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dmcnickle · Jul 22, 2003, 04:09 PM

I want to be able to remove the background and other images from some photos.

Does anyone have any recommendations as far as tutorials/how-tos etc that might be posted somewhere on the internet.

I have Photoshop Elements, Painter and Canvas. I think it can be done with one or all of these programs but am in a time crunch and would appreciate some a link to some information on how to do this.

Thank you very much

aprilcarter · Jul 22, 2003, 06:31 PM

Step 1: Buy Photoshop.

aprilcarter · Jul 22, 2003, 06:41 PM

Sorry to be a smart ass. I was trying to find a tutorial for you, but didn't find one... if you're using Photoshop standard, the task is simple. I'm not sure what capabilities Photoshop Elements has, but it may be similar enough for the following to be useful:

Select the background. If there is a differently (and semi-solidly) colored background, this can be done with the Magic Wand tool. If the background has a lot of contrast or color similar to the object, you will have to do it manually, either with the Lasso or the Pen.

The next step depends on your final product. For web formats, you can delete the selection and leave a white background, Exporting or Saving As... a gif or jpg. For printing, you can also delete the selection, Saving As... a tiff, or make a Clipping Path and Saving As... an eps.

If this is completely beyond you or your application's capabilities, please search for tutorials.

ghost_flash · Jul 22, 2003, 06:48 PM

Originally posted by dmcnickle:
I want to be able to remove the background and other images from some photos.

Does anyone have any recommendations as far as tutorials/how-tos etc that might be posted somewhere on the internet.

I have Photoshop Elements, Painter and Canvas. I think it can be done with one or all of these programs but am in a time crunch and would appreciate some a link to some information on how to do this.

Thank you very much

I found this in about 20 seconds with Google.

Personally I use the "Pen" tool and manually
take out the background, with most objects.

You can see a sample on my site in the portfolio section... lower right corner.

Good luck!
Oh, and GET PHOTOSHOP, but I do think
Elements will do the trick, so never mind.

:O)

My site

hunkhuang · Jul 23, 2003, 07:25 AM

I use Lasso Tool in Photoshop normally. If the background is a plain colour , for example, green/blue... you can use colour range to key out the colour..it's faster and accurate.

I'm doing on film, that's the way we do !!

ghost_flash · Jul 23, 2003, 09:28 AM

Color range is good for hair.
If you want a sharp edge, use the pen tool.

Lasso Magnet is good also for quick jobs.

Also with Color range you can select many colors.

-M

andi*pandi · Jul 23, 2003, 09:33 AM

If it's a really simple background, I use the magic wand. But if it's complex, and I need it to look good, I use the pen tool, create a path, and make it a clipping path. (or for web, select the path and delete that section to white... etc.)

FYI, you haven't needed to save files with clipping paths as EPS since Quark 3.3. A TIF with a clipping path works fine in Quark 4 and above.

godzookie2k · Jul 23, 2003, 09:47 AM

ughhhhh clipping path guys, clipping path...its faster, cleaner, and easier. F that magic wand crap.

dmcnickle · Jul 23, 2003, 11:13 AM

Do you think I would be better off getting photoshop?
I hate to spend that much money but my daughter is doing a lot of this and we could probably get an educational price.

ghost_flash · Jul 23, 2003, 04:40 PM

Originally posted by dmcnickle:
Do you think I would be better off getting photoshop?
I hate to spend that much money but my daughter is doing a lot of this and we could probably get an educational price.

You are going to need to get photoshop.
She is going to be making a lot of clipping paths.

:O)

Have fun!

My page

blackbird_1.0 · Jul 25, 2003, 11:51 PM

http://www.photoshoproadmap.com/phot...-elements.html

this is interesting
http://www.micromail.ie/titles/1753.html

do some google searches/research before running out to spend major bucks

saturnbill · Aug 11, 2003, 10:30 AM

If you can qualify for the Educational discounts, by all means go there. You can save hundreds off the retail prices. At Acedemic Superstore you can get Photoshop for about 270.00. Elements will not upgrade to the full version.
As for tutorials, you can go to the Adobe Exchange on their site, or do a browse for Photoshop tutorials. Teamphotoshop,com and Spoono.com have some great tutorials. Look there first.

Starry Night · 10:50 PM

Originally posted by dmcnickle:
Do you think I would be better off getting photoshop?
I hate to spend that much money but my daughter is doing a lot of this and we could probably get an educational price.

Photoshop Elements 2.0 will do most, if not all of the techniques mentioned by the members in this thread. Magic wand, magnetic lasso, and paintbrush selection techniques are all in Elements 2.0. You might benefit from a book on Elements 2.0. I find the "Teach Yourself Visually Photoshop Elements 2.0" book to be helpful. If you want a more verbal teaching, just search amazon.....
You might try searching in Elements' help department built into the program.

Elements 2.0 will do a whole bunch of stuff, a surprisingly large amount of things. Unless you're a pro, I doubt you'll need to get the full Photoshop. Save your $!

bmmp · Sep 3, 2003, 04:58 PM

Photoshop Elements is a very nice alternative to the original. It gears toward digital photography more and most of the terminology is the same.

Since you are new to the program, the absolutely best technique (that works in every situation) is the eraser tool. Be sure to make a copy of the layer or make a duplicate version of the file so you can always go back in case you mess up (beyond undos).

Selection and pen tools are awesome, but only if you have and want clean edges (OK, you can feather selection edges, but that's beyond this argument). With the eraser tool, you can vary the blur and get an nice anti-aliased edge, or go with a nice hard edged brush.

Once you good with using the eraser tool, try creating a layer mask. This preserves the original layer by Painting opacity. Lots of tutorials for this all over the place.

ism · Sep 3, 2003, 05:44 PM

There is always gimp for free. If you want to cut people out rather than remove backgrounds, I tend to just freehand round the person, leaving a bit of a gap. Put this on another layer, and then do a fade selection.