How to Cut an Image on Photoshop

Last Updated: July 15, 2019

This wikiHow will teach you how to cut an image in Photoshop. This is particularly helpful if there is an object in your picture you don’t want there. For instance, you can use this method to remove the background of a photo.

Steps

1
Open your project in Photoshop. You can open an image in Photoshop by right-clicking the image file, selecting Open with… and Photoshop.
2
Click the Quick Selection tool. This is in the menu to the left in the application window. You can also press W. The Quick Selection tool selects all pixels that are similar in color.
- For example, if you’re deleting the red in a candy cane and use the Quick Selection tool in a red area, all the red in the candy cane will be selected, but the white will not.
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3
Click and drag on what you want to delete. The Quick Selection tool will select similar pixels to what you clicked on.
- To add to the selection, continue clicking on the canvas.
- To undo a selection, press ⌥ Opt or Alt and click the area you want to deselect.^{[1]
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4
Refine the edges of your selection. You’ll find the option to Refine Edge in the Select tab in the menu you can find either along the top of your screen or the top of the application window. You’ll see your image with the image cut previewed.
- Refine your edges with Radius, Smooth, Feather, Contrast, and Shift Edge. Each of these options will help you define the edges of your cut, making it smoother and harder to tell something has been cut.^{[2]
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5
Press Ctrl+X or ⌘ Cmd+X to cut your selection. Your selection will disappear from the canvas, but it is copied in your clipboard.