The Extract Filter
posted by photoboy27
Learn how to use the extract filter.
1. Open your image.
2. When you choose Filter > Extract, a huge dialog box will pretty much take over your screen. This is command central for removing the backgrounds on soft-edged objects and for objects in motion. Before we start working with the tools in the Extract dialog box, let me give you an overview of what’s needed to successfully extract an image from its background. Extract needs three pieces of information: which areas should be thrown away, which areas should be kept, and which areas contain the transition between the first two areas (including semi-transparent areas).
3. The general idea is to use the Edge Highlighter tool
4. Define the boundary between subject and background (it shows up as a green overlay)
5. Then click with the Fill tool (which looks like a paint bucket) to fill whichever side of that boundary you’d like to keep (it shows up as a blue overlay). The only thing that prevents the Fill tool from filling the entire image is the green highlighting. That makes it important to create a continuous outline around the subject of the photo with no breaks in it. When you preview the extraction, Photoshop will throw away the areas that don’t have any color on top of them and keep the areas that are covered with blue. It will also figure out what to do in the transition areas that are covered with green by comparing that area to the keep and throw-away areas
6. And here’s the final result.
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very helpful
When ever I use the extract filter in the way that you showed, I get bits of the background image with it. Or it will delete parts of the area that I wanted to keep.
I get the same thing Cki gets. A bunhc of squares of background added to the picture
I too get the same problems. What settings are recommended for brush sizes? When should you use smart highlighting?
how do i add background on that?
Helpful, thanks!
Additional steps on adding background would be much appreciated.
You create a new layer, place it under the image and whatvery you place there is your new background
I have the same problems as the others. I tried different settings I did it 10or so times with rather unsatisfactory results too bad this could be useful
The smaller your brush size the more accurate your picture and you won’t get any blank dots as someone asked earlier..
Pretty nice.!!! Thanks.!!
hey , thnx for da tut it is pretty helpfull but i have da same problems of da other guys so plz we need help i have tryed every thing but i couldnt make it better , da resulte always come with problems , anyway thnx and realy we need help
Use small brush then select preview. once the picture is previewed you can use the edge tools to tidy up any bits that are straggling
I love it! It had all of the necessary directions to create it on my own
Very useful most need quite a bit of cleaning after but still very good item
To fix the problems you’re having, after finishing the extract go to history pallet and click on the little box on the left to activate the history brush before the extract command, then select the history brush tool and paint back what’s missing from the picture
how would you add a background. Or if you wanted to combine another pic with that and then add a background?
Very useful,helpful thanks for tutorial
I keep on getting random blotchy parts of the picture around the place.. .i’ve tried using smaller brushes but it doesn’t make it any more clear. Not too helpful :\
yea i use this tool to i dont have frizzy hair but its amazing just for cut outs great work
nice very nice, after extract tool just belowup hair areas copy then overlay in blending mode this is great.
Very Intersesting, thanks
very very useful thanks
i think it’s good tool for time saving … (Fardeen Khan,Bannu)
Fantastic tip ! time saving in the extreme !
hm did you manually apply the edge highlighter on the hair? or is there a faster way around it?
i’m mainly looking for a way to extract things fast, i alreayd know how to use this method
thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanke you very very much
realy it’s very nice
I thought this was pretty standard information. I was hoping to get some good tips for making the extract clean.
I’ve done dozens of these but never been able to get a totally clean one.
I am a rookie PS user. This was helpful, but then I didnt’ know how to take what I extracted and use it in another photo. Good stuff anyway. Thanks
very cool