Change the Background in an Old Picture Using Photoshop

Have you ever thought about a beautiful old picture that you took a long time ago? And, have you ever thought that it would be more beautiful if it had a wonderful view on the back? Don’t worry; you can change it because of a new technology today. You will have many backgrounds on your picture to make it look new and fancy. The instruction below provides you a guide to do step by step to change the background of an old picture. Thus, you will be happy with your old picture in a new version.

Steps

  1. Save the picture that you want to use as a background. You might want to save it in a folder for your current project.
  2. Get the picture that you want to replace the background of, in the same folder. If you have a scanner, scan it, or take it to a store that will scan your photos for you.
  3. Save it with your background photo.
  4. Save Old Picture into JPG format, then open your image using your chosen graphic program. Some are Photoshop, Gimp, Paint Shop Pro, etc. The following steps are specific to Photoshop, but the instructions can be adapted for your chosen program.
  5. Click on Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) on the left side of the Menu.
  6. See a plus sign (+) on the screen then click and drag the (+) around your picture.
  7. Click on Edit on the Toolbar > click on Cut.
  8. Close the Old Picture (click on the cross sign on the corner of the picture).
  9. Click on “No” in the message box if it asks you to save or change.
  10. Click on File in the Toolbar > Click on New > Click OK.
  11. Click on Edit > Click on Paste or Ctrl + V.
  12. Click on Image in the Toolbar > Click on Image Size and don’t change the Pixel Dimension.
  13. Change the size of the width of this picture to {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}, OR change the size of the height of this picture {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}.
  14. Change the Resolution into 200pixels/280pixels and click OK.
  15. Use Lasso Tool (L) on the left side of the Menu to delete the background of your Old Picture.
  16. Click on (L) to circle on the area that you need to delete then hit delete on your keyboard.
  17. Use on Hand Tool (H) on the left side of the Menu to move the picture up and down or left and right.
  18. Use Zoom Tool (Z) on the left side of the Menu to zoom picture in or out.
  19. Use Eraser Tool (E) on the left side of the Menu to erase the small pieces of the background, or some spots that have not been deleted completely.
  20. Click on File > Open.
  21. Click on Background Work Folder > click on New Background > Open.
  22. Click on Image on the Toolbar > click on Image Size.
  23. Follow on the STEP 6 (3, 4, 5), but on (3) you have to change the height to {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} or the width to {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}.
  24. Click on File > click on New.
    • Name (named it Edit Background).
    • Preset Size: Custom
    • Width: {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}
    • Height: {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}
    • Resolution: 280 pixel/inches
    • Mode: RGB Color
    • Contents: White
  25. Click OK.
  26. Click on Move Tool (M) on the left side of your Menu.
  27. Use (M) to click and drag the New Background into Edit Background.
  28. Close your New Background.
  29. Use (M) to click and drag your picture (that you just finished deleting the background) into Edit Background.
  30. Click on Magic Wand Tool (W) to see the missing spots.
  31. Click anywhere in your picture, then press "delete" on the keyboard.
  32. Use (E) to erase the missing spots shown on the Edit Background.
  33. Use (W) to click around your picture.
  34. Click on Select on the Toolbar > Modify > Smooth > Smooth Selection. > Sample Radius: 12 pixels > OK.
  35. Go back to Select on the Toolbar > Modify > Expand > Expand Section. > Expand by: 5 pixels > OK.
  36. Click on File on the Toolbar > click on Save As….
  37. Click on Background Work Folder > give a name to your new picture. Save it into JPG format.
  38. Click OK, then the JPEG box comes up:
  39. JPEG Options:
    • Image Options
    • Quality: 12 Maximum or click and drag from small file to large file
    • Format Option: Click on Baseline “Standard”
    • Click: OK.



Tips

  •  If you click on (Z), you will see (+) or (-) on the top Menu; the (+) uses for zoom out and (-) uses for zoom in.
  •  On the right hand side, you can see Navigator (show all your works), History (tell you what tools that you used), and Layer (tell you what layer are you at, so the highlighted one is you are working on).
  •  If you Right click on (L), you can see Polygonal Lasso Tool and Magnetic Lasso Tool. Both of them are used deleting the background, too. However, if you want to use those Tools, you have to be careful clicking on it.
  • You can only change the width or the height. Make sure the size of it is INCHES. If it is not in inch, the Resolution cannot change. In addition, the Resolution can be 280pixel/inches if your old picture is clear.
  •  If you cannot use (E) to areas your picture, maybe your picture is still in the Select option. As a result, you can go to Select on the Toolbar > Deselect or Ctrl + D
  •  You can use (H) to move the picture if the picture is saved into PSD format.
  • Make sure you put a plus (+) sign on the top of your picture where you want to cut, and drag it down to the right.
  •  If you do not finish deleting your background, you must save your picture in the Background Work Folder, and save it into PSD format.
  •  If you click on (E), you will see the size of (E) on the top Menu; so you can change the size of (E).
  • You should create a New Folder for this project because you will need it to save other pictures and keep them organized in your whole project. For example, this Folder is named Background Work.
  •  The size of the picture is always {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}*{{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}*280pixels/inches
  •  Use the White in the Contents because it is easy for you to see all the tiny things on your picture.
  •  If you see your picture look bigger than the background, go to Edit > Undo the picture back. Then right click on the top of your picture to change the size of your picture.
  • Smooth and Modify just make you picture stand out on your background. Now you are finished creating your new background, and you’re ready to save it.
  • If you want to edit or change your picture later, you should save it into PSD format.
    • Use (Z) to zoom out your picture, and use (E) to erase the tiny spots in your background picture.
  • After you're finished using with (L), you should double click on it.
    • If your background do not fit into the Edit Background screen, you can go to Edit on the Toolbar > Free Transform. Put the pointer arrow on the square box and click on Shift on the keyboard to drag it.
    • You can click on the (T) on the left side of the Menu for writing texts. In addition, when you want to change it, you have to highlight it on the Layers, then click on the text to change.

Warnings

  • If you save your picture in JPG format, you cannot continue your work when you open it again.
  • Your picture should not look bigger that your background, otherwise when people look at it they can know.
      • When you use Eraser Tool (E) in many layers, you MUST make sure you click on the right layer. If you click on the wrong layer, it will be damage your picture.

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