Choose a portrait with usable edge information
Hair separates best when it is in focus and differs from the background in brightness or color. Backlight, motion blur, heavy beauty filters, and JPEG recompression merge strands into the scene before any model sees them. Use the original camera file when you have it.
Keep the full hair shape and both shoulders in frame — removal cannot restore what the crop already cut off. Lace, fringe, and clothing that matches the wall deserve the same attention as hair.
Fix shape first, strands second
- Judge the silhouette at normal size
Check head, neck, shoulders, and clothing outline before zooming. A detailed edge is worthless if a curl, ear, or shoulder is missing.
- Smart restore the meaningful losses
Paint a short stroke inside a missing lock or shoulder section. Short strokes keep the segmentation focused and leave the rest of the portrait alone.
- Smart erase trapped background
Background caught between strands or beside the neck: stroke inside the unwanted patch, then verify with the comparison slider.
- Sweep the previews for halos
Dark halos show on white; pale halos show on gray. Check both sides of the head on more than one background.
- Soften only where the material is soft
Use a soft manual brush on isolated wisps, a firmer one on shoulder and clothing seams. If a smart result grabs too much, undo once and retry smaller — never paint over a failed stroke.
Before you publish
Judge the result at final display size. An avatar hides fine strands, so protect the outer shape first; a poster deserves extra time on curl gaps and color spill.
- Head, ears, shoulders, and major hair groups keep their original shape.
- Loose strands look natural at display size, not artificially sharpened.
- No bright or dark ring survives from the original background.
- Glasses, earrings, and gaps between hair were checked separately.
- The transparent master is saved before making resized copies.