our subject.

Make sure that you leave a little bit of space around his body.

Eliminate some of the extraneous space by feathering our edge.

In Photoshop, go to Select
- Feather.

The value will differ depending on the final size of our image.

You want to choose a number of pixels that brings the marquee selection closer into your subject without crossing over any of their edges. , To blur the background use the Gaussian blur tool.

Go to
- Filter
- Blur
- Gaussian Blur.

Choose a value that blurs the background without totally eliminating our perception of the subjects.

If you have the preview button ticked you can keep trying until you get something that works perfectly. , In the final stage, desaturate the background slightly to further increase the emphasis on the main subject.

Select your sponge tool and set it to desaturate 15%, then brush over the majority of the background. , The final effect should be subtle
- but should help the subject of your image
- just pop a little out of the background.

About the Author

K

Kevin Hart

Specializes in breaking down complex practical skills topics into simple steps.

51 articles
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