In this tutorial we're going to place an image of a girl walking into a beach scene. We'll then remove the background of the girl's picture to make it look like she's actually on the beach. We'll be using a Mask to create this effect. Before we begin download the files by clicking here. Open both pictures in Photoshop:

Next, click on the Selection Tool:

Now, drag the picture of the woman walking, over to the beach picture:

Position the girl walking image so that she's barely in the water:

We're now going to remove the background from the girl's picture. Click on the Add vector mask icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:

You'll now see a second thumbnail on the girl's layer. The girl's picture now has a Mask attached to it. This Mask allows us to paint away the background. Select the Brush Tool:

Change the size to 62, and the Hardness should be 50%:

Next, make sure black is the foreground color:

We can now start paiting away the background. Position the brush tool on the girl's picture and begin painting away the background:

Keep painting away the background. Don't paint too close to the girl. We'll be fine-tuning our mask in a moment. When you're finished paiting away the majority of the background the girl's image should look like this:

Before we can paint away the background near the girl's body, we need to change the brush size. In the Brush settings, change the Master diameter to 12, and the Hardness to 90%:

The brush size should be much smaller now. If it helps you to Zoom in go ahead and do that (Ctrl + Spacebar). Now, paint away the rest of the background:

If you accidentally paint away part of the girl don't worry. This is why using a mask is so much better than using the Eraser Tool. When you use a mask to remove a background you're not destroying the image. You can bring back anything you want by simply changing the foreground color. For instance, let's say that we accidentally painted away part of her leg:

This information isn't really gone. We just need to change our foreground color. Change the foreground color to white:

Now, paint over the part of the leg that is missing. Keep painting until the leg is back to normal:

So, as you can see, when the foreground color is white we can bring back the deleted information, when the foreground color is black we can delete this information. When you're done the girl's background should be completely gone. Next, we'll make it look as if her feet are in the water. We do that by changing the foreground color back to black:

Next, change the brush settings. Change the Master Diameter to 14, the Harness to 0%, and the Opacity to 40%:

Now, click the paint brush on her feet. When you're clicking the brush tool on her feet make sure you don't completely erase them. For instance, on her left foot you want to barely see it, as if it's under the water:

When you're done you should have a realistic image. In another tutorial I'll show you the keys to matching colors of pictures to add to the realism.