Need to get rid of a distracting background on an otherwise picture-perfect photo? There are a number of easy ways to remove the background from an image and make it transparent, which can be useful in many situations.
Most standard photo editors will have a background removal option, and there are even some online tools dedicated just to that task. But which are the best ones? And how can you use them in the most effective way?
Why Would You Want to Make an Image Background Transparent?
There are a number of reasons why you'd want to generate an invisible background for an image. The most common one is to create a versatile logo. When you design a logo, you want it to look good on every website and over any color print. A transparent background is the best way to achieve that.
Additionally, learning how to make a background transparent can help you edit multiple layers of an image easily and efficiently. You can freely move an object with a see-through background and produce a whole new image that looks just as professional.
By making the background transparent, you can pick the picture's most important object, and place it in different locations, which is great for marketing purposes. Here are the best tools to help you with that.
1. Adobe Photoshop
Photoshop is by far the most common software that graphic designers use. It contains multiple tools to help you create beautiful images, or touch up existing ones. But even if you're not an expert, it's quite easy to understand how to make an image background transparent with this software.
Thanks to Adobe Sensei's AI core, which helps identify the parts of the image that make up the background, you can remove it in just a few steps. First, you'll need to duplicate your current layer. Then, it's just a matter of picking Remove Background from Properties.
For more details, here is a full step-by-step guide on how to make the image background transparent with Photoshop.
2. GIMP
For most people, GIMP is the Photoshop equivalent. It offers many of the same editing features. However, since it's an open-source tool, it's completely free to use. You just need to download it and install the app on your computer.
The best way to remove the background is with the Foreground Selection Tool, which is located under Tools > Selection Tools.
- Draw with the tools around the object you wish to keep. You don't have to be accurate here; a rough sketch will do. Just try to be as close to the object as possible and make sure to close the selection.
- Press Enter. This will show the background as blue.
- Brush over the part of the picture that you want to keep. Again, this doesn't have to be completely accurate, just close to the border. You can enlarge or reduce the brush size with the [ ] keys.
- Tick Preview Mask to see the result, so you can tweak it if you're not satisfied.
- When you are satisfied, click Select.
- Go to Select > Invert.
- On the right side of the screen, right-click on your image and select Add Alpha Channel. This will provide a transparent background.
- Hit the Delete button.
- Save the image to your computer as a PNG.
3. Canva
If you don't have the greatest eye for design, but want to create sleek graphics, Canva is the best way to go. It is user-friendly and comes with a variety of drag-and-drop templates, as well as free-to-use pictures to help create anything from a calendar to an Instagram puzzle feed.
While the option to make a background transparent is not available in the free version, it may be worth the extra $9.99 per month. Especially when you take into account that it's much cheaper than paying for Photoshop. And it also takes just one click in the Effects menu to produce amazing results.
4. Adobe Express
Adobe Express has many features that are similar to Canva. It allows you to create presentations, Facebook posts, business cards, and more—all with beautiful templates that are also drag-and-drop.
Like Canva, this online software can make an image background transparent with just one click in the Image menu, and a button called Remove Background.
You can make additional modifications to improve the result. This is with the Erase Brush in the Edit Cutout menu, which lets you remove additional sections of the picture that weren't deleted automatically.
Furthermore, Adobe Express lets you save this image as a transparent PNG without the need to pay for Pro. Simply go to Download > PNG > Transparent PNG.
5. LunaPic
If you need a quick fix for a picture and don't want to spend any money at all, LunaPic may be the solution for you. This is a free online editor with all of the basic design features, as well as many effects and filters.
You can upload any picture from your computer, or even straight from a URL. Then, navigate to Edit > Transparent Background, and click on the colors you wish to eliminate.
The results are quite good, and there are additional tools for more precise work, as well as a video tutorial to help you out.
6. Remove.bg
Most of the tools we listed until now are well-rounded image and photo editors that come with multiple features. This is not the case with Remove.bg.
The tool, which is now owned by Canva, uses an AI to do just one thing—cut the background out and generate an amazing outcome. All you have to do is upload a picture to the website and then save the transparent creation. It works well with any background, no matter how complex.
There's even a desktop app that lets you drag and drop as many files as you want to create a transparent background. If you're a videographer, it's worth knowing that Unscreen uses the same technology to remove backgrounds from videos. And it's all free.
7. PowerPoint
You'll be happy to hear that you can even remove the background from an image with the software that's installed on almost all work computers: PowerPoint.
In the Picture Format menu, there is a button called Remove Background. When you click it, the software will identify what it perceives to be the background and make it transparent. In situations where the object is defined and the background is simple, it can work well.
