Replace the background in an image with Paint.net

Sometimes, you want to remove and change the background of an image, rather than remove the background entirely. Here's how to do it, using Paint.net. Save this picture to your computer. This is one purchased from istock.

Open the image in Paint.net, then create a new layer. Use the line tool to outline what you want to keep. See this page for details on how to do that. Then select the woman/dog, using the magic wand (remember to select on the background layer, NOT the layer 2 that you drew the line on). Next, use control/I to invert the selection, and hit delete. You will end up with something like this. Next task is to feather the image. You can read about how to feather an image, on the background removal page.

Next, I opened up this image.

I then created a new layer over this image. Then copy/pasted the layer with the woman and dog into this new layer. That's it. Almost. I also cropped the image to suit. Just select the area to keep, and go to image/crop to selection.