Removing an image from its background HELP?

[Cindy34]

Hi there,

I am a complete novice at using photoshop cs4 and I really need to learn how to remove an image from its background and to then save the image.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks so much.

Cindy:)

[Audentia]

There are dozens of ways you can do this... and it depends on whether or not your image is on a white background, the level of detail etc.

Perhaps you should check out some tutorials at adobe.com or take a class?

[Craig B]

pen tool, selection tool, etc. draw around it

But, as Audentia said if the detail is high, or if the blend form what you're cutting out to the background is "soft and fuzzy" or semi-transparent, then it's trickier ... definitely look for some tutorials.

[Riefnu]

Go to illustrator.

Zoom onto the edge of the image you want. (you can select between pixels if you're really really careful!)

Use the pen tool to draw a path around what you want to select.

Select both the path and the picture.

Then Make a Clipping Path

Drag cut out image into photoshop



Edit: I suppose you could do it the only sure fire way of only getting the pixels you want. Deleted one pixel at a time :D

[Craig B]

As long as it's hard edged riefnu ... but then you don't have as many options to fix the mask or clipping path. And you could just start with the pen tool in Photoshop as well.

[Riefnu]

As long as it's hard edged riefnu ... but then you don't have as many options to fix the mask or clipping path. And you could just start with the pen tool in Photoshop as well.


Photoshop Pen tool? What pen tool? Oh.... THAT pen tool. We don't talk about him in the My Documents yacht and golf club. :D

and i've done fuzzy edged cut outs. It just takes as longer, and a lot more anchors. I don't advise it. I'm sure I accelerated some wrist failure by years doing it.

[MelissaV]

I would suggest using the pen tool in Photoshop. Here's a tutorial you can use.

http://www.webdesign.org/web/photoshop/photoshop-basics/using-the-pen-tool-in-photoshop-video-tutorial.16329.html

Once you have the path created, apple click the path in the path window. Then go to your layers window, click on the layer you want your image cut out of and then click the mask icon on the bottom of the layer window. This will create a mask and not delete what's behind. So if you mess up or want to clean something up by hand, all you have to do is click on the mask and use the brush tool (black creates a mask, white brings back the background.)
I hope that helps!

[SEP Studios]

As others have said, Photoshop has a number of tools available but it depends on your image.

The pen tool, lasso and magic wand are fine if the shape has a hard edge. If it has a soft edge, things get complicated in a hurry.

It would be easier to suggest the right technique if we could see the image.

Scott

[Typically]

i'd avoid the magic wand because i've never had really good results with it. much easier to use the pen tool or lasso tool IMO

[SEP Studios]

i'd avoid the magic wand because i've never had really good results with it.

LOL! That's like telling somebody to avoid peanuts because YOU are allergic to them.

Let's wait to see the image before we make a recommendation for or against a technique.

Scott

[Typically]

500 posts says that what they want to do won't easily be done with the magic wand. yup 500 big ones!

[SEP Studios]

500 posts says that what they want to do won't easily be done with the magic wand. yup 500 big ones!

I'm confused. 500 posts from who?

[Mynock]

I use Quick Mask Mode and then any of a number of tools that really depend on the object and how much time I have to spend on it.

[eugenetyson]

I find the best way to do this is with a layer mask.

If the Layer has "Background" in italics then double click and say ok.

Then on the Layers Panel there's a button at the bottom of the panel called "Layer Mask"

You'll see an icon appear beside the thumbnail of the image - which is the mask. (if you're familar with printing, old film to plate, or just general painting the house where you put tape over the bits you don't want painted).

So when you select the mask you can use the Brush Tool to add or substract from the layer.

When you press the Brush Tool on the Tools Panel (on the left) then imdediately hit "d" on the keyboard (sets the foreground and background to black and white - it should be default that when the Layer Mask is active).

Use the brush using different sizes and hardness (right click (ctrl click on mac) to bring up the Brush options - here you can select the different size brush and hardness (where you can have soft edges to feather hair and things and hard edges for obvious things)

When you use the brush the Foreground colour (black) will mask out areas of the image.

Use "x" on the keyboard to switch Foreground (black) to the background colour (white) so now the foreground colour should be white.

Using this you can add back in areas of the image.


This is a very non-destructive way of removing the background. As you're not actually deleting anything - you're masking out areas you don't want seen.

When you're done save your file as a .psd (which preserves the layer mask and supports transparency for printing) If it's for the web then right click the layer - "Apply Layer Mask" and save the file for web and select GIF with Transparency checked.

I usually put a layer filled with Blue or Green (think movie blue/green screens) underneath the layer I'm masking out so I can see the progress on a live background and I can see bits that need to be tidied up or improved or made more realistic looking using various brush sizes and hardness and softness.


Now you can go edit and reedit and refine the image and you will never lose the background it will be there but it will be masked. If you need the background for another project then duplicate the file - drag the layer mask to the trash can on the layers panel and then you're done.

[Danger_Mouse]

while I support helping out a newbie....this might be a good start for you.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=photoshop+cs4+tutorials

[hewligan]

while I support helping out a newbie....this might be a good start for you.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=photoshop+cs4+tutorials

You know, Google's great when a question has a specific answer. When the answer to a question is "It depends..." Google's not so great.