However, if the background is comprised of several colors, the first click will not generate the best results. This can be fixed with a few more touch-ups. The software will show you the area it wants to remove from the picture.
With the help of the button Mark Areas To Keep, you can go over additional selections very roughly, and it will identify similar areas to complete the selection. The final image with the transparent background can either be used on the presentation or saved as a transparent PNG.
After you've learned how to make the background of a picture transparent, you can use this skill to layer several pictures on top of each other and produce new and exciting images. There is a whole world of image editing software out there, with filters, effects, and advanced tools, just waiting to be discovered.
FAQs
How do I make a picture background transparent in Word? ›
Launch Word. Insert a picture into your document. Click the picture and click the Format Picture tab and click the Transparency button in the Adjust group. In the Transparency menu, choose a percentage of how you want the image to be transparent.
How do I make a white background transparent? ›Tool. Click anywhere in your white background just select it now just hit the Delete key on your
What is a transparent image? ›With an image or graphic, transparent refers to an image that is clear and can take the effect of any images behind it. Below is an example of the Computer Hope logo with a transparent background. The image is the same but looks different with each of the different colored backgrounds.
How can I make the background of an image transparent online? ›Use Lunapic to make your image Transparent, or to remove background. Use form above to pick an image file or URL. Then, just click the color/background your want to remove.
How do you remove the background of a picture in Word 2007? ›- Select the picture that you want to remove the background from.
- On the toolbar, select Picture Format > Remove Background, or Format > Remove Background.
Select the desired layer, then click the Opacity drop-down arrow at the top of the Layers panel. Click and drag the slider to adjust the opacity. You'll see the layer opacity change in the document window as you move the slider. If you set the opacity to 0%, the layer will become completely transparent, or invisible.
What is a picture with a transparent background called? ›A PNG is an image file type that allows you to have no background color.
How do I make background color transparent in CSS? ›To set the opacity of a background, image, text, or other element, you can use the CSS opacity property. Values for this property range from 0 to 1. If you set the property to 0, the styled element will be completely transparent (ie. invisible).
How do I make a transparent background in gimp? ›- Open your image.
- Select the area you want to make transparent. ...
- In the Layer window (the one showing your image), select Layer – Transparency – Add Alpha Channel.If this is blanked out then it's already done. ...
- Select Edit – Clear. ...
- Save the file.
Select if from the Tool Panel, click on the white background to select it. Click on the add layer mask icon to delete the background you'll have similar results as shown below. Press CTRL + I to inverse the layer mask results. You'll see now the background is transparent.
What is a transparent logo? ›
Quick definition time: When you hear the term “transparent logo,” it means a logo with a transparent background (a.k.a. no background at all).
What are transparent objects examples? ›Materials like air, water, and clear glass are called transparent. When light encounters transparent materials, almost all of it passes directly through them. Glass, for example, is transparent to all visible light.
Where is the image background transparent? ›- StickPNG is another website that features nothing but images with transparent backgrounds. ...
- PNGTree has an absolutely massive database of transparent images. ...
- FavPNG is another website that hosts tons of transparent images. ...
- FreePNGs is a moderately-sized transparent image database with roughly 170,000 images.
Transparency is essentially what enables us to create visual effects by taking one portion of an image and combining it with another. By cutting out what we want or don't want, we create an isolated feature that we can then manipulate further in the context of our shot.
How do I make the background of an image transparent in Illustrator? ›On your keyboard, press Ctrl + Shift + D (or Cmd + Shift + D on Mac). This will show the transparency grid, which allows you to see if your image is transparent or not. Select the image on the artboard with the Selection Tool. You can press V on your keyboard to activate this tool.
How do I make a JPEG image background transparent? ›How do I make a JPEG transparent? To make the JPG background transparent, upload your photo or drag n drop it to the editor. Next, remove the background from the image by clicking on the 'Remove BG' button. Once the JPG image is transparent, download it in multiple file formats.
How do you make an image transparent in Paint 3d? ›To make the background transparent, simply click the “Canvas” tab at the top of the screen, make sure “Show canvas” is selected, and turn on the “Transparent canvas” setting.
How do you remove background in Word 2013? ›Word 2013: Background Removal - YouTube
How do I remove the white background from a logo in Word? ›Super Easy Remove Picture Background in MS Word - YouTube
How do you remove background in Word 2010? ›Word 2010: Background Removal - YouTube
How do I make a layer transparent in Illustrator? ›
Change Opacity of a Shape
Opacity is found in the Appearance panel within the Properties panel. Click the arrow to the right of the 100% opacity indicator. This will pop the opacity slider open.
Change the coloring or transparency of an image
Students can adjust the image of their choice by selecting the image, clicking "Image Options" from the toolbar and choosing their desired option under "Recolor." They can also adjust the image transparency in the same menu.
