For long hair, channels beat the Magic Wand. Pick the channel with the strongest contrast, stretch the blacks and whites with Levels, load the channel as a selection, switch back to RGB and copy it to a new layer — four moves and the background is transparent. The difference shows up most on images with a lot of hair.
Before you start
- Open Online PS (zaixianps.cc) and press Ctrl+O (⌘+O) to load your original long-haired portrait.
- Work in the “Original” workspace so you do not accidentally switch to the “Simplified” or “Mobile” interface.
The full cutout workflow
Step 1: Duplicate the layer (a safe backup)
In the Layers panel, select the Background layer (named Background by default) and press Ctrl+J (⌘+J) to duplicate it. The copy keeps the original image intact, and all later work happens on the copy, so a slip of the hand cannot delete anything.
Step 2: Pick the channel with the most contrast
Open the Channels panel (the “Channels” icon at the bottom of the left panel) and click through the Red, Green and Blue channels one by one, comparing how much contrast each gives between the subject and the background.
In this image the Red channel separates them best. Select it, right-click → Duplicate Channel (Ctrl+J), and you get a temporary “Red copy” channel to work on.
Step 3: Deepen the contrast (Levels)
We need the subject to stand out more. Select the Red channel copy you just made and open Image → Adjustments → Levels (shortcut Ctrl+L) to bring up the Levels dialog.
- Drag the black input slider on the left to the right a little, making the dark areas denser.
- Drag the white input slider on the right to the left a little, so the bright areas get brighter.
- A pure white patch will appear in the lower-right corner of the image; it gets excluded when you load the selection later, so it does not affect the cutout.
Step 4: Build the selection
In the Channels panel, select the processed Red channel copy and click the “Load Selection” icon at the bottom (the button that looks like a small selection box). Photoshop converts the light and dark information of the channel into a selection.
Step 5: Switch back to the RGB channel
Once the selection exists, be sure to click the RGB channel at the top of the Channels panel, because the layer you finally cut out still has to be in color. If you stay on a single channel, copying gives you a grayscale image.
Step 6: Finish the cutout (copy to a new layer)
Go back to the Layers panel, make sure the duplicated image layer is selected (not the channel copy), and press Ctrl+J (⌘+J). The current selection is copied onto a new layer.
The result — Layer 2 (rename it if you like) — holds only the subject, with a transparent background.
✅ Tip: if you see leftover detail around the edges, run Select → Modify → Expand/Contract before copying, or fine-tune with Layer Mask → Feather.
Optional next steps
- Save a transparent PNG: File → Export As → PNG, with “Transparency” checked.
- Color-correct the subject: on the cutout layer, use “Image → Adjustments → Color Balance” or “Curves” to add depth to skin and hair tones.
- Add a background: create a new layer below the cutout layer, fill it with a gradient or a background image of your choice, and the background swap is done.
References
- Online PS
- Adobe Photoshop official documentation