Removing background with Elements

[laurellanestudios]

So, I broke down and purchased Photoshop Elements 4.0.

Anyone willing to share some quick tips or am I faced with a weekend of reading the manual?

I can use the auto levels for most things but would like to know how to eliminate the background (specifically the shadows) from photos.

Would appreciate your greatest Photoshop tips!

Kathy

[chrisdd]

I can do it, but my way is a royal PITA, so I'm going to be watching this thread for advice, too.

[DawnT]

I just got Elements 6 and read Lori Greenberg's tutorial from here:
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Articles2/16432/483/index.php. It's a very in-depth tutorial but I must be doing something wrong because my pictures didn't turn out very nice. I'm not sure what I did wrong but it edited out my white beads #-o . I'll be watching for advice here too!

[JanMD]

Look for a tool named the "Background Eraser" in Photoshop Elements. Let me know if you find it.

JanMD

[Kevan]

I have regular photoshop. I'm pretty sure you can turn down the sensitivity of the wand and maybe save your white beads.

[chrisdd]

Look for a tool named the "Background Eraser" in Photoshop Elements. Let me know if you find it.

JanMD

Yep, I tried that. My problem is erasing just the background, and not part of the bead, or someone's hair.

[laurellanestudios]

Okay...admittedly I'm not good at reading/following manuals. Much better when someone shows me.

So, I found and tried the Background Eraser tool. In summary, this is what my book instructed me to do:

Select Background Eraser tool.

On Options bar, select a size using the brush Size slider.

From the Limits drop-down menu, select on of the two limit modes (Contiguous or Discontiguous).

Select a Tolerance value.

In the image window, position the eraser pointer on the edge where the background and foreground image meets and drag along the edge. "The background portion of the image is erased, leaving behid the foreground image on a transparent background."

Well, I did all that and now have a photo in which the beads are surrounded by a gray/white checkerboard (left behind by the eraser). So now what? That's where my directions end? How do I make that checkerboard white? How do I delete that unwanted background?

Grrrrr......

[laurellanestudios]

Okay...admittedly I'm not good at reading/following manuals. Much better when someone shows me.

So, I found and tried the Background Eraser tool. In summary, this is what my book instructed me to do:

Select Background Eraser tool.

On Options bar, select a size using the brush Size slider.

From the Limits drop-down menu, select on of the two limit modes (Contiguous or Discontiguous).

Select a Tolerance value.

In the image window, position the eraser pointer on the edge where the background and foreground image meets and drag along the edge. "The background portion of the image is erased, leaving behid the foreground image on a transparent background."

Well, I did all that and now have a photo in which the beads are surrounded by a gray/white checkerboard (left behind by the eraser). So now what? That's where my directions end? How do I make that checkerboard white? How do I delete that unwanted background?

Grrrrr......

[DawnT]

Oh I guess mine is just regular Photoshop 7. Still giving me fits though. Kevan, how do you change the sensitivity of the wand do you know?

[Kevan]

Dawn, when you click on the tool there should be a bar across the top and you should see the wand on the left side of that bar. Over to the right there should be a box with tolerance and a number to the right of that that you can change. Play around with that number until it takes out what you want.

My husband is much more expert at photoshop. If you have questions he might be able to answer them

[DawnT]

Great! Thanks, I'll play with it a bit.

[Antoñio]

Well, I did all that and now have a photo in which the beads are surrounded by a gray/white checkerboard (left behind by the eraser). So now what? That's where my directions end? How do I make that checkerboard white? How do I delete that unwanted background?

Grrrrr......


You have been successful ! The checkerboard is the default background--essentially there is nothing there.

I am not completely sure about Elements but using a full-fledged version of Photoshop can change the type of background that is left when everything is erased should you wish to. Go to File--Preferences--transparency and gamut. There you can set the type of background you would like Photoshop to have when everything is gone.

If you wish to see what the beads will look like on a given color background...Hit the button on the bottom of the Layers pallette that looks like a sheet of paper with the corner turned up. That creates a new layer on which you can do anything without affecting your main picture.

There should now be two layers pictured on the layers pallette with thumbnails--one with your original picture and the other with nothing on it.

Left click on the blank one and drag it below the other one (if it's not already there) (note: if the main layer will by default be called "background" . Change this by double clicking on that layer. This brings up a dialogue box where you can change its name. It doesn't matter what you call it as long as it's not called " background" )

You now have a blank layer below the main layer. Whatever layer you click on will be the "active" layer . This is the layer that you can do things to. The other layer(s) will just sit there unaffected.

With the new layer you created active...select a new color. You do this by clicking on the upper of the two little boxes (usually they are black over white) at the bottom of the tools pallette. This brings up a color selector. Select a color and it will now appear in the upper box.

Finally...click on the paint bucket icon on the tools pallette, then click anywhere on your picture. This effectively takes the color in the little box and spills it all over the new layer you created. To undo...just press control-Z and try a different color (or whatever).

I have been working with Photoshop for a number of years. You may feel free to PM me any questions you have...or just post them here.

Good luck!

Antonio

[laurellanestudios]

Thanks, Antonio. I'll give it a try.

Learning these new skills used to come fairly easy...wonder if I'm getting to be an "old dog" having trouble with "new tricks"?

Sigh.

Thanks again,
Kathy

[JanMD]

Excellent instructions, Antonio! Thank you.

JanMD

[JanMD]

Here's a little extra on the Background Eraser Tool from my Photoshop 7 for Dummies book: "The tool is intelligent enough to erase background pixels and retain foreground pixels provided -- and here's the clincher -- that you keep the cross in the center of the eraser cursor squarely centered on the background-color pixel. Move the cross over a fpreground pixel, and the eraser deletes foreground pixels as well." [p. 267]

Pretty magical. eh? I practiced with it and it does work! Kathy, here's hoping that the Background Eraser tool in Elements is as intelligent as the one in regular Photoshop.

JanMD