How To Edit Background In Pics?

[ForeverMe]

I have only had PS Elements 7 for about a month now, and I am still very new to all of this. I hope someone can help me out.

I have a pic of a woman that I want to put on a new background, because the current one is just boring white with a little bit of text. But I don't know how to get a new background behind her.

I can trace her with the Magnetic Lasso, and right click, then Free Transform, and I have her seperate from the background, but that is where I stop. I don't know how to save JUST her seperately, or how to get a new background.

Whenever I try to put a new layer, it gos over the whole picture, including her. What do I have to do?

Thank you.

 

[iDad]

you probably need to "remove background layer"from original image(right click mouse over image in your layers window, you'll see it) then you'll be able to move the layers around(put new background on bottom of layer palette)

 

[CoolPhotoshopVideosChris]

One way that may also help is that once you have the "woman" highlighted with the lasso tool (got the marching ants crawling around her), then go to

LAYER--> NEW --> NEW LAYER VIA COPY.

After that's done, you'll see that a duplicate of the "woman" has been copied to her own layer above the original.

Next, click on the below layer, and insert any image you want to that layer...or you can add a cool looking gradient background with the gradient tool.

Hope that helps...

 

[JgraphNet]

LAYER--> NEW --> NEW LAYER VIA COPY.

If Elements work the same as grand Photoshop an easier way would be:
After making a selection around the woman - hit Ctrl/Cmd + J.
That's the PS shortcut for New Layer Via Copy. Puts whatever is selcted as a copy on it's own layer and everything not selected comes out transparent, but I can't promise it will work in Elements.
If it does - from there go with previous posts.