How to remove background from a picture on Mac: all options

Aspects that you should take into account

Before entering fully into the process using different tools and applications we have to talk about a fundamental aspect to be able to carry out this action satisfactorily. The fact of eliminating the background of an image that is usually a fixed color consists of selecting this color so that said program or tool can identify it and eliminate it from the image.

For this selection to be made properly you have to take into account tolerance . This is the difference between the color sample and the standard, that is, the difference between the background color you have selected and the rest of the image. Choosing an adequate tolerance what you will achieve is that the image cropping is much more precise and therefore the result is the best possible. In the tools and applications that we are going to talk about below, this tolerance can be configured in different ways.

Remove the background without installing anything

Surely when you entered this post to find the easiest way to remove the background of an image, you thought that you would have to install an application that would allow you to carry out this action. The reality is that there are several apps that allow you to do it, however, if all you want is to remove the background of an image, Apple‘s own computer has a native tool that allows you to do it.

This application is Preview, the same application as a PDF document whenever you select opens a picture open on your Mac. With it you can remove the background from an image in just a few seconds carrying out a series of steps really easy to perform. They are as follows.

1. Open the image with Preview.
2. Click on “View”.
3. Click ” Show Markup Toolbar .”
   
4. Click on the “Instant Alpha” tool.
5. Select the background and drag the cursor until the red color overlaps the background you want to remove. In this way you are setting the tolerance.
6. Click on ” Edit ” and then on “Delete”.
7. You will get a message to confirm that you want to convert the image to png. Click on ” Convert “.
8. You already have your image without a background available in png format.

Use these professional apps

As we mentioned before, both in the App Store and on the internet there are many professional photo editing applications that allow you to perform this action. In this case, we will talk about two of the most popular and that work best on macOS. In addition, as you can see below, the steps you have to carry out are really simple.

Photoshop

If you like the world of photographic editing, surely at some point or another you have heard the name of this application, since it is one of the most used by all professionals in the sector. To be able to use Photoshop you will have to go through the checkout, but it is really worth it if you are going to use it with a certain frequency because it has a tremendous amount and variety of tools that will allow you to carry out practically any idea.

Obviously, one of these tools, or functions, that Photoshop puts on the table for users is to be able to eliminate the background of a photograph to leave only the object or person that we want to obtain, thus obtaining an image in png format, it is say, with the transparent background. The steps you have to follow in Photoshop to achieve this are really simple, and once you have them clear, you will only have to invest a few seconds. You have them below.

1. Open the image in Photoshop.
2. Unlock the image layer by clicking the lock that appears next to it at the bottom right of the screen.
3. Lock the transparency by clicking on the square icon with diamonds.
4. Select the magic wand from the toolbar.
5. Click with the magic wand on the bottom of the image, you can vary the tolerance in the top menu where it says “Toler”.
6. Hold down the fn key and also press the Delete key.
7. At this time you will have your image without a background, now you just have to export it to be able to use it.

Pixelmator

How could it be otherwise, the Cupertino company has also developed different professional photo editing applications. One of them is Pixelmator. This application has really powerful tools , although without reaching the level of Photoshop, or for example, of its older brother, Pixelmator Pro, but it does have the function, or tool, that will allow you to eliminate the background of an image. To do this, you just have to follow the steps that we indicate below.

1. Open the image in Pixelmator.
2. On the toolbar, choose the magic wand .
3. With the magic wand selected, click on the background of the image and drag to vary the tolerance until the selection is the one you want to obtain.
4. Once you have the background selected, press the Delete key to delete it.
5. You already have your image without a background, now you just have to export it as a png file to be able to use it with the transparent background.

You can also do it via the web

Many users prefer to use web solutions before installing an application, especially if the use of it is going to be punctual, for others the motivation is to save storage space on their computer, since some Mac models do not have enough of it. Regardless of the reason why you prefer to use a web page to eliminate the background of your images, below we are going to expose you a series of really useful alternatives that will help you a lot to get what you want.

Get a full editor without installing anything

Fortunately for many users, today there are professional solutions for practically any task, and this case was not going to be an exception. There are different websites that offer photo editors really advanced and that have little to envy other professional applications of the sector. Next we are going to leave you several alternatives that, of course, offer you the tool to be able to eliminate the background of your images.

• Photopea .
• Pixlr .
• Sumo .

Do you want it all in one clip? Use these web pages

As we mentioned before, today there are professional solutions for practically everything, but there are also simple solutions to carry out practically any task. Next we are going to expose you a series of web pages that allow you to transform your image with a background into an image without a background with just one click. In fact, you only have to worry about choosing the image you want, the rest is done by all these fantastic tools. They are as follows.

• Canva .
• Remove .
• Clippingmagic .
• Remove background .