How To Change A Photo Background To White

How To Change A Photo Background To White (Quick Guide)

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So, how do you change a photo background to white? First you need software that is capable of performing background removal, then you need a tutorial to show exactly how to do it.

For software the option that the majority of professional image editors use is Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop is often perceived as being expensive but it’s actually fairly affordable on the monthly payment plan.

Next you need a tutorial to show you exactly how we perform the background removal service. That’s exactly what we do in this tutorial. We will be showing you how to cut out a product image and add the product to a white background. In fact, once the product has been cut out you can add it to any color or pattern background.

So let’s get started:

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So above you can see the image we are going to work on. The image has been loaded into Adobe Photoshop ready for editing. The product we want to cut-out is the sandal in the middle of the picture. We plan to remove everything else from the image so that the sandal is isolated on its own.

We will start by selecting the pen tool on the left-hand toolbar.

We have zoomed in on the sandal so that it is easier to work with.

With the pen tool, you can left click and then draw anchor points. You then have two options.

You can just click various points round the image to do straight lines or

Alternatively, you can click and hold the mouse, and then move the mouse to adjust your Curve.

So effectively we are going to draw lines all around the outside and inside edges of the product so we can cut it out.

If you make a mistake you can select the direct selection tool.

You can then individually click the anchor points,

Pull the Anchor points around, and adjust any curves by pulling the Anchors.

All of these points lines and curves come together to create a path. By clicking on the Paths button on the right-hand toolbar you can see the work path selected that you are working on.

So now let’s pen tool the product for real.

We can start pretty much anywhere on the sandal. In this example we are going to start at the toe area.

So we start our work path. You can press the caps lock button to change the pen tool to a crosshair if that is what you prefer

If you are pen tooling and you are doing a curve, if you don’t want to follow up with another Curve then you can hold the alt key and select the anchor where you want the curve to finish.

You can then see at the next anchor is a straight line.

We are just cutting into the product a small amount. We are zoomed in quite close so you wouldn’t really notice when you zoom back out. It is better to cut into the product slightly rather than be on the outside and have a slight Halo effect. This is especially stands out on a coloured background.

We continue around the outside of the product carefully select in straight lines or curves.

If we fast forward we can see all the Anchors and paths around the product complete.

So the outside is fully completed. There are also some inside areas that need to be pen tooled. Like above.

And also above.

So whilst the work path around the outside is still selected, we carefully to the inside paths.

So once all the inside parts are selected we then go across to the path selection tool.

Holding shift we click on each of the three new paths we have created

We then move to the top of the screen and select the icon in the image. We need to click subtract front shape. This then takes the inside parts out of the shape, allowing any background to show through.

We now need to go back to the parts menu. Hold down control (on a PC) and left click the path

You will then get the little marching ants signifying the selected parts of the product

If you want to test the product then you simply need to create a new layer.

Choose a colour on the left hand side using the colour picker

Click somewhere on the selected area of the product

Then turn off the background. We can then see if we have done the work correctly.

So to actually place the product onto a new background we start by selecting the work path.

Hold ctrl and left click (on a PC), or command left click for a Mac.

We then want to copy and paste the product onto whatever background we wish.

If we turn off the background we can clearly see the product fully isolated.
So that’s the basic principles behind cutting out a product image and adding it to a white background. It may take a bit of practice until you are comfortable creating Work Paths. But once you have mastered it you will be able to create these relatively quickly.

Want to see this full tutorial? You can watch the full tutorial of one of our favorite Photoshop Artists Dansky below:

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About Pixelbyhand

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We are a professional product photo editing service. We work with businesses across the globe perfecting their images for eCommerce websites.

If you run an online business and would like to improve on your current product images then complete the simple form below. (We will only use your email to contact you directly regarding any inquiry you make. We promise to never send you spam or any unwanted mail).