Photoshop - How to remove white background

[LizzyB]

Hi,

Very often I want to remove the white backgound from images I buy and put them on another colour or save as transparent.

I have used the magic wand to remove the white but i always find that around the edges there is a little whitever pale gray whcih then makes them look poor quality - especially if Im going to reuse on a dark background. Also sometimes the background is not just around the outside, it goes in and out of the image (as an example I just bought an ornate scroll to edge a website and the white is in every nook and crany).

Please help - Im sure there must be an easy way to do this but I cant find it in the help files.

Liz

[JKnoch]

The best way to cut an image out perfectly is to outline the item with the pen tool. This way you draw the outline around the object and cut it out. You then have complete control of how smooth you want the image is. The downfall of this is that it takes a lot of time to do this on complicated shapes.

To get a quicker cut out, use the magic wand and play with the tolerance values to allow more similar color values to be picked up by the wand. The default is 32, a higher number will select more colors, and a smaller number will select less.

After you select the white color, and delete it, if you see there is still that annoying white line, you can go to modify selection and pick increase selection size by 1 pixel, then hit delete. This should get ride of that outline.

[rcarlton]

Hey Lizzy:

Another option is to take your image and create a second layer behind it that has the fill color that you are wanting. For example, if you were going to drop your image onto a black background, place a black background behind it. Then select the original image layer, and change the blending mode. Depending on what version of photoshop you're using, you'll need to play with the specific blending mode. (In CS3 I think "Darker Color" is closest to what you're wanting), (in CS2 it might be "Lighten, or "multiply").

This is assuming you have some experience with Photoshop, I apologize but it's impossible to tell from these short questions.

A third option would be to use "alpha channels". That way you have a layered file that retains the original data if you ever need to go back to it for anything. There's an excellent short example at http://www.axialis.com/tutorials/tutorial-misc001.html

Hope this helps.

___
Boasberg-Carlton (http://www.boasberg-carlton.com)

[dtm32236]

both suggestions are pretty good... there's always a million ways to do something though... let me add a few more.

when using the magic wand, if you hit 'Q', you'll get a the image outlined in red (the red part is the selection). here, you can use the brush tool to modify the selection - using the color black and 'painting' with the brush will add to the selection, while using white will remove from it. play with it - it's pretty cool.

- or -

you can also use the 'color picker' if the background isn't pure white, make sure you do a 1x1 selection, the you can add and remove colors as you wish with the + and - tool.... i don't feel like opening photoshop right now so that i can explain in more detail - but if you'd like i'll explain better later on...

[yamaharuss]

...

when using the magic wand, if you hit 'Q', you'll get a the image outlined in red (the red part is the selection). here, you can use the brush tool to modify the selection - using the color black and 'painting' with the brush will add to the selection, while using white will remove from it. play with it - it's pretty cool.

...


Awesome tip! Thanks, I'll surely make good use of this.

[dtm32236]

Yeah, it's good stuff...
The tool is in the bottom left - its a circle inside of a square or something. I forget what it's called.

Also be aware of the Save Selection tool (under the Select menu) and how to save Paths (when creating an outline with the pen tool). You'll find them pretty useful too.

[Kor]

That Q is the Quick Mask shortcut. It can be applied to any kind of selection, not only to the Magic Wand... :) It is nothing but creating a mask...

[LizzyB]

Thanks everyone. I will have a go at all these things and see which I can manage best. I have to admit Ive been using Photoshop for years but always felt I've never got far into all that it can do.

Thanks again
Liz

[bathurst_guy]

You can make a feather on the edges to soften them.

[Eye for Video]

Sound like lots of good ideas. After your selection is made and on its own layer, you might also play with the Layer / Matting / Defringe (or Remove Matting). This can help take off a little of the unwanted edge.

[Gillbate]

I've try with color range and it does not work.
There are some white dust around image and gone terrible when I use color overlay on it.

http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-9790595-english-knight-from-the-15th-century.php

Please help to cut off this.

[rproctor83]

@Gillbate

That image you linked to is very easy to remove the white background. Since it is a black and white image you can simply turn the image into a mask.

1. Open the image and cut it into your clipboard (Ctrl+A to select then Ctrl+X to cut). This should leave you with an empty layer and the graphic stored in your clipboard.

2. Fill this layer completely black and then create a mask for it.

3. Alt+click on the layer mask to edit the mask and then paste the contents of your clipboard into the mask.

4. It should paste guy on the horse in the mask with the character being black and the background white. We need to invert this so with your layer mask selected press ctrl+i to invert.

5. Get out of your layer mask and now the character should be completely cutout.

(optional) if you notice editing or distortion around the character, go back to your mask and open the level pallet(ctrl+L). Adjust the levels until it removes excess from the edges.

Black and white images like this are very simple to cutout.

[Gillbate]

Oh! I can do it now.
Thank you very much ;)

[skilled1]

if the background is white, just set the layer style to multiply, and color the new color on a layer below it.

[JohnTriger]

Go back to your Photoshop psd file, select the white background layer

[NHS2008]

You might want to try 'refine edge' option.
It works best for this purpose. Make your selection. Goto select\refine edge
and make appropriate adjustments there.

[rdmarino]

Use the Magic Wand tool to click in the white area. Then, go to Select - Inverse. Now Edit - Copy, then Edit - Paste. Thats it! If there are any patches of white inside the image that needed to be removed, just take the Magic Wand tool and select it, and hit the Delete key. Hope that helps everyone! :)

[yael.maritz]

Me and My buddy Mike made a simple filter that does just that,
you can download it from my website:

yaelmaritz.com/extras_killWhite.html (http://yaelmaritz.com/extras_killWhite.html)

this is especially useful if you want to clean up sketches you've done with pencils, since it removes all the "lightness" from the image, not just pure white pixels!

[andrewdavid]

Open new file and apply dark color in background of that new file. Now drag the image of which you want to remove the background on the new file you have made. There erase the white background by using rubber. Dark background will help you to do this job perfectly...after erasing the white background you will found the dark background and as the background and your image are separate layers now so you can change the background color or make it transparent by just right clicking on the file and select background. Now you can easily apply affect just on the background.

[EowyntheFair]

Hi!

I've been reading your suggestions on how to remove the white background, but I am still not certain of how this works with a color image. I am creating presentations in PowerPoint and the white boxes look exceptionally tacky. I am relatively familiar with Photoshop, but am by no means a wizard with the program. I would appreciate some further suggestions. Thanks!

[Kor]

Google is your friend:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/photoshop/cs/using/WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-76f6a.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9zJts240Vk

and so on...