How to Cut Hair Out of Complicated Photo Backgrounds

Cutting hair out from a solid color studio backdrop is an intricate enough task itself, but cutting it out from a complicated background is enough to make some of us defenestrate our computers. Luckily, this helpful tutorial will show you how to do it, and you won't have to throw your computer out the window.

Coming to you from Unmesh Dinda of PiXimperfect, this helpful tutorial will show you how to cut hair out of a complicated background. The problem with hair is of course that its overall geometry is anything but simple, and unless it stands in stark contrast to the background in some way, it can be extremely difficult to select it (and nothing else). It turns out that most of the time, instead of trying to perfectly select every last strand, it's better to create a roughly accurate selection that gets the majority of the hair, then use a bit of finesse and brush work to add sections and strands back in in a convincing manner. It's certainly an involved process, but if you need to cut someone out of a complicated image, the results are worth the effort. Check out the video above for the full rundown. 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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3 Comments

"Defenestrate" shall become my word of the week, now I've looked it up in the dictionary! 😁

It’s one of my favorites! 😊

Understandably!