Summary: Create the illusion that the subject of your photo is walking, running, jumping, or otherwise popping right out of the image with this easy effect.

Written by Steve Patterson
Exclusively for Photoshop Essentials.com.

Part of our complete collection of Photo Effects tutorials.

In this Photoshop Effects tutorial, we're going to learn how to make it look as if the subject of a photo is popping right out of the image. Not only is it a great way to add interest to a sports photo, a wedding photo, product shot, or even a photo of your kids playing in the backyard, it also happens to be very easy to do, as we'll see.

Here's the photo I'll be starting with:

And here's the finished effect:

Not what you're looking for? Check out our other Photoshop Effects tutorials!

New! Download our Photoshop tutorials as convenient, print-ready PDFs!

Let's get started.

Step 1: Duplicate The Background Layer

To begin, I'm going to duplicate my Background layer using the simple keyboard shortcut Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac). I now have my original Background layer and a copy of it, which Photoshop has named "Layer 1", in the Layers palette:

Step 2: Add A New Blank Layer Between The Two Existing Layers

Next, I'm going to add a new blank layer in between the Background layer and "Layer 1". Since I already have "Layer 1" selected, I'm going to hold down my Ctrl (Win) / Command (Mac) key and then click on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:

By holding down the Ctrl/Command key, this tells Photoshop to add the new layer below the currently selected layer in the Layers palette rather than above it, which it does by default. I now have my new blank layer between the two initial layers:

Step 3: Fill The New Layer With White

Press the letter D on your keyboard to quickly reset your Foreground and Background colors, so white is now your Background color. Then use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Backspace (Win) / Command+Delete (Mac) to fill the new layer with the Background color, which in this case is white. You won't see anything happen in the Document Window since "Layer 1" is blocking the new layer from view, but if you look in the Layers palette, you'll see the thumbnail preview area for the new layer now filled with white: