How to Cut a Person Out and Paste into Another Photo in Photoshop

Sometimes a graphics designer needs a specific image of a person doing something, and cutting a person from one photo and placing the person into another photo is necessary to get the exact image needed. Oftentimes magazine publishers will use this technique to cut out models and place them on attractive colored backgrounds. Using Adobe Photoshop, you can cut a person from one photo and paste her into another photo to create a new image.

Open your Adobe Photoshop program. Click "File" from the top navigation menu and select "Open" from the drop-down menu. Click on the photograph containing the person you want to cut out. Press and hold the "Ctrl" key and click on the second photograph that you'll be placing the person into. Click the "Open" button to open both images at the same time.

Press the "W" key on your keyboard to select the "Quick Selection Tool." Click the image of the person and drag the quick selection tool to select it. Press the "Subtract from selection" icon (the minus sign) from the top navigation menu. Erase the parts of the image selection you do not want to cut out. Click "Edit" from the top navigation menu and click "Cut" from the resulting drop-down menu.

Click on the second image in the Photoshop workspace. Click "Edit" from the top navigation menu and click "Paste" to paste the person into the second photograph. Press the "V" key on your keyboard to select the "Selection Tool." Click the person in the image and drag the person into position. Release the mouse button to drop the person in place.

Click "File" from the top navigation menu and select "Save As..." from the drop-down menu. Type "cut_person" into the file name menu. Click on the "Format" drop-down menu and click on the "JPEG" option. Click the "Save" button. Click "OK" to save the file.