[garricks]

I had great luck Tuesday with a photo of a brown-haired, light-skinned guy, in a charcoal suit, sitting in front of a studio backdrop of leather-bound books.

I used the Quick Selection tool for the rough, then the quick mask with brush and eraser to refine it. Saved that as a selection, deleted the "books" and put my desired background on a new, lower layer.

Then I zoomed WAY in with a tiny eraser to work on the small halo that was left around the shoulders and neck. It looks dang good, and won't be printed at larger than 3 x 5 inches.

I've discovered the key is to have patience and save intermediary copies so you can back up if you need to...sometimes the History panel isn't enough.

[hewligan]

I had a whole pile of photos that needed the background replacing at the start of this week, so I decided to try out some of the new stuff in CS4 (most of this can be done in CS3, but the way it's handled in CS4 makes is a lot easier).

I had the picture on a non-background layer, then in the new, and rather cool masks panel, I added a layer mask, and then used the colour range tool to create a base mask. I adjusted the mask with levels, and then tidied up with a brush and the dodge/burn tools. Was very quick, assuming you have good background/foreground colour contrast.

[garricks]

hewligan, I have more to do, so I'll bring some home over the weekend and try them in CS4 as well as trying it in CS3 at work.

Have you ever used Filter > Extract? It works really well on a sharp edge, especially if it's a short field and the background is blurry.

[hewligan]

I have tried the extract filter.

I found it worked really well on the example files that came from Adobe, and not much else.

I also tried Extensis Mask Pro, (http://www.extensis.com/en/about/press_release_content.jsp?releaseId=1200037) which is a very similar thing that works much better. But, in my opinion, still not well enough.

[hewligan]

Incidentally, if you're going to be trying the method I described above, you should really be planning on only using the brush to fill in very large areas, or for fixing small areas where there just wasn't enough contrast.

For most of the edges, use the dodge/burn tools (works in any version of Photoshop, but is one of the things they drastically improved for CS4). By using them, you can really bring out the edges along your selection.

Also, if you're anything like me, expect a few "Oh Damn!" moments, and a rapid undo, as you realise you were just painting on the image rather than the mask...

[Cindy34]

Thank you so much everybody you have all been a great help.

I will let you know how I get on soon.

Great forum by the way!

[Danger_Mouse]

You know, Google's great when a question has a specific answer. When the answer to a question is "It depends..." Google's not so great.

heh...sorry to the OP (Cindy) I have been itchin' to use that link. Please take with a grain of salt.

I would still refer you to tutorials based on the task asked about as it is "one of the basic know how's" of photoshop and you are guaranteed to have to know this when in the workforce. There are tons of great ones out there.

That being said as you have seen from responses, there are many metheods that could be used. Some do the job better than others, some do it faster and sufficient enough.

Anyways...good luck!

[Cindy34]

Thanks Danger mouse, I was starting to doubt myself as I knew that cutting around objects etc is a big part of using software like photoshop but now I am smiling because I can do it. :D

I found that for some pictures erasing around it zoomed in then cutting and pasting it on to a new transparent page works. Also using the lasso, cutting and pasting it then zooming in to make the edges neat.

For more complex pictures I think I will have to look into some tutorials as mentioned.

Thank you everyone, sometimes a few tips from other people can make everything seem so much more simple. I would get a round of drinks in but I don't think cosmopolitans send via email! :p

Please go easy on me as I am a total novice and have a feeling I will be back with more questions at some point...

Thanks again, Cindy.:)

[Typically]

soooo did you use the magic wand at all? :D

[Virgo Nightingale]

I use the magic wand. But only for isolating objects for avatars and photoshop parties. :D

[Cindy34]

I had to chuckle to myself reading that.......nope no magic wand.:D

[Typically]

LOL! That's like telling somebody to avoid peanuts because YOU are allergic to them.

Let's wait to see the image before we make a recommendation for or against a technique.

Scott

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/9459/nelsonmuntzrie2dg3.jpg

:D

[garricks]

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a249/garricks/BBU%20avatars/nelsonmuntzHAHA.png

[Pointyhat]

LOL! That's like telling somebody to avoid peanuts because YOU are allergic to them.

Let's wait to see the image before we make a recommendation for or against a technique.

Scott

The magic wand is only good with a posterized image. You need control and tolerance over the pixels. It's not a good basic tool to be using for a simple clipped path.

[Danger_Mouse]

I have used the magic wand in my time for low res quickies. Mockups etc. Instead of tracing out with pen tool (my preferred metheod) it is SOMETIMES faster to just wand it until internally we have picked our favorite designs.

That being said...I would probably never use it in final hi resolution images at all.

[urstwile]

I know some here might think that the magic wand is the equivalent of Comic Sans, but it's not. As with any technique in Photoshop, there are many different ways to approach isolating an image from its background, and it largely depends on the image, not some high-flung principle based on the "right way" to do things. I can think of any number of different ways to approach it, I let the image be the deciding factor in that.

That being said, I do most often tend to favor the pen tool.

[kevincdg]

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a249/garricks/bbu%20avatars/nelsonmuntzhaha.png

LOL. Wanded. quality joke. i dig it.