GIMP Version: 2.8.10
Operating System: Windows
GIMP Experience: Beginner Level

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I would like basic help with editing a photo.

1) I would like to try to correct the original background.
There are people in the way, I would like to remove using Resynthesizer Heal tool to remove the people.

2) I want to remove the people (foreground) and insert a different background layer.
I need help in properly selecting the foreground.

Can anyone help me, walk through this?
Can someone tell me exactly what to do?
I am willing to speak over the phone, and Paypal you $15 (2 beers)

Do you mean something like this? I used the GMIC extract foreground.

Yes, exactly how do I do that?

Do you have GMIC installed. Make sure you have 1.6.0.1 then click the refresh button. Go to the background extraction tool.
Here are a few vids to show you how to use it.
Left click for green dots to mark the areas you want to keep. right click on all the areas you want to delete, then press enter, If you want to keep going to clean up more of it, click apply and then put more dots to fix some of the areas you missed.
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=11081

You're seriously telling me that using the lasso tool that only draws straight lines is the best way to go? That way seems like a terrible way to cut out this family, unless you want to spend hours zooming in and getting every nook and not just cutting out a giant polygon of the family, which will look like crap. Did you zoom the crap out of the photo in order to connect 100's of little straight lines to get a non-crap cutout ?

I tried to recreate your pumpkin background.
How do I resize the background to fit better?
When I imported, the family is huge, and basically blocks the entire pumpkin field.
Also, most of the field is cropped out.
EXACTLY which menu commands do I use to resize the BK and position the family to the left?

Ok, I used Scissor select tool and was able to CUT that and PASTE that into a new layer.
I got some weird crap with the layers, but was eventually able to File -> Open As Layers
M = Move. S = Scale (resize foreground) to get some rough size estimate.

Thanks, that is certainly one way to do this, right?

There is nothing wrong with the lasso tool. You can go all around your image by placing your dots closer together while going around tight curves, it is a very good tool for making excellent and precise selections. Sorry, but it isn't crap as you call it.

Using the paths tool.
Molly and Conbagui - well said

Thank you system. I have to stand up for the tools I believe in, and that certainly is one of the many.

How do I use the paths tool ?

Never mind, that yellow image looks really sloppy on the borders extraction.

JustBasics - Perhaps you need the initiative plug-in for perfection.