How to Remove Backgrounds in Affinity Photo (For Beginners!) 

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You two are the best! Thank you for helping this 78 year old man stay sharp. Bones, joints and back are almost gone but my digital imaging skill are improving. Again Mank moo mry moothe. Big Smile

Great introductory tutorial. Here's a couple of extra pointers: 1) When using the Selection Brush tool, make sure the Soft Edges option is checked in the context toolbar to achieve soft anti-aliased edges.; 2) When in the Refine Selection mode, if you adjust your matte brush size just big enough to allow you to trace the subject edges plus hairs, you'll get better results; 3) the Preview Options in the Refine Selection dialog box let you preview your mask against black, white, and transparent backgrounds before you commit, and this can be helpful.; 4) although it's not documented in the help files, if you change your Output options to either New Layer or New Layer with Mask, the color contamination along the edges of your cutout will be removed.

Love these tutorials! And I love how you bring up the shortcuts, keep it practical, and move slow enough for me to make sense of it. Great work! Thanks!

Just what I needed. Right on time. I joined the course and used step 4. I've had affinity for years but never knew about the vibrance option. I just used it for the first time and my pictures look so much better. I never realised how washed out they were before. Thank you!

The thing I really appreciated, coming from a master, is the observation that, no matter how "magical" editing techniques may seem, at some point continuing with the editing process "may not be worth your time" (you may spend another hour dealing with those stray hairs, as you said). How refreshing to hear an honest comment like this. This is why I love Affinity and your tutorials. It seems that most forum posts or instructors like to brag about how quick a task can be done, like we are on a stopwatch. Yep, fast is nice but sometimes refinement takes a lot of time. Not everything is a one-click miracle. Well done! 👍😊

I love that you offer both detailed and straight to the point content. I can tell you love what you do! Worth the subscription 💜

This was BEYOND helpful! Thank you!!

Thank you! That was terrific! I’m new to Affinity, and have been searching everywhere for exactly this process. Very clear instructions! Much appreciated 🙏🏻!!

LOVE the way you talk and the way you teach. you are so clear and gave me what I need to know. Thanks a LOT!

A really easy to follow tutorial, thank you so much. I edit photos for my books and find your tutorials so helpful.

Always a pleasure to watch and learn from you guys. Awesome tutorial once again !!!

I don't remove backgrounds often enough to remember how to do it and every time I go searching for videos that are mostly unhelpful. But this video has taught me a new way to do it that's way better and how to refine even further with the mask. Thank you! Based on this, I'm going to take your free course.

Great tutorial! Very useful and stress- free. Thanks from the bottom of my heart!

I have removed backgrounds for years, and not always very easily!. This is a super description of the process and ever so useful to go though... many great small but invaluable reminders of the whole process, particularly things like refinement - hair etc. Thanks as always Ally.

Thanks for this! I will be using this feature a lot when making my book covers. Learned some new tricks!

Just discovered your channel by accident. I'm brand new to Affinity and your step by step instructions helped me create a PERFECT photo to add to a birthday video. Thank you. You've gained a new subscriber.

Love to you and Ezra. Thankyou for this tutorial. as always it's just what I need to know to advance that bit further.

Absolutely brilliant - as usual! Thank you so much for posting, really helped me out

I recently purchased your course for $29.99 best course ever. I am learning so much from you. I have taken thee other beginners courses that I paid way more and didn’t learn anything. But I finally feel like I got the basics because of your course. Thank you so much for offering your courses.

Very comprehensive information. I’ll refer to this tutorial whenever I need help. Thanks for the video.

Thanks Ally for your 3 steps method! It's is always good to have a refresher approach and to discover another method, if you're a newbie to this brilliant programme. Havagooday Greg

Very complete, thank you very much for the time spent educating us.

Great video. This helps a lot. Between getting a new camera, and The 3 Affinity books and software(I had a while) can sometimes still feel overwhelming. I am trying to get better with cutouts so that I can add them to other places. I also love your video where you can add a border around the edge of your picture, it helped with my graphics so that I can place them on a darker color shirt. Binge-watching and organizing my Niche Book. Thanks again can't wait till the next video.

I love the way you explain. You speak slow and very precise. You keep it simple. I’m new to Affinity so I’ll be following you.

Excellent explanations in an easy-to-understand manner! Great style of teaching.

Another great tutorial! Thanks for making this process so clear.

Excellent tutorial perfectly explained with complete detail! Thank you very much!

Very happy to have found your videos and online course, which I downloaded. Your voice is perfect for giving these tutorials. This tutorial was excellent. It wasn't too slow and not too fast. It was perfect.

Great tutorial - just what I needed. I would love showing how to put a new background in place - but I figured it out. Thanks!

Usually I'm a frantic mess when learning this stuff but your tutorials put me at ease.

Great tutorial! Short, detailed, with great tips 👏

I'm new to Affinity, and your tutorial was ideal for my beginner staus. I will certainly enroll in the course you so kindly offer!

I'm new to Affinity Photo and your beginner's course saved me TONS of time and frustration! ;-) Well done. Will look for more videos from you. THANK YOU.

Great tutorial. I was using other programs instead of affinity because I was not aware how simple removing a background was until I viewed this video. Awsome work!!

