Cutting out hair made easy with Photoshop Elements

Removing hair is one of the most demanding tasks in image editing. In this tutorial, I'll show you how to professionally cut out hair using Photoshop Elements. You'll learn how to use the "Refine Edge" tool optimally and get tips on how to quickly and easily trace even small strands of hair. Let's dive right into the work!

Main Insights

• The "Refine Edge" tool is essential for precise hair selection.
• You can add small strands of hair yourself using the brush tool.
• By adjusting opacity and fade, you can make your cutouts look more natural.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Selecting the Hair

First, open the image in which you want to cut out the hair. Click on the selection tool and choose "Subject Select." This tool helps you quickly select the main subject, which is particularly useful for complex hair structures.

Step 2: Refining the Edge

After making the rough selection, click on "Refine Edge." In this mode, you can refine the edges of your selection. You will see that anything displayed in red is not selected, while the colorful areas remain visible.

Step 3: Refining the Radius

You should use the brush for the "Refine Radius" tool. Brush along the hair edges to optimize the selection around the strands of hair, allowing you to capture more detailed structures.

Step 4: Checking the Result

In this step, you can review the selection in various views. For example, you can switch the display to "Black" to better evaluate how well the hair is cut out.

Step 5: Refining with Edge Adjusting

If the selection doesn't look perfect yet, you can use the "Feather Edge" or "Contrast" options to further improve the result. Be cautious, especially with fine strands of hair, not to lose too much detail.

Step 6: Creating a Layer Mask

If you are satisfied with the selection, you can export it as a layer mask. This will separate the selected person from the background while keeping the edited layer intact.

Step 7: Adding Texture

To ensure that the hair is well cut out, you can add a new texture as a background. Drag the texture into the image and position it behind the cut-out subject.

Step 8: Fine-Tuning and Detailing

Now, take a closer look at the newly cut-out hair section. If you notice any uncertainties or incomplete areas, you can refine the edges further using the brush tool and reduced opacity.

Step 9: Adding Hair Strands

If you find that the cutout was not optimal, you can use "Add Hair" to make corrections. To do this, create a new layer and carefully paint missing hair strands in the image. Use a small brush with reduced opacity to make the strands look soft and natural.

Step 10: Final Adjustments

View the overall image at 100%. You want to make sure everything looks harmonious. If there are still inaccuracies, go back to the layer mask and use the brush tool to make the final refinements in the image cutout.

Summary

In this tutorial, you learned how to professionally cut out hair using Photoshop Elements by using the "Refine Edge" tool. The additions of hair strands and fine-tuning options provide you with valuable techniques to significantly enhance your image edits. Follow the steps below to achieve an appealing result!