How to Extract Mask Hair in Photoshop
- 1). Open the image in Photoshop. Press "W" to activate the Quick Selection tool, and check the "Auto-Enhance" box in the toolbar. Drag the selection tool across the subject until you have almost all of the person selected. Use "Alt" > "Click" to deselect any parts that were picked up by mistake. The selection does not have to be 100 percent accurate: Aim for a close fit with the subject.
- 2). Click "Refine Edge" in the toolbar to open the dialog box. Click on the View mode drop-down box, and select a view that best shows the hair. If the hair is dark, choose a view against white and vice versa.
- 3). Slide the radius slider to the right and to around 50 pixels, and release. The image will update and show more of the hair against white, for example. Increase the radius a little more if not all of the hair is showing.
- 4). Remove any remaining pieces of background around the hair by selecting the Refine Radius tool, which is to the left of the Edge Detection slider. Paint over the edge of the hair, and let the program recalculate the edge. This will remove most of the remaining background.
- 5). Select the "Decontaminate Colors" check box in "Output," and slide the "Amount" slider to about 85 percent. This slider removes any fringing of the old background color from around the edge of the subject. Make sure "Output to" is set to "New Layer with Layer Mask." Click "OK" to complete the extraction.
- 6). Check the edges of your subject for any stray pixels that were not removed. Click on the mask in the "Layers" tab, and paint with a very small black brush to remove those areas. Painting with black on a mask hides the pixels; painting with white shows them. Use "File>Save As" to save your photo under a new name.