How To Make Logo Background Transparent in Photoshop! - YouTube
How do you know if an image is transparent? ›Images that have transparency often illustrate it by using a gray and white checkered pattern. The idea is that you can see which parts of the image will be transparent before you save it. The checkered pattern is the background. There's no transparency.
How do I remove background color in Word? ›Remove a background
Go to Page Layout > Page Color. Select No Color.
How to Remove the Background of a Photo in Chromebook - YouTube
How do you highlight text in HTML? ›The <mark> tag in HTML is used to define the marked text. It is used to highlight the part of the text in a paragraph.
How do you add a background color to a marquee in HTML? ›The Marquee bgcolor attribute in HTML is used to set the backgroundcolor of marquee. Note: This attribute is no longer supported in HTML5. Attribute value: color name: Define the background color of the marquee.
How do you color text in HTML? ›- color_name: It sets the text color by using color name. For example: “red”.
- hex_number: It sets the text color by using color hex code. For example: “#0000ff”.
- rgb_number: It sets the text color by using rgb code. For example: “rgb(0, 153, 0)”.
Go to the "Layer" option, click on the "Transparency" option, and choose the "Add Alpha Channel" option. Step 4: Once the Alpha Channel is added, you can now delete the white background from your image.
How do I remove transparent in GIMP? ›
How to Erase to Transparency in GIMP - YouTube
How do I get rid of transparent background in GIMP? ›If you selected the background, select Delete (for Windows) or Edit > Clear (for Mac) to remove your image's background to transparent.
Can you make a JPEG with transparent background? ›You can't make a JPEG image transparent. You should use a format that allows transparency, like GIF or PNG. Paint will open these files, but AFAIK it'll erase transparency if you edit the file. Use some other application like Paint.NET (it's free).
Can you save a JPEG with a transparent background? ›JPEG formats don't support transparent backgrounds and will save your new image with a white background instead.
Why are my Pngs not transparent? ›Not ALL applications support transparent PNG files unless the file itself is devoid of any "invisible" (there, but layer turned off in Photoshop) layers that might become visible if the application cannot distinguish between a layer that is visible and a layer that is not.
Does JPEG have transparency? ›The JPEG format doesn't support transparency. But we can create our own transparency using a second image as an alpha channel.
Is a PNG transparent? ›png, stands for Portable Network Graphics. It is a type of image format that web designers use to create websites because it supports transparent backgrounds and/or semi-transparent images (it is, in fact, the only type of image format that supports transparency).
How do you make a transparent background in Paint 3d? ›On the toolbar, select Canvas. In the Canvas pane on the side, turn on Transparent canvas. Move your object back on the canvas area, and adjust the dimensions of the canvas, if you want. To save the edited image, select Menu > Save as > Image.
Which image file has a transparent background? ›Transparency. The GIF and PNG formats also both support transparency. If you need any level of transparency in your image, you must use either a GIF or a PNG. GIF images (and also PNG) support 1-color transparency.
How do I remove a PNG background in Photoshop? ›- Open your image with a white background.
- Next, go to the Layer panel on the right and open the Quick Actions menu.
- In Quick Actions, choose Remove Background. The tool will locate the solid color background, strip it out, and turn it transparent.
- Save your new image as a PNG file.
How do I save a transparent background in Krita? ›
Krita How To Save Text With Transparent Background Change ...
How do I make a logo with a transparent background in Photoshop? ›How To Make Logo Background Transparent in Photoshop! - YouTube
Why is my PNG showing white background? ›You can confirm that your file has been converted by pressing edit on the image on your device from the Apple Photos app (see below) If the background turns black then transparency has been maintained. If it stays white then the image has been converted to a JPG file.
Why PNG has background? ›Designers often use PNG files for logos. That's because the format supports transparent backgrounds, which means designers can layer logo files on different backgrounds in a way that looks natural.
How do you know if an image is transparent? ›Images that have transparency often illustrate it by using a gray and white checkered pattern. The idea is that you can see which parts of the image will be transparent before you save it. The checkered pattern is the background.
What is a transparent file? ›What is a Transparent Format? A transparent logo is a logo in PNG or vector format. They are easy to recognize as the background of the image is invisible unlike other formats like JPEG.
What is transparent effect? ›Transparency is essentially what enables us to create visual effects by taking one portion of an image and combining it with another. By cutting out what we want or don't want, we create an isolated feature that we can then manipulate further in the context of our shot.
What is transparent background? ›A transparent background is usually a faded background with the main image, such as a logo, in the front. Such a design with the transparent background looks unique and fresh. Therefore, it becomes a branding tool, as well. You can use many tools, such as Photoshop to create transparent backgrounds.