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Participant
December 13, 2022
Answered

Remove background with new release

  • December 13, 2022
  • 2 replies
  • 3177 views

I like the ability to detect the background using the new release, but how do I use that feature to remove the background or change its color?

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Correct answer drtonyb

The Background mask is simply the Subject mask Inverted.

If Add Background gives you a reasonable mask, then you can use any of the masking adjustments to change the background's appearance. For instance, pushing the Exposure down will darken it and going all the way to -4 could make it almost black. Use the Color adjustments to change colour, Temperature/Tint, Hue, Saturation and/or the Color.

 

Sometimes the Object mask gives a better mask and Inverting that will target everything except the Object.

 

Experiment. In many cases, LrC's masking makes it easy to alter the Background when there is a clearly separated Subject or Object.

 

2 replies

drtonybCorrect answer
Legend
December 14, 2022

The Background mask is simply the Subject mask Inverted.

If Add Background gives you a reasonable mask, then you can use any of the masking adjustments to change the background's appearance. For instance, pushing the Exposure down will darken it and going all the way to -4 could make it almost black. Use the Color adjustments to change colour, Temperature/Tint, Hue, Saturation and/or the Color.

 

Sometimes the Object mask gives a better mask and Inverting that will target everything except the Object.

 

Experiment. In many cases, LrC's masking makes it easy to alter the Background when there is a clearly separated Subject or Object.

 

Ian Lyons
Community Expert
Community Expert
December 13, 2022

You cannot remove the background as that is the domain of Photoshop.

Participant
December 13, 2022

Perhaps I didn't explain this well enough. I take photographs of objects against a background. I want to remove the background from the photographs. There is a new feature in Lightroom that detects the background automatically.  I want to know how to use that feature to change the color of the background (of my photographs, not of Lightroom!) or remove the background altogether.

Rob_Cullen
Community Expert
Community Expert
December 14, 2022

The Masking UI in LrC V12.1 is much improved.

Once you create the mask with the background selected you have all the adjustments available in the Masking panel- (Tone, COlor, Presence, Detail)

As others advise- Anything more requires Photoshop!

 

Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.1.1, Photoshop 27.3.1, ACR 18.1.1, Lightroom 9.0, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0.2 .