Great Tutorial! Followed the steps, worked like a dream. Really helped my situation. Many thanks!

I have stuggled a bit imagining what a mask can do and why. This really brings home the why and the how so clearly! Many thanks!

Thank you Ally! A wonderful, informative, and valuable tutorial.

Thanks for the video! You are a great communicator! Really good analogy about the night and day. :)

I was STRUGGLING with removing backgrounds on Affinity Designer (newbie) this is such a big help!!!

Thank you! Well explained and detailed instructions.

Thank you so much for the point about saving the file! That was really helpful too

Thank you. I can recommend the free course. Great instruction.

I've been subscribed to Adobe's Creative Suite since 2014 and I've decided enough is enough. I just purchased the Affinity and must ween myself off of the Adobe addiction. It was great to see that a lot of the functionality in Affinity is akin to Photoshop in a lot of ways. Thanks for the video.

Night and day analogy..finally I might remember, thank you.

Truly helpful and easy to understand. Thank you so much!

Your videos are awesome. I love the way you explain it.

Thank you so much for your tutorials. You are FANTASTIC!

You are completly awesome! Great tutorial, Thanks! Looking to take your courses soon.

I watched this video again and its narrative is really a pleasure. The example photo is very well chosen since it is not such an easy background to remove and it has several interesting hair situations. in my daily use of Affinity photo I can't find the way when cropping objects to use the other menu refine options that are not as common as matte, I think that the refine menu in general is not sufficiently explained in the Videos in general but perhaps it is difficult to find examples where the need to use those other options will become evident. I do use background and foregruond (fondo y primer plano). I use the brush a lot to mask or unmask parts but I understand that the refine menu is more difficult to use because it applies to the whole of the figure.

Thankyou so much, you explained it very well. I would like to have seen you bring in a new background, but oh well another time

This is such a great resource! Thank you so much!

Appreciate for sharing, this is so helpful!

A very nice and well explained tutorial. Thank you so much.

Resources of a tutorial is more important than the tutorial for achieving the goal. Thanks for sharing your Resources with the tutorials.❤❤❤❤❤

Back to learning Affinity, thanks again for wonderful tutorials

Amazing Tutorial! this helped me out a lot :D !

Ok this was fantastic , slow and easy ! thanks so much, I have subscribed !

The best clear chillout tutorial :)

Thank You very much! This video was everything I needed!

Wow... you really good in explaining that stuff.... I watched a couple other videos with the same topic, but they where working so fast that I just couldn't follow... thank you well done ....👍

I love your way to teach! thank you!!

Thank you! You're the Bob Ross of photo editing!!!

What a great tutorial! Thanks a lot! :)

Thank you for Sharing, GREAT TUTORIAL!

Beautifully explained - thank you!!

Your cadence is perfect! I appreciate the keystrokes on the screen. Suggestion: Apple in white font and Windows in another color (when applicable) Everything was perfect and easy to follow, thank you! 10/10

Always awesome tutorials!!

Please accept my very huge compliment not only do you have an incredible voice that makes every listen or pay attention but you know 110% what you're doing and I have learned a lot in a short time just by watching a video does international recording artist Joel Crafton with huge graphics background but still although I know a lot I have learned a lot from you thank you

Great review of masking, an essential part of Affinity Photo compositing.

I understand you made this sometime ago. Its very helpful, I signed up for your course.

Hi an excellent tutorial, very well explained and demonstrated,. Many thanks, regards Phil

This is awesome. Thank you!

This is the best video I watched about this topic!! I wish I saw this earlier!!

Every business needs a tutor like this one! Totally new to photo editing software and this made a complicated logo written in cursive script possible to render without the paper background it was drawn on. Cheers.

Well done job, thank you, Mrs. Anderson

Absolutely wonderful . I enjoyed this tutorial so much. Would you consider teaching these techniques on the iPad as your husband used to do ? It’s nearly impossible for me to translate Mac tutorials into iPad, I get into such a muddle. Thank you sooooo much.

Another fantastic tutorial. I really love the energy of both of you Guys. Thank you! I hope your husband is doing great! 🙂 Waiting for more amazing tutorials.

Thank you for this useful video !

Excellently done!

great tips I can see me using this first time since I bought it 2 years ago.

you are amazing, many thanks for your time and efforts

Amazing , thanks, you definitely a master

Great video! Thank you!

A very interresting video, I learned alot, thank you so much :)

You guys are awesome, I always appreciate your videos. A+++

really good tuition and clear explanation step by step.

Thank you, this was so helpful for my course :)

OMG! This video Helped me soooo much, THANK YOU!

Great tutorial!! Thanks 🙂

Thank you this is super helpful!

Wow.. Your are a great teacher. I love you seriously

Just what I needed. Thank you.

Thank You for tips Beauty 😉 Very nice tutorial - You are great explainer and such a nice voice 😊❤️

Very helpful! thank you!

just amazing. Thanks

Great tutorial. Most of my son's school project are completed becos of your tutorials.

Want to switch to Affinity Photo so that's why I'm watching this video. Nice tutorial :)))))

Thank you helped a lot!

Great job as always 👍