Removing background from images

[Alex Ross]

I am finding this too hard, I googled and found some companies that do this sort of thing, has anyone tried them? Is clipping path the same as deepetching. http://www.deepetch.com seems to be one good one, I also saw www.ezyclipping.com - and Photoshop Clipping Paths - How To & How Not To Create Good Quality Paths. Has anyone had any experience with this sort of thing. My catalog has over 300 images of jewellery and jackets with fur fitted on manequins due in two weeks, all shot on a blue studio background. Do I require alpha channel masking? Can anyone help please?

[cbsheth]

hey there...
in case you still need help with the background removal from the images you have... do contact me and I shall surely be able to help.

you can either pm me or email me at chirag@fivestudio.in

I do have time for a couple of days.

regards
chirag

[Chung Dha]

If they are done well you could use magic want and and mask it plus few filters so it flows over better. But I think you should use the pen tool and work on it day and night for 300 pictures. Otherwise hire other for low cost to help out.

[gdeetan]

I'd use a pen tool if the background is doesn't have enough contrast against the subject. A bit tedious but the results will be worth it. Not shortcuts for this I'm afraid.

[Dongerz]

No, no, no. A pen tool is much too harsh and hard edged for fur. If you have blue backer on all just do a color range on the blue and adjust your fuzziness until you're happy with the edges. You'll want to preview the image with either the black or white mask and zoom in to get the edges accurate. Once you're happy with the edge, push okay but wait...you're not done. Most likely you may have a bit of the target image included in the color range even though it may not look like it. Save the selection to an alpha channel so you can view the selection in b/w. Zoom in...you should see where you need to adjust. Once you've got it done, simply apply it to the image as a layer mask. You may want to feather the edge a 2-4 pixels(depending on resolution) before applying the mask. NOTE: NEVER delete the background, ALWAYS use a mask especially if you're not working with a duplicate layer or image. You never know when you have to go back. I guarantee you this will give you the best results in the least amount of time. Once you've got this down it should take you 10-15 minutes per image. Less if you use actions. That gives you 4-6 an hour minimum. You should be able to meet your deadline.