We all love a bit more of everything. And the same rule goes for any kind of photography, especially when the frame of the photo does not turn out as you expected. So the best way to get your desired frame is to extend the photo background using Photoshop.
Because learning how to extend the background in Photoshop lets you get a bigger photo frame or turn a portrait image into a landscape one without making it look fake. But you should also know that the process can be a very challenging task if you are not familiar with Photoshop editing.
That is why I thought it would be great if I wrote a tutorial article on that. And good for you, I have shared more than one tutorial that will give you enough ideas on how you can extend image backgrounds using Photoshop and more.
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Understand The Necessary Tools
Before I explain how to extend your background in Photoshop, you need to understand the tools you are going to use. It is essential if you are a newbie or have little idea regarding the tools. The most common tools you will need to use are the Crop Tool, Content-Aware Fill and Scale Tools, and the Marquee Tool.
- Crop Tool: Usually the crop tool is used to crop images or to make them smaller. However, today, you will use this tool to enlarge the canvas.
- Content-Aware Fill/Scale Tool: Under the Edit panel or Fill option, you will find the Content-Aware Fill/Scale tool. These tools help fill the empty enlarged area automatically as you drag the edges of the image and extend the background.
- Marquee Tool: The Marquee Tool is used to select certain areas of the image. You can choose either a circular or rectangular shape to select the image.
How To Extend Background In Photoshop
Photoshop’s magic lies in its tools. It amazes me how many ways you can edit or modify an image simply by using different tools. And when it came to extending image backgrounds, I experimented and found multiple ways to do it.
So in the next part of the article, you will learn to extend photo backgrounds in the following methods.
- How To Extend Background Using Content-Aware Fill Tool
- How To Extend Background Using Content-Aware Scale Tool
- How To Extend Background Using Marquee Tool
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Method 1: How To Extend Background Using Content-Aware Fill Tool
One of the most popular and effective ways to extend an image background is using the Content-Aware Fill tool. However, you should know that this tool works best on neat backgrounds that can be filled with repeating elements easily. If the image has a background that is complex or has too many noticeable elements, the tool might not give you the expected result.
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Step 1: Open The Image
First, launch the Photoshop application on your device.
Then open the image from the File panel. Select Open from the drop-down menu then choose the image you want to edit to extend the background.
Step 2: Increase The Canvas Size
Select the Crop tool from the left side Toolbar. You can also select the tool by pressing the C key from your keyboard.
Now as the crop tool shows around the image, Click and Hold one corner of the image and Drag the crop tool to the left side of the canvas to increase the canvas size.
Once you have increased the canvas, you will get a crop tool dialog box, which will show you the new pixels. If the pixels are just as you wanted, you can press the Enter key. You can also customize the pixels as you need. If you do not get the dialog box on the screen, just go to the Image panel on the top and select Canvas size from the drop-down menu.
Step 3: Select The Background
Next, go to the left-side Toolbar once more and select any background selection tool. In my case, I use the Magic Wand tool because it works very well. So click on the tool to select it and then click on the newly enlarged canvas area.
Step 4: Use Content-Aware Fill
And then you need to fill in the enlarged blank area of the photo. For that, you can use the Content-Aware Fill tool. To select the tool, go to the top menu bar to select the Edit panel. Then select Fill to open the pop-up option. Once it does, select Content-Aware in the Contents option.
Make sure to keep the Color Adaptation option selected. Then go to the Blending option and keep the Mode to Normal and the Opacity to 100%.
Finally, click OK and the extended area will automatically get filled.
Step 5: Save The Image
To save the final image, go to the top menu bar to select the File panel. Then select Save As to choose where you want to save the image and then save it.
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Method 2: How To Extend Background Using Content-Aware Scale Tool
Would you like to extend the entire image rather than just the background? Well, extending the image also works like extending the image background. However, while doing so, sometimes you may end up filling the extended area with elements that may make the image look unnatural.
For example, if you end up selecting an area of the image with shadows or part of the main subject, some of it might appear on the extended area and make the image look imperfect. In that case, also, you can use the Content-Aware Scale Tool.
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Step 1: Rasterize The Background Layer
Though it is not mandatory, you can still rasterize the background layer before extending the image background. To do that, double-click on the layer you want to edit and make your changes.
Step 2: Select The Crop Tool
Select the Crop Tool from the Toolbar or just use the shortcut by pressing C from your keyboard. On the top of the canvas, you will find options to customize the photo’s aspect ratio.
Once the cropping borders appear with your chosen aspect ratio around the image, Click and Hold on one corner or side and then Drag it until you get the desired image size.
