Removing background from images

[Alex Ross]

Hi,

I am designing a catalog however the photos have a background, for
example the pictures are of shoes but i can see the table the shoe is
sitting on and the background behind the shoe, is there a way to cut
the shoes out in Photoshop so the background is removed?

Thanks

[Ben H]

Yes, lots of ways - it's a fairly fundamental technique.

Depending on the image, you can use PS's selection tools, like the smart selection tool to select the area you want to isolate, then with it selected, hit command/control-J to jump the selection to a new layer.

You can also use the Extract command in PS.

However, there is only one "proper" way to do it, and the pros will tell you this, and that is to manually trace the edges with the pen tool to create a path around your object. You then convert the path to a selection and jump it up to a new layer as before. There are technical reasons why the Pen tol is the best way of doing it, but it's not necessarily the quickest. Again, it really depends on the task as to which tools and workflows you choose. It's best to get a feel for all of them.

It's probably something you'll find difficult or tedious at first, but the more you do it, the quicker and easier you'll find it.

[tirediron]

The whole process will be made MUCH easier if your products are shot on a featureless white surface/background (unless they have a lot of white in them).

[mindforge]

For a really fast version, I create a path and apply slight sharpened feathering to the edge. For cleaner versions I sit and get every little curve on that path and have thousands of points sometimes... depends on the quality you are going for.

[slightlyimperfect]

For a really fast version, I create a path and apply slight sharpened feathering to the edge. For cleaner versions I sit and get every little curve on that path and have thousands of points sometimes... depends on the quality you are going for.


Hey question for you...when you say..."Feather to the edge". Does this mean after you select the portion of the picture you want to cut out and after you place it on the new back ground, that there is some way to make the cut lines not look so obvious. Kinda blend the new back ground and the cut on image.

Thanks
Robin

[Ben H]

Yes, "feathering" is a standard Photoshop term/feature which basically let's you soften hard selection or shape edges.
CS3 also has a nice "Refine Edge" tool as well...

[edbayani11]

another way to feather the selection is to press Q to make the selection into a quick mask and use gaussian blur and blur it according to your taste and press Q again to make it into a feathered selection.

[scorpio_e]

You can also try the best plugin for removing backgrounds..Fluid mask. I believe there is a free trial..So work fast :)

[garry]

Photo Background (http://www.photostudiosupplies.com/photo-backgrounds-image-packs.php) Choose various photo backgrounds like Kids Background, Nature background for better photography