: How to extend the background of an image? I have an image with a woman, and I need to make an ad (size 260mmx125mm). I want to put the woman to the left side, but then right side becomes

@Samaraweera207

I've tried all the techniques listed here and they are all good for different kinds of images. For this image though, I would use the Content Aware algorithm. It couldn't be easier:


Starting with the original image as the Background layer in Photoshop:




You can use File > Open, Drag-and-Drop, or paste to bring the image into Photoshop. If for whatever reason it isn't the background layer, right click the layer in the Layers panel and choose Merge Down.






Go to Image > Canvas Size... in the top menu. In the Canvas Size dialog that opens, enter the additional measurements you want and select OK.




I chose to add 332px to bring it up to a nice 1500px.






With the Rectangular Marquee Tool active (choose from the tools on the left or just press M) select the newly extended area - with a little bit of overlap with the proper background.


Press Delete and choose Content Aware in the Use: dropdown list of the Fill dialog that appears.






Et Voila! A fairly perfect and seamless background extension.





A few tips:


When trying to extend say, more than 50% of the image width I find it better to do it in a few stages.
Some images cannot be extended. A little bit of trial and error with different images will help you understand what can be extended and what can't.
I'm fairly certain that the Content Aware algorithm is much better in Creative Cloud versions than it was in previous ones (CS5, CS6).
For any imperfections, the Spot Healing Brush Tool works wonders.


P.S. This is Photoshop CC, I just changed the theme for nostalgia.

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@Jennifer810

Use the magic wand or lasso to select as much of the background as possible without losing her hair.


(I used point sample, 8 tolerance, anti-alias, contiguous for the magic wand)


Select > inverse
Select > refine edge


Click the paintbrush and paint over the edge of her hair until you get a nice edge, it will remove the background while keeping her hair. Play around with brush size and the other setting until it looks good


Copy the resulting selection to a new layer
Make the background any color you like


This method works best with a high quality original image. Good luck!

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@Holmes874

I always try to keep the things simple
So here is the simplest solution for doing this

as you have already reached a stage where you just want to fill the white GAP so that, they merge together without a seam, You can use patch tool for it.

make a selection with Rectangle marquee tool around the Gap then select the patch tool and drag it to its side portion. Photoshop will atomically calculate the pixel interpolation and gives you a much finer result that any other method can't.
Here is the Example

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@Phylliss782

A professional technique is to simply add a layer mask with a gradient on one side to soften the edge and duplicate the color or texture on a layer below it. See screenshot of layers below.

It's especially useful if you don't have much texture to copy from or when you need to expand a big part of the background. You can use this technique to duplicate small parts of texture and merge them together without any seam. It's recommended to avoid distorting pixels when possible, especially for print projects since printing often amplifies these distortions.







This way, the image will:


Not have "stretched" or "deformed" pixels (see image below)
Will not have a straight cut between the 2 zones, which is not always obvious on screen but visible when printed or on big size projects
Can be used with textured backgrounds
Can be used for any length/width background without pixel distortion

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@Nimeshi706

Marquee select a portion of the background
Copy/Paste it so its on its' own layer.
Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal
Align the left edge of the copy to the right edge of the existing background.
Edit > Free Transform and stretch the copy to fill the extra area.
Then, on additional layers, use clone or healing tools to repair any portions that are out of place (like the slight "glow" around the figure or the edge if needed)




I selected a bit too much background and got more of the glow than I'd really want. If I made the marquee selection thinner and tried to avoid that glow, the end results would be better.

Photoshop will interpolate the stretched pixels so they appear high quality (and won't appear as "stretched" in most cases). However, be aware, this technique only works when the background is primarily a solid color - it won't work well with busy or patterned backgrounds.

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