cut out photos

Decorate your Pages and Keynote documents with objects and characters

1. The Instant Alpha tool

Place an image in your document and then select it. Open the Format inspector (click the paintbrush in the toolbar) and click the Image tab, then the ‘Instant Alpha’ button. First, put the crosshairs over an area of the background you want to remove.

2. Select an area to remove

Hold the mouse or trackpad button and then drag in any direction – the size of the area that will be made transparent increases as you do so, changing colour as a result. Drag too far and the foreground will be included; drag back in the opposite direction to fix it.

3. Erase and repeat

When you’ve selected the right amount, release the mouse or trackpad button to remove it. Now click elsewhere on the background and repeat until you’ve wiped away the background. Click Done when only the bit you wish to keep remains.