A method extracts an alpha matte from images acquired of a scene by cameras. A depth plane is selected for a foreground in the scene. A trimap is determined from a set of images acquired of the scene. An epipolar plane image is constructed from the set of images and the trimap, the epipolar plane image including scan lines. Variances of intensities are measured along the scan lines in the epipolar image, and an alpha matte is extracted according to the variances.