Discussion
Use the magic wand to select the area you want to keep, varying the tolerance to get the correct selection, then either invert selection and fill in with white, or copy and paste into a white background. However, I imagine that just giving it a white background will look quite naff, and if I were considering buying the item it would probably be a bit off putting, like maybe you'd nicked the photo from somewhere else. Can you not photograph it with a suitable background in the first place?
An option that you could try - but which would be dependent on your camera and available settings, would be to try using a plain white sheet as a background.
If you suspend the sheet on a wall as cleanly as possible (i.e. to remove as many creases as you can), then hang the article on support a short distance in front of the sheet. If you set the camera to use flash, and then also set spot metering so that you meter only for the garment, the flash and exposure should be set to expose the garment correctly, but overexpose the white sheet. If this is done successfully, the white sheet should appear as only a plain white background. The darker the item, the more successful this will be. You can also adjust the exposure compensation to increase the above effect. Depending on what you use, you may then need to clone out the garment support.
Make sure you are level and 'directly on' to the garment to eliminate visable shadow from the flash.
If you suspend the sheet on a wall as cleanly as possible (i.e. to remove as many creases as you can), then hang the article on support a short distance in front of the sheet. If you set the camera to use flash, and then also set spot metering so that you meter only for the garment, the flash and exposure should be set to expose the garment correctly, but overexpose the white sheet. If this is done successfully, the white sheet should appear as only a plain white background. The darker the item, the more successful this will be. You can also adjust the exposure compensation to increase the above effect. Depending on what you use, you may then need to clone out the garment support.
Make sure you are level and 'directly on' to the garment to eliminate visable shadow from the flash.
Edited by Ledaig on Saturday 6th December 10:12
i run an online kids clothes store as a sideline, and unfortunately even using a professional photographer I had to cut them out using photoshop (zoom in 100% on the raw image, and literally click around the entire item with the lassoo tool) Very time consuming but well worth it as it gives a really good finish and looks great integrated into the website.
WTD said:
i run an online kids clothes store as a sideline, and unfortunately even using a professional photographer I had to cut them out using photoshop (zoom in 100% on the raw image, and literally click around the entire item with the lassoo tool) Very time consuming but well worth it as it gives a really good finish and looks great integrated into the website.
I'm surprised that a professional couldn't give you satisfactory results. With the equipment they have at their disposal, they should have been able to use the above technique, combined with studio or off camera flash lighting aimed directly at only the background to blow it completely. This should have given the results you wanted.Ledaig said:
WTD said:
i run an online kids clothes store as a sideline, and unfortunately even using a professional photographer I had to cut them out using photoshop (zoom in 100% on the raw image, and literally click around the entire item with the lassoo tool) Very time consuming but well worth it as it gives a really good finish and looks great integrated into the website.
I'm surprised that a professional couldn't give you satisfactory results. With the equipment they have at their disposal, they should have been able to use the above technique, combined with studio or off camera flash lighting aimed directly at only the background to blow it completely. This should have given the results you wanted.
Edited by Bee_Jay on Saturday 6th December 12:53
_dobbo_ said:
Try using the levels tool or the shadows/highlights tool to blow out the white, much faster than cutting around it. It slightly changes the colours but only a tiny bit.
20 seconds work in paint.net
Thanks Dobbo.20 seconds work in paint.net
Where do I find the 'levels' tool or the 'shadows/highlights' tool in paint.net?
scratch pervert said:
WTD, Do you just use a white sheet to place the item on as your result is exactly what I'm looking for?
No it was a white board that the guy photographed on, but there was post processing required to go round the entire background and 'cut' out the image and set the background to white.After a few images, it got pretty quick, around 30secs - 1 min an item, but when you're doing 250 its not much fun! haha
WTD said:
scratch pervert said:
WTD, Do you just use a white sheet to place the item on as your result is exactly what I'm looking for?
No it was a white board that the guy photographed on, but there was post processing required to go round the entire background and 'cut' out the image and set the background to white.After a few images, it got pretty quick, around 30secs - 1 min an item, but when you're doing 250 its not much fun! haha
I think I'm going to buy a roll of seamless background paper and see what results I can achieve by playing with the levels on paint.net
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