Photoshop: Simple Masking

This tutorial will teach you how to use layer masks to erase parts of an image without destroying the real image itself.
All images used in this tutorial are copyright © Getty Images.

Step 1

Find an image you would like to remove the background of. I will remove the background of the woman so it will blend in with the background image.

Step 2

Now click the Add Layer Mask button on the layers window, with the layer of the woman selected.

Step 3

A tiny white square will now appear to the right, which is the layer mask. To remove her background, I used the Brush tool and a soft rounded brush.

Step 4

Make sure the layer mask (white square) is selected and begin to paint the areas you wish to remove with black. If you do a mistake, switch to white and simply paint on the areas you would like to reveal again.