Although Adobe Photoshop is the predominant photo manipulation and editing software, it can also be used to edit short videos and GIFs. If you feel comfortable with Photoshop, and wish to edit a GIF, there's no need to install additional software.

Photoshop provides you with easy-to-use and clean video editing tools that are perfect for short projects. If you want to learn how to remove a background from a GIF in Photoshop, continue reading!

Step 1: Import Your File

First, you'll have to import your short video or GIF into Photoshop. You can do this in the same way you would open other projects. Click and drag the file from your PC into Photoshop, or go to File > Open and double-click on the file you want to import.

Step 2: Set Up Your Project

In order to delete the background or any specific parts from your GIF, you need to be able to edit each frame independently. To do this, right-click on Video Group located on the right side of Photoshop, and select Ungroup Layers.

Photoshop ungroup layers

This will leave you with just the video layer, which you should then convert to a smart object. Right-click on Layer 1 and select Convert to Smart Object. After that, right-click on Layer 1 again and select Edit Contents.

Photoshop convert to smart object and edit contents

This will open a new tab in Photoshop, where you'll do all the GIF editing. You can now close your original tab.

Step 3: Let’s Start Editing

At the bottom of the screen, you have the Timeline where you can edit your GIF. There is a slider at the bottom of the screen that can zoom in on the frames, making it easier for you to separate them.

The most accurate way to delete the background from a GIF is to do it frame-by-frame. This means that you will have to delete the background from each frame separately. This will take some time, especially if your video is lengthy.

By moving the blue arrow with the red line on the video, you can move your GIF frame-by-frame.

Photoshop zooming in frames and selecting frames

How to Delete the Background of Your GIF

There are a couple of different ways you can delete the background.

First, click on the frame that you wish to edit, and then start deleting the background. You can use any method to delete the background, from the Quick Selection Tool to the Polygonal Lasso Tool.

Keep in mind that you need to do this for every single frame in your GIF. The end result should look something like the image below.

Photoshop deleted background

Step 4: Save Your Project as a GIF

Photoshop allows you to save your project as a GIF. To do this, go to File > Save As and select GIF as the type of output.

Photoshop choosing the GIF output

It might take some time for Photoshop to process this action depending on the size of the project, so be patient. Once the save options pop up, just click on OK. The saved project should be an animated GIF.

Photoshop GIF saving

Related: The Best Apps to Animate Photos on Android and iPhone

Remove the Background of an Animated GIF in Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop offers a lot of great features, including the ability to edit animated GIFs and short videos. If you follow the steps above, you can easily delete the background from your GIF or video. Pretty cool, right?