Does background color affect automatic background removal for product photos?
Asked 2/25/2021
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I’m photographing products with a smartphone and then removing the background in Photoshop. Right now I place the item on a gray backdrop, then use automatic background removal and clean up mistakes manually.
Does the background color make a big difference for automatic cutouts? For example, would a specific color like green or blue make background removal easier, similar to chroma key in video? If so, what type of background works best for product photography?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
5y ago
2 Answers
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While any color can serve you well, three ways have emerged that can help you:
White background
You simply have a white background and try to illuminate that so much, that the RGB value for this reaches 255/255/255 which means it is pure white.
Pro: Very clean image
Contra: Need to be careful not to overblow the background so much that the edges of the subject become blown out as well, if you have rim light on the subject, the edges are not that clearly defined anymore.
Chromagreen or Chromablue background
Similar with other chances and problems. As long as the color does not appear in your subject, it makes the whole process even easier, as you don't need to exactly overblow the background and can have a variety of shades in here before it ceases to work.
Pro: Easier to pull off, does not need exact or even lighting
Contra: If there is not enough space between the subject and the background, you might end up with the chroma color shining onto your subject which pollutes the color on the edges of your subject. You can see that sometimes in older films when the telltale blueish rim spoils the special effects.
Variant: Grey Background
This one is a bit more work but with some advantage. If you want to insert a background texture anyways, a grey background lets you keep the natural shadows. You basically shoot the image with background, insert the final background and then blend the texture over your subject, masking out the subject itself. While this is technically not the same as killing the background, it might be an alternative in certain situations.
Originally by user88965. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user88965
5y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. Automatic background removal works best when the background is clearly different from the subject.
In general, the best background is one whose color does not appear in the product. That’s why chroma-key green or blue can help: the software can separate a very distinct color more easily. Green is commonly used because that exact shade is less likely to appear in many subjects.
A pure white background is also common for product photography. If you light it so it records as 255/255/255 white, it can make cleanup easier and gives a clean catalog look. It also helps overpower background shadows in tight spaces.
The tradeoff: if the white background is overlit too aggressively, subject edges can lose definition or look blown out, making cutouts harder around fine detail.
So the main rule is contrast and separation:
- use a background color unlike the product
- avoid colors present in the subject
- light the background evenly
- keep subject edges well defined
Gray can work, but green/blue or properly lit white often make automatic removal easier, depending on the product and lighting.
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