How can I speed up background extraction for group photos?
Asked 6/24/2019
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2 answers
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We regularly receive team or group photos and need to cut people out from natural backgrounds. A typical image has around 15–18 people, and creating paths/masks manually takes about 30 minutes per image. What workflow changes or tools could help automate this or reduce the time required?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
2
Use green screen & some fast isolation software, such as those from FXHome - the older PhotoKey or the new Imerge (which I haven't tried yet, but seems to also be half the price of the old one.)
Other solutions are available, but that's the one I've used the most. Googling for stills software isn't as easy as for movie, but it's out there somewhere. I recall trying out Greenscreen Wizard at some point, but I don't remember why I went with PhotoKey in the end.
Basically, either of these will let you use virtually a photo booth setup & swap the background for one of your choice in seconds, including killing colour-cast & spill.
Originally by user57929. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user57929
7y ago
0
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The biggest time saver is to change how the photos are shot rather than trying to fully automate difficult natural-background extractions afterward.
If possible, photograph the groups against a green screen or other controlled backdrop, then use dedicated background-removal/chroma-key software. Community suggestions included tools such as FXHome PhotoKey / Imerge and Greenscreen Wizard. These are designed to isolate subjects quickly and can also help reduce green spill/color cast when replacing the background.
For groups shot on natural backgrounds, full automation is much harder because edges, overlapping people, hair, and similar tones make clean extractions unreliable. In that case, you may only be able to reduce time somewhat with masking tools, but not eliminate manual work.
So the most practical workflow improvement is:
- Use a photo-booth style setup with a green screen.
- Keep lighting controlled and even.
- Process with chroma-key/isolation software.
- Replace the background afterward in seconds rather than hand-drawing paths.
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