Remove.bg (Online)
If you want to remove the background from a photo that portrays a face, one of the best solutions you can turn to is Remove.bg which, thanks to an “intelligent” algorithm based on Artificial Intelligence, recognizes faces by cutting out the subjects in the photos in a very precise way. Please note that the service is free only if used for personal purposes and if images that have a low resolution (eg up to 625 x 500 pixels) are modified; otherwise you have to subscribe to the Premium subscription, which starts at 9 euros / month.
To use it, connected to the main page of Remove.bg, click on the button Select a photo and select the image you want to retouch. If you want, you can also act on an image taken from the Internet: just paste the URL of the latter into the text field or enter URL. If you are asked to carry out a verification procedure, follow the instructions that appear on the screen to complete it.
After uploading the image, it will be analyzed and processed by the Remove.bg algorithm: you will not have to do anything else, except possibly customize the background by clicking on the button Edit and then pressing the button background present in the window that opens. Finally, select the item Select file from the menu that opens, select the background to apply to the image and press the green button Save. To directly carry out the download for free of the image, instead, you simply have to click on the green button located under the preview and that's it.
GIMP (Windows / macOS / Linux)
Do you want to try some more professional solutions? In that case I suggest you try GIMP, very famous program free and open source (agolable for Windows, macOS and Linux) which allows you to remove the background from photos in a rather simple way. GIMP also integrates various useful tools for retouching photos, which make it a particularly versatile and complete software.
Before explaining how to remove the background from a photo with GIMP, let me walk you through installing the program. First connect to its website, click on the button Download x.x.xx e then on the orange button Download GIMP x.x.xx directly, located on the right of the page.
At the end of the download, open the file you downloaded and follow the installation procedure that is proposed to you: on Windowsclick on your bottone Yes and then on the buttons OK, Install e end. On MacOSinstead, drag the GIMP icon into the folder Applications, right click on the software icon and select the item apri from the menu that appears (you have to do this only when you start GIMP for the first time, to “bypass” the restrictions applied by Apple to programs from non-certified developers).
Once GIMP has started, select the entry apri from the menu Fillet, choose the image you want to work on and then select the item Toggle Quick Mask from the menu Select. At this point, the photo you uploaded will be colored all red. Then select it Path tool from the tool panel located on the left (just click on the icon of the pen) and trace the perimeter of the subject you want to cut out: the more precise you are in this phase of the work, the more satisfying the final reont will be.
As soon as you have finished tracing the perimeter of the photo, disable the quick mask inserted just now (just click on the item Toggle Quick Mask from the menu Select), click on your button Selection from the path which is located in the instrument panel e, as you can see, the perimeter you have trod will be marked by a dotted line. Now, select the item Invert from the menu Select to invert the selection and clear the background by pressing the key Canc keyboard (on Windows) or fn + clear key (your macOS).
If you are satisfied with the reont, save your work by clicking on the item Export as from the menu Fillet and save the photo in the format you want. If you want to get more details on how to edit photos with GIMP, read the in-depth article I just linked to.
Photoshop (Windows/macOS)
If you are really looking for the best, you have no choice but to turn to Photoshop, the professional photo editing program that integrates very powerful tools to cut out and remove the background from photos.
Being a professional software, Photoshop is not free. To download the program on Windows or macOS it is necessary to subscribe to a monthly subscription to the service Creative Cloud, which costs 12,19 €. Before subscribing, you can try all Photoshop's built-in tools for free for 7 days.
If you decide to use Photoshop to remove the background from your photos, take a look at the tutorials in which I explain how to cut out with Photoshop and how to make the background of an image transparent: there you will find all the information you need to make the most of it. the features present in the program developed by Adobe.
Paint (Windows)
If you use a PC Windows can remove the background from a photo also using Paint, the very famous graphics program installed on practically all versions of the Microsoft operating system. However "rudimentary" this solution may seem to you, I guarantee you that the final reont will be quite appreciable.
To remove the background from a photo with Paint, right click on its preview e, from the menu that opens, click on the item Open with e then Paint, in such a way as to open it with the latter. Then click the button Select (located at the top, on the left) e, in the menu that opens, click on the item Select freehe figure, so you can manually select the area to keep and the one to delete (in your specific case, the background).
After you have carefully selected the contours of the subject you want to keep, click on the button again Select, then click on the item Invert selection e, at this point, drag the background of your photo out of the workspace.
As if by "magic", the background of the photo you acted on will be eliminated. If you are satisfied with your work, save it by clicking the button Fillet e then on the voice Save. Tell the truth: you didn't imagine that with Paint it was possible to perform an operation like this, did you?
Paint3D (Windows 10)
If on your PC it is installed Windows 10, the latest version of Microsoft's operating system, you can remove the background from a photo using Paint 3D, the "revised and corrected" version of good old Paint, which I told you about in the previous chapter. Paint 3D makes it even easier to remove the background from a photo, thanks to an ad hoc function that does all the work automatically.
To remove the background from a photo with Paint 3D, right-click on its preview e, from the menu that opens, select the item Open with e then Paint3D. Then click on the item Magic select located at the top and follow the instructions on the screen to complete the operation: then highlight the portion of the photo you want to keep using the box that appears on the photo and click on the button NEXT. At this point, the area of the photo that will be kept will be highlighted in blue: if you want to include elements in the image or if you want to delete some of them, use the appropriate crop tool and click on the button Done.
Now, after you have cropped the main subject using the magic select tool, you can proceed to delete the background of the photo in various ways: you can insert a shape that covers the background by clicking on the symbol of the triangle with circle and square placed at the top; you can add a second image by clicking on the symbol of folderby clicking on the item Inserisci and selecting the image to use as a new background or you can transform the cut out subject into a sticker by selecting it and clicking on the button Create sticker present in the box on the right.
As soon as you are satisfied with the reont, click on the icon folder located at the top left and then click on the item Save from the menu that appears. Easier than that ?!
Preview (macOS)
I use a Mac? Also in this case you can remove the background from a photo using a program included "as steard" on your computer: of course I am referring to Preview, the photo and PDF file reader on macOS.
Removing a background from a photo with Preview is a breeze. You simply have to open the photo you want to act on with this program. If Preview is not the default player on your Mac (because you have "fiddled" a bit with the macOS settings), right-click on the photo in question and then click on the items Open with> Preview give the menu check if you press.
At this point, click on the symbol of pencil located at the top of the Preview window, click on the dashed box in the submenu that appears and choose the selection tool Smart lace. Then delimit the contours of the subject you want to keep by passing the cursor on the perimeter of the photo (which will be highlighted by a Red line).
As soon as you have completed this operation, a dashed line will appear on the perimeter of the subject you want to keep; now click the button Cut out that appeared at the top right and click on the button Converted to convert the image to PNG (obviously if the image you are working on is already in PNG format this warning will not appear). When you are satisfied with the reont, click on the option Save from the menu Fillet (located at the top left). Have you seen how easy it was to remove the background from a photo with Preview?
App to remove the background from a photo
Do you want to remove the background from a photo directly from your smartphone or tablet? Check out the following app to remove the background from photoso: I'm sure you will find one that suits your needs.
- PhotoLayers (Android) - it is an application that allows you to work simultaneously on 11 levels and remove the background from photos in a few taps. If you want to have more details on how to use PhotoLayers, conont the guide where I show how to make the background of an image transparent.
- Superimpose Studio (iOS) - if you are looking for an app to remove the background from a photo using your iPhone or iPad, Superimpose Studio could be for you. The app can be downloaded for free, but to eliminate advertising and to unlock all the features included in it, it is necessary to make in-app purchases starting at € 1,09. You can see how easy it is to use this free app by cononting the guide where I explain how to make the background of an image transparent.
