How To Make An Image Background Transparent In Photoshop

How to Brand an Image Transparent on Photoshop

by Brenda Barron on Mar 19, 2022

Need to play around with the transparency of your latest image?

Making an image transparent – even partially, tin can give you lot endless ways to raise your cloth. For example, you can combine images to create something new for your customers or add a transparent image to a product for branding reasons.

The question for many beginners in the photo editing earth, is how do y'all make an prototype transparent?

The simple answer is Photoshop.

If yous don't accept it yet, yous tin become Photoshop here from Adobe's site.

Photoshop is a popular image manipulation tool that allows you to add transparency to your photos in a range of different means. Today, we're going to look at three different means you tin add transparency to your pictures by discussing how to:

Make layers transparent
Create transparent selections in photos
Create a transparent background
Make the most of your transparent images

Let's begin.

Option 1: Making Layers Transparent

If yous're wondering how to make an image transparent for your portfolio, one easy option is to learn how to make layers transparent. When yous make a layer transparent, you tin add it to other images, or place it onto products without worrying about background edges and opacity. You can even utilise layers to touch-up your photos.

Select the layer y'all desire to brand transparent by clicking on the Layers tab – it looks like a folded page.
Select the opacity level in the box that appears at the elevation of the Layers. The default is 100%, but you tin take information technology as low as 0%.
Save your image as a .PNG file to preserve the transparency.

The Photoshop UI, with the Create a new layer button highlighted

Pick two: Creating Transparent Selections

If yous want to merge or combine pictures in your portfolio, and then you might need to brand parts of your layer transparent. To do this, you'll need to select your layer again like above, but make sure that the layers underneath that image are transparent. Select the area you desire to alter using the selection tool, then:

Re-create the area by right-clicking and choosing Copy
Delete the selection with the Del button
Paste your copied selection into a new layer
Lower the opacity on that layer

A part of the Photoshop UI, highlighting a couple of buttons needed for lowering the opacity of a selection

Pick three: Making a Transparent Background

Maybe y'all want the focus of your image to exist articulate and opaque, but the background to be transparent so that you can combine pictures or movement the subject of your image elsewhere. To do this, you'll need to create a transparent groundwork.

Click on File, so New in Photoshop and a new window will appear.
Go to the department that says, "Groundwork Contents" and select Transparent then click OK
Become to your Layers section and brand sure information technology looks like a checky white and gray box – this will ostend that the layer is transparent.
Add together your image

The New window in Photoshop, with the Background Contents drop-down box expanded to show the options

Once you place your image into the transparent background, y'all'll be able to remove any edges or actress elements from the photograph that y'all likewise want to be transparent. To do this, click on the Eraser tool or Magic Eraser tool on the left-mitt side of the image. Elevate the eraser over the areas that y'all desire to make transparent.

Getting the Most out of Your Transparent Photos

Once y'all've learned how to make an epitome transparent in Photoshop, it's important to brand sure that you lot can use those images without them accidentally taking on a new background when yous open the file. The key is to make sure that your layers don't merge when y'all're saving your Photoshop file.

When saving your new transparent photo, click on the Format drop-downwardly menu and select the PNG pick. Choose a location where you'll be able to easily find your image and hitting the Salve button.

If you can't see a PNG file option on your Photoshop documents, so you may exist editing your image in the CMYK format, which means that you'll need to convert it into the RGB manner, so you can salvage as a PNG file. Don't salve as JPG equally this will eliminate all of your difficult piece of work.

There you lot have it – learning how to brand an prototype transparent with Photoshop was probably much easier than you thought! Now you tin can utilize your transparent photos to create a stunning choice of pictures to add together to your growing portfolio!

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