Did you ever wonder how some websites are able to display product images on a solid white background as if they were floating on the page? Your customers are often just interested in your product, not the background that the photo was shot on (this isn’t always the case, as showing a product “in-context” can sometimes be a helpful sales tool). Even when you shoot your product images on a white background, it is often difficult to show only the product. And if the product is a light color, then you may have to shoot it on a dark background in order to have it contrast with the background. Consider this photo:

The image is shot on a fairly neutral background, but the background is not what you are selling. How can we get it to look like this?

Using photo editing tools like Photoshop or PaintShopPro, there is a “magic brush” that allows you to select areas of a similar RGB value. The problem is that shadows on the background or textures on the cloth can leave a number of small artifacts as shown below:

If we increase the sensitivity, we can remove some of this, but it may also select part of the image as seen on the base of this figurine:

One choice would be to manually follow the image in order to cut out the background, but few of us have that steady of a hand, and even if we did, the process would be very time consuming. However, there is a tool called Vertus Bling! It. Bling! It automatically finds the edges and allows you to easily cut the product out from the background. First you set the number of edges, which you can increase or decrease as needed for your image.

Then you adjust the brush size and simple click on the areas you want to remove.

Now you will want to compose the image on the size of the background you desire. I recommend that images be placed in a 750 pixel by 750 pixel square – that way they will always look nice on any screen resolution. Bling! It has several preset image sizes depending upon where you might be selling the product, such as on eBay or Amazon, which have their own set of preferred image sizes.

Finally, once we have the image composed inside of the square, we can export the new image.

Here is the reason why I suggest always placing your images inside of a 750×750 square, regardless of the orientation of your product – so that your products always line up in your shopping cart. If you don’t do this, you might get a look like this:

What we are trying to accomplish of course is to get everything to line up and appears as if it is “floating” on the page, like this:

If you need help with your product images, even if you have taken the photos yourself or hired a professional, WebStores Ltd has the tools and the experience to make your online store look clean, modern, and professional – which results in more sales!

Greg Jameson