How to Extend the Background of a Photo in Photoshop - 3 Ways

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How to Extend the Background of a Photo in Photoshop - 3 Ways

Last Updated: 2024. 10. 12

Have a beautiful photo perfect in every way, but one thing, the portrait orientation is slightly off? Then, you can try extending the image’s background using Photoshop. Extending the background of a photo is useful when editing photos, whether you are a professional photographer or a simple lifelogger.

You can extend a backdrop in Photoshop using different editing techniques, and here in this article, we'll introduce 3 different ways. Follow us and learn how to extend an image's background to give your subject more room to breathe using 3 different Photoshop editing techniques.

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Method 1 Extend Background in Photoshop Using Content-Aware Scale

If the image's background is a simple one that has few elements and they are repetitive, you can use Photoshop's Content-Aware Scale Tool to extend the backdrop of your photo.

Extend Background in Photoshop Using Content-Aware Scale

Step 1 Open Image in Photoshop and Increase Canvas Size

Open your image file that you want to extend its background in Photoshop.

After the image is opened, we need to increase the canvas size to extend the backdrop. Click on the "Image" tab in the menu bar, then select "Canvas Size" from the dropdown menu. Now, you will see a dialog box for you to adjust the canvas size, check the "Relative" option and enter the desired width value for your new image.

Or, you can use the Crop tool in the toolbar on the left to directly click and drag the handles on the corners or edges of the image to extend the canvas. As you extend the canvas in this way, you will see that the new area is transparent.

Step 2 Create a Selection Channel of the Subject to Avoid Distorting

Use the Lasso tool on the left menu bar to create a selection around the subject. It doesn't need to be extremely precise, just a rough outline will suffice.

Once selected, right-click and choose "Save Selection" from the dropdown menu. Then you can rename the selection and save it to a "New Channel" instead of a layer.

Step 3 Extend Backdrop Using the Content-Aware Scale Tool

Navigate to Edit and in the drop-down menu select Content-Aware Scale. Now, you can utilize this feature to automatically fill in the stretched areas and extend the background of your image.

Here, before we scale the background, you need to check the "Protect" section in the toolbar above to tell Photoshop protect the subject which is the channel that you created before, and then you can extend the backdrop freely without distorting the subject or the main element you want to protect.

Method 2 Extend Background in Photoshop Using Content-Aware Fill

Another way you can try to extend background of an image in Photoshop is make use of its Content-Aware Fill feature. Check the steps below to learn how to extend backdrop in Photoshop using Content-Aware Fill.

Step 1

Open your image in Photoshop and click on the "Create a new layer" button in the Layers panel. Use the Canvas Size or Crop Tool we introduced above to expand your canvas size.

Step 2

Select the Rectangular Marquee tool in the toolbar on the left and drag to draw a rectangle that covers the area you want to extend.

Step 3

Go to the Edit menu and select Content-Aware Fill. This will open a new dialog box, here you can adjust settings to control how Photoshop fills the selected area.

Step 4

When you're satisfied with the settings, press “Enter” or click the “OK” button to apply and extend background in Photoshop.

Also check the video tutorial below to learn how to extend image background in Photoshop using Content-Aware Fill in detail.

Extend Background in Photoshop Using Content-Aware Fill

Method 3 Extend Background in Photoshop Using Generative Fill

Finally, we'll introduce an AI tool for you to extend image in Photoshop. That is Generative Fill, which utilize Generative AI to fill in missing spaces by generating details of the image background.

Here's how to use Generative Fill in Photoshop to extend an image. Let's delve into the process!

Step 1

Open your image in Photoshop, then select the Crop tool from the toolbar and drag the handles on the crop border to expand your canvas size.

Step 2

Now, grab the Rectangular Marquee Tool from the toolbar to drag a selection around the extended canvas you just added. Make sure the selection area overlaps a bit of the original image to help the AI generate background content that blends seamlessly with the original detail.

Step 3

Then, you will see the new "Contextual Task Bar" directly below your selection outline, click the Generative Fill and then click the Generate button to ask its AI tool to generate background for your image.

Step 4

When it's done, the extended canvas is instantly filled with new and original AI-generated content.

Extend Background in Photoshop Using Generative Fill

Bonus: Expand Background without Photoshop Using Online AI Image Extender

Not familiar with Adobe Photoshop or prefer an easy and quick online solution to extend image? You can try some online AI image extenders to help extend your image faster and easier than ever. Here you can try FlexClip’s AI image extender! Simply upload your image and get the settings ready, then click the Generate button to let the AI do the rest!

Extend Image Now

FlexClip's AI Image Extender Tool

Backed up the advanced artificial intelligence, FlexClip's AI image extender tool makes it possible that everyone can extend an image within one click. Along with the extender tool, FlexClip also comes with AI image upscaler and old photo restoration tools which help you enhance your images.

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Sandy /

Has 4-year of professional photographing experience. Very much into recording every detail of life. She is passionate about all things related to video production, and loves to exploring tips and tricks about it.