The world of photographic retouching is very extensive and requires, in general, specific tools and applications. Yet sometimes all we need is remove the background from a photo, something simple and fast. Something that, fortunately, we can do directly with the app Preview from our Mac.

Preview, a good alternative to more complex apps

First of all it is necessary that we take into account that depending on what type of image we want to edit the results will vary enormously. Depending on in which cases we will need dedicated and specific applications to achieve the effect we are looking for, but often the Preview it will surprise us. The steps to follow are those:

  1. We open the image that we want to edit in the app Preview. In general, this happens by default when double-clicking on the document, but if not, we secondary-click it, rest the mouse on Open with and click Preview.
  2. Once the image is open, we touch the button in the shape of a pencil inside a circle on the right side of the toolbar. Doing so will bring up a second editing toolbar.
  3. In this second bar we touch the button in the shape of a magic wand that we will find on the left side of the bar.
  4. We click on the area of ​​the image that we want to delete. Without stopping pressing we drag through the different colors that compose it to select them. We will see a red shading that will indicate which part we are going to select.
  5. We can repeat the selection process as many times as we want. Each time we will add a new piece to the selection.
  6. When the selection is to our liking we simply press the delete key (⌫).

At the time of erasing it is possible that Preview ask us if we want convert image to .png format, this is the necessary format to be able to work with a transparent background, so we tell you that Yes.

The simplicity of Preview invites us to test its results before thinking about more specific apps.

Let’s keep in mind that depending on whether we click on one or other colors (and regions), the selection will vary notably, so if the initial selection offers us better results, the easiest thing is to click outside the selection to eliminate it and repeat the process.

Also, if we have already made several selections, clicking outside will deselect them, so When we manage to select a good piece and we like the result, it is best to press delete (⌫) and then continue selecting.

Preview It offers us many more options than it may appear at first glance. Options that inadvertently compete with professional image editing tools can get us out of more than one trouble quickly and easily.