Newbie question: how to make the background completely white

LQ
Posted By
Linda_Quackenboss
Oct 22, 2006
Views
285
Replies
4
Status
Closed
Hello, I’m using CS2 and have photographed a shiny metal object. I need to make sure the background is completely white and keep the lighting on the object as it is. Can you please help me? I’ve looked in my Scott Kelby book, Classroom in a book and online tutorials. Can’t seem to find the answer. I’m sure it’s probably very simple–once you know how to do it.

Thanks so much!
Linda
Related Tags
background complete how make newbie question white

Master Retouching Hair

Learn how to rescue details, remove flyaways, add volume, and enhance the definition of hair in any photo. We break down every tool and technique in Photoshop to get picture-perfect hair, every time.

Y
YrbkMgr
Oct 22, 2006
You need to isolate your object of interest – that means either selecting the object itself, or the background. One usually does with with various selection techniques – there are at least a dozen. The tools you choose and how you use them are driven in part by your familiarity with the tools and the intent of the image.

If you post an example to a web location and tell us the link, you’re likely to get better help. The two sites below allow you to post for free.

<http://www.imageshack.us/>
ImageShack® – Hosting

<http://www.pixentral.com/>
Pixentral
LQ
Linda_Quackenboss
Oct 22, 2006
Thank you. I appreciate your help. The tool I attempted to use is the lasso tool, which I dragged around the edges to select just the subject. Then, I inverted the selection and went to New Fill Layer and selected solid white (225/255/255) for the fill.

This achieved what I needed for this assignment, although I suspect I’ll some more practice with the lasso thang!

Is there an easier way to do this?
Y
YrbkMgr
Oct 22, 2006
Is there an easier way to do this?

Yes, and No. It all depends on the image composition, your familiarity with tools in Photoshop, and the intent of the image.

You could have used magic wand maybe, maybe the Extract Filter, maybe paths, etc.

Without seeing the image, there is no way to tell.

There are at least three ways to do anyting in photoshop.
B
Bernie
Oct 22, 2006
Phosphor.Digital, "Advanced masking and isolation" #1, 27 Jan 2005 9:06 am </cgi-bin/webx?14/0>

How to Master Sharpening in Photoshop

Give your photos a professional finish with sharpening in Photoshop. Learn to enhance details, create contrast, and prepare your images for print, web, and social media.

Related Discussion Topics

Nice and short text about related topics in discussion sections