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Step 3: Extend The Image/Background
Now you need to activate the Content-Aware Scale Tool by pressing Alt+Shift+Ctrl+C (Option+Shift+COMMAND+C on MAC) from the keyboard.
But if you want, you can use the top menu bar’s options to open it. Just go to the Edit panel and select Content-Aware Scale from the drop-down menu.
Step 4: Drag The Image
With the tool selected, now you can drag the image in different directions by clicking on the edges to extend it and make the background larger. Remember that the Content-Aware Scale tool works best if the image is not very noisy or does not have a complex background.
That being said, it is better if you use this method on waterfalls nature photos, portraits with solid or simple backgrounds, waterfalls, trees, etc.
Read More: How To Resize A Layer In Photoshop
Method 3: How To Extend Background Using Marquee Tool
If you want to learn how to extend your background in Photoshop without altering the background elements much, you should use the Marquee Tool. It also works best if you want to extend the background from the inside with existing elements of the image rather than the edges.
However, it is necessary to be careful when selecting the preferred area to ensure the extended area fills smoothly and naturally.
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Step 1: Select The Image
Select the image you want to edit. Go to the File panel from the menu bar and select Open after the drop-down menu extends.
But if you prefer shortcuts, you can press CTRL+O (COMMAND+O from MAC). After you select the photo, it will upload on Photoshop workspace.
Step 2: Choose The Marquee Tool
Choose the Marquee Tool from the left-side Toolbar. You can also choose the tool by using the shortcut command M from the keyboard.
The Marquee Tool offers a more convenient way to select the part you want to extend.
Step 3: Select The Background Area
Before you select the background, you should select a shape for the tool. I suggest using the rectangular shape as it lets you select a background more perfectly.
Then select the background area of the image that you want to extend. Make sure the area does not have many visible elements or anything that would look obvious after making the changes.
Step 4: Select The Free Selection Tool
Now go to the Edit panel and select Free Selection from the drop-down menu.
For shortcuts, you can press CTRL+T (COMMAND+T on MAC) to open the option.
Step 5: Fill The Area
As you have the Free Transformation tool selected, you can now Click and Hold the edge and Drag it to extend as much as needed. Deselect the Marquee Tool to see the final result.
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Why Extend Background In Photoshop?
Some may think learning how to extend background in Photoshop is unnecessary or a hassle. But they should know that extending backgrounds for an image can be very helpful and it offers many advantages. So, in case anyone is wondering why they should go through the hassle, here is why.
Add More Visual Contexts
Every image tells a story. But sometimes, due to the lack of background space, it ends up having missing contexts or elements. So if you are good with editing, you can add more contexts to the images to offer better visuals and make the image more attractive.
Adjust The Border
Sometimes, you may want to extend one part of the border of the image for visual or project purposes. You can easily achieve it by simply extending the background.
Offers Bigger/Wider Shot
Suppose, you took a picture vertically, but it needs to be horizontal or would look great horizontally. Or maybe, the picture was taken horizontally but needs to be vertical with more background space. Well, extend the canvas or background in Photoshop and you can get your desired image shot. Besides, it comes in handy if you want to display the image on a bigger screen.
Helps Create A Different Aspect Ratio
Certain areas of work require specific image ratios. If the image is large, you might get away by cropping it. On the other hand, if it does not meet the required ratio, it will not work. However, you can use the image background extending tools to achieve the ratio and resize the image.
Reconstruct Missing Areas
Extending image backgrounds often work as an image or image background restoration process. If the image has missing areas, gaps, imperfections, etc., you can extend one part of it and remove the imperfect areas to make it look like nothing has changed.
Tips
Here are some tips you should keep in mind when extending image backgrounds in Photoshop.
Learn To Use The Tools Manually
When applying a tool to automatically fill the extended background, it may still have some imperfections. And you have to perfect them on your own. So I would suggest you learn to fill those areas manually. It can be tough at first but you can get better over time.
Use High-Quality Images
Using poor-quality images will not give a good editing experience. As you make modifications, the image quality will keep on dropping. So it is best if you use high-resolution images to extend the background. This way, you will not lose any details no matter which tool you use.
Experiment And Practice
If you are a newbie and the first few results do not turn out to be satisfying enough, don’t give up. Image editing is all about practicing and experimenting from different angles. This way, it gives you a better idea of which angle works best when it comes to extending backgrounds.
Conclusion
Even though It is not that complex to extend the backgrounds of photos, it still requires some repetitive work. All you need to do is to learn how to extend your background in Photoshop and practice the tutorials. But know that none of these tools are perfect. You may still get some imperfections left on the extended areas. But you can easily fix them up using the Brush Tool or choose the area carefully to avoid more hassle.
