Gimp: removing background from product images
Gimp: removing background from product images
Question
I often have the task of making the background of product images pure white.
While preserving the best possible image quality, what is the quickest way to adjust colors such that the background becomes pure white (AKA each corner is 255,255,255)?
For example given this image:
If I fiddle with levels I can make it into:
Popular Answer
Here are the steps I took:
Duplicate the base layer and select the copy.
Apply an edge detect filter (Filters -> Edge-Detect -> Edge...) using these settings:
My goal here is to get clear contrast between my object and my background. I found Sobel worked the best and simply fiddled until I got this result.Threshold the colors (Colors -> Threshold...) with the goal of solidifying the color of the background as much as possible.
Tidy up the background with the
Brush Tool a bit to get it solid black:
Use the
Magic Wand with slightly feathered edges (~5px) to select the outer black area.
Select your original layer, and turn off the copy layer.
Hit the delete key to delete your selection region from the layer, and you're done.
Here's the final result:
This took a minimal amount of extra work, and has the benefit of preserving the full quality of your original image. The whole process could be done in 10-15 minutes if you have an image with a good contrasting background.