Photoshop: How to make background transparent without affecting image quality? [duplicate]

Question

I'm really new to Photoshop, but I use Indesign and Illustrator regularly. I have a picture of a product (books basically) that have a white background and I need that background to be transparent. I used the quick selection tool to select all the white space, then selected the inverse, cut and paste into a new file with a transparent background. When I do this the image ends up looking different-- kinda grainy, ragged edges. What is the best way to change the background to transparent without losing the image quality?

Here are links to the photos

Original:

source

After trying to remove background:

source

Answer 1

To soften the edge, try Feathering the selection before doing the deletion.

Once your selection is made, press Shift+F6 (Or Select...Modify Selection...Feather) and choose a radius of 1px. Then do your deletion - it will be softer around the edges.

Here's what I got with your image:

Another option is using the "Refine Edge" tool (located on the right side of the toolbar at top when using any of the selection tools). It will let you preview what your selected content will look like (over white, over black, over transparent) and make a multitude of adjustments to it (including feather, so you can preview different options).

Here's what it looks like:

Answer 2

I realize that you are new to Photoshop but you should learn to embrace the pen tool.

It is no fun to use at first, but after practice it is your best friend when you need to be exact with your silos (silhouettes.) Take the time if you can to practice with it. It has been an invaluable tool in my design career.

And then I would follow others suggestions about feathering and modifying the selection.

Welcome to the world of a tedious but rewarding life in photo manipulation!