Remove Background and More

[hunterarmstrong]

It is absolute insanity to use the word "quickly" in front of the words "remove background in your images" (see below) to describe this process. I've been using Photoshop since 2000. The processes have been made so complex that the directions below read "choose help" from the menu bar. Remove background should be easily accesbile. I'm a full time shooter who makes his living behind the camera, not having to spend 15 minutes researching how to perform a simple remove background. Please create a version of Photoshp called "Independent" or "Full-Time" which makes it easy for full-time, independent photographers (not retouchers) to "quickly" access something like remove background from the menus instead of having to to "investigate" how to do it. These "advanced, search for half-an-hour" methods are great for talented retouchers who only sit in front of a computer most or all of the day. I make my living behind the camera and this is precious time wasted on having to use search enginge, Ctrl+F, Discover Panel and what feels like a 1,000 things to just get to one action. Thank you! 

[Derek Cross · Accepted solution]

Welcome to this friendly user-to-user support forum.

There are numerous ways of removing backgrounds, the method you use will depend on the kind of image you have and your skills.
A quick way, for example, of removing a background from a portrait might be Select > Subject (fine-tuning, perhaps using the Quick Mask option) then applying a Layer Mask. With a simple image it will take seconds.

[Stephen_A_Marsh · Accepted solution]

@hunterarmstrong 

Unlock your background layer to access the "Remove Background" button in the Quick Actions area of the Properties panel:

Or directly from a locked flattened Background layer press the "Remove background" button (which automates the Select Subject & Add Layer Mask steps):

The "Quick Actions" shown above were added to Photoshop to simplify tasks for users like yourself. There is no need to make a simplified version of Photoshop, it already exists and is named Photoshop Elements.

[Trevor.Dennis · Accepted solution]

Did you not have the Remove Background button in Properties as Stephen showed you.  The UI has changed a bit just recently with more things working from the Properties panel or Contextual Task Bar, but if can get a handle on those functions, Photoshop is incredibly fast and easy to use, and extraordinarily accurate most of the time.