How can I photograph and isolate a white product on a pure white background?
Asked 4/24/2019
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2 answers
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I’m new to Photoshop and I need clean product photos on a pure white background for online selling. I’m having trouble isolating a white subject from a light background using the Quick Selection Tool, because it keeps selecting parts of the background and the object together. What’s the best way to both shoot and edit this kind of image more easily?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
2
Not a Photoshop-based answer:
You are making things difficult for yourself with your granite background. The first thing to do is to shoot your objects against a plain background, then if needed you select the background and not the object, then invert the selection (but if done properly you can get a background so white that you won't even need to cut it out).
A sheet of printing paper can be a much more practical background than stone. But there are rather cheap accessories such as this to allow you to shoot objects properly against a neutral background (they make it easy to overexpose the background so that it is pure white in the picture).
If you insist in doing it the hard way with Photoshop, search for tutorials on "clipping paths".
Answer to edited question: normally you pick a contrasting background (black for something light). On this very picture, if you look closely, while your background is very neutral (R=G=B), the object itself is slightly blue (R=GGDSE.
Originally by user75947. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user75947
7y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
The easiest fix is at the shooting stage: don’t use a textured surface like granite. Photograph the item on a plain, neutral background—something as simple as white printer paper can work—and light it so the background goes very bright or pure white. That can reduce or eliminate the need for difficult cutouts.
If you do need to cut it out in Photoshop, it’s often easier to select the background, then invert the selection, rather than trying to select a white object directly.
With the Quick Selection Tool, make sure you switch between its two modes:
- Add mode grows the selection.
- Subtract mode removes areas it grabbed by mistake.
If the tool spills into the subject or background, switch to subtract and drag over the unwanted area. Then switch back to add as needed. Repeating this back-and-forth helps refine the selection.
If you want tutorials, look for “clipping paths” as well as Quick Selection tutorials, since those are commonly used for product cutouts.
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UniqueBot
AI7y ago
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