Eliminate A Background

[likite]

I want to post pictures of objects on a website. How do I - or probably what software do I need to get the background to disappear and have a purely neutral background which is white?

Thanks in advance.

[m155g0ld]

The best software by far for this is Adobe Photoshop.

Depending on how 'busy' your backgrounds are this could either be very simple or very tricky. The best idea is always to take the photograph against as blank a background as possible that is as different in colour to the subject as possible.

For example, for a white shirt the best idea would be to take the picture against a bright/dark plain background. This will make extracting the subject far easier.

Edited September 14, 2006 by m155g0ld

[likite]

The best software by far for this is Adobe Photoshop.

Depending on how 'busy' your backgrounds are this could either be very simple or very tricky. The best idea is always to take the photograph against as blank a background as possible that is as different in colour to the subject as possible.

For example, for a white shirt the best idea would be to take the picture against a bright/dark plain background. This will make extracting the subject far easier.

Thanks for that m155g0ld, I happen to have version 8 of the software which I have never used, do you know which tool to use to blank the background?

Thanks

[m155g0ld]

Version 8 is perfect.

It really depends what kind of objects you are extracting. If the object is fairly smooth and different enough from the background then you may be able to use the 'magic wand' tool. Adjust the 'tolerance' etc to suit your needs. Once you have selected you subject you can then either copy it to a new blank document or you can 'select inverse' to select the background and then fill it with white.

If however your subject is more complicated then you will probably need to use the pen tool. I have always found this fairly tricky but it is certainly possible and will give you the most accurate results. To use this tool you need to make several 'points' around your subject and then use the handles to get the correct lines and angles.

Good Luck!

[likite]

Thanks for your help - its appreciated. I'll give a go

[Tywais]

Thanks for your help - its appreciated. I'll give a go

It can be a time consuming process so be patient. When using the 'pen' tool, zoom in with high magnification to the edges you wish to cut out. Then just pan the picture around while tracing with the tool. This will give you better precision. You will probably still have a little jaggedness to the edges when you paste it back into a blank frame but just use the blur tool set at a low setting and run it around the edges to blend (smooth) the edges.

[Simmo]

Good tutorial here

http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/photoshop...rbps_3aleaf.htm

[chingching]

Good tutorial here

http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/photoshop...rbps_3aleaf.htm

Using pen tool or magic wand IMHO is time consuming and well give you very unsatisfactory results around the borders of objects. (for example if u are changing to a white background and have a dark object u wish to save, hard) I use Jasc (also free on a lot of cd's) and they have a "background eraser) u may have a "color replacer". So I can set the background color i want to erase and it becomes transparent or a different color. U can set the color's tolerance so that u can get more or less of similar or "close" colors.

[m155g0ld]

Hi Ching Ching,

I'd be interested to have a go with the program you mentioned - Jasc?

Who is it made by? Is there a free download or a trial version on the net?

Thanks

Edited September 15, 2006 by m155g0ld

[Tywais]

Hi Ching Ching,

I'd be interested to have a go with the program you mentioned - Jasc?

Who is it made by? Is there a free download or a trial version on the net?

Thanks

Jasc is the company and the product is Paintshop Pro. However Jasc has been bought out by Corel and you can see some download sites here. If you have been using Adobe Photoshop already there is no advantage switching to Paintshop Pro.

http://www.download.com/Paint-Shop-Pro/300...4-10001995.html

http://www.pcsoftland.com/graphics/animati...nt-Shop-Pro.htm

http://www.jasc.com/

Edited September 15, 2006 by tywais

[m155g0ld]

Thanks tywais - in that case I'll stick to photoshop!

[The Skipper]

Photo shop seemed too complex for me so I went "Microsoft Picture It".

Easy to use.

[hughden]

An easy way to soften the area of the selection you have made in Photoshop is to go to the Select menu and choose feather; and then try a few feather amounts, 3 pixels is a reasonable start just to make the edge softer. Quicker and more consistent than blurring manually.