How to delete the background on product photos

Hi Guys,

I have been doing some photos on clothing products for a website. The clothes are flat on the ground. I've been using a plain white sheet as the background.

For all colours it is great and also quite easy to delete the background in photoshop with the magic wand tool. However the problem is when I come to a product with any white in, even white stripes as when i start deleting the background it deletes part of the actual product.

How solutions guys?? Any help would be much appreciated.

Example problem photo - http://bit.ly/gyMPma

Thanks,

Darrell

 

You could try a few different things:

Use the lasso tool (just above the magic wand on the tool bar). Set feather to 1px in the top toolbar and trace around the image. It will take longer as you have to follow the edges of the product manually but will give you the best results.

You could also try the Background Eraser tool (in the sub-menu of the eraser). Play with the tolerance setting in the top tool bar.

Or, you could change the color of the sheet that is on the ground when you take the photos of things with white in them. Try like a bright green or orange so there is a better contrast between the product and floor.

 

Probably the best way would be to use the lasso tool. It should do well for simple shapes like these.

 

I think the best way to delete the background on product photos is change the color of the sheet and use "magic wand tool"

 

You need to use the quick mask mode after your photo selection with the magic wand.
Then you can easily paint the part you want to exclude from the selection.
Search for "quick mask mode" on google you'll get plenty of tutorials.

 

magic eraser in photoshop works best for me, or lassoo tool.

 

use photoshop with the magic eraser or lasso tool. i think i saw something awhile back where it was an online service that did just this trick. no idea of the name though.

 

if you get stuck let me know by pm and ill help you out by doing a couple for you

 

Make a transparent background...?

 

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've now bought another background, just some hardboard. However on some of the images the edges look quite rough.

An example - http://bit.ly/gaI58p (This is image after using the magic wand)

http://bit.ly/gnOga6 (This is same image, but before any editing in PS)

Love to see if people could do better with other tools??

Cheers,

Darrell

 

hmmmmmmmmm

 

you can use magic eraser in photoshop, or lassoo tool. they r good

 

Hi,
you can use pen tool.because it's selected point by point and easily after that you can change easily your product background.

 

Magic erase - a little slice of magic, without which I would be lost!

 

This is what you do:

Get a WHITE background that is fairly matte to the surface and smooth. Lika a big sheet of white paper, or the white backside of a vinyl table cloth if you know what I mean.
Set the lighting so that you get a minimum ofh shadows, and so that the shadows are not stretching very far out from the garment. Lights from stright above...
Try to get the images as true in color as possible, and to get the white background WHITE

Then you open the image in photoshop, and in the layers palette you bring up the adjustment layer called "Levels". You will see a histagram - a jagged curve-thing. Start with pulling the left knob to the right up to the point where the histagram curve starts. Then you do the same with the right side.
This will have brightened your image a bit and made the black more black, and the white more white. and made the colors more vivid and clear.

Now, you start to pull the right and left knobs a bit further in to the histagram, and the white will get even more white and spread, and same with the black. This will whiten the background even more and also brighten the garment colors, this is called "burning" the image. Exaggerating black, white and color to make reality look a bit better then it really does.

Then you pull the center knob a bit to the left or right to see what happens with color. The goal is to get strong nice ccolor, and to make the white background so even and white - all the way to the edge of the product - that it will be very easy to remove it with the magic wand, and if you use the images on a site with white background, you will not need to remove the background at all.

Remember, the levels adjustment layer at the bottom of the layers palette, it will be as a separate layer so you can delete it or turn it off or change the settings whenever you want. But this trick will help you turn out great product images.

 

If you want clean results you can use the pen tool but need the long time

 

Use the lasso tool again to smooth out the edges then add a little outside glow to blend & smoothened the edges out. [hope that makes sense]

 

Try fireworks or photoshop

 

yes i think pen tool is best

 

Well, I'm using AVS Photo Editor, honestly, it's a great photo tool for me, and photoshop is good also. By your choice, whatever.