SafeMailServices.com

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Taking Away the Background

By David Peters

Background removal is basically the idea that you remove the background of a photograph wherein the object/objects are positioned. The nice thing about using your editing program is that while removing the background you can choose to do the entire background or merely parts of it to achieve your desired result.

Previously, before the arrival of digital photography and the current accompanying technology, background removal was performed in a more laborious process.

It was performed in a darkroom with the necessary ambient conditions including proper room temperature. The film was submerged in working solution and was monitored constantly. Overexposure of the film to the solution could result in an increase in background blur and decrease in resolution.

Today the removal of the background is accomplished with any digital photo editing software like GNU Image Manipulation Program, or GIMP. GIMP is a special type of graphics editing software that is able to support some types of object-oriented (or vector) graphics.

It is not necessary that the digital photo editing software used for background removal be able to support all types of object-oriented graphics.The advantage in using GIMP of course, is that it enables easy vector to raster conversion.

If you already use a program that supports raster graphics or use any another digital photo editor, it will also work just fine. Something to note is that you will probably see that your editors has a variety of "plug-ins which can be used to alter or remove the background in different ways. Software plug-ins are computer programs with specific goals. You typically will find that sophisticated photo editing programs use special purpose plug-ins and have the ability to perform background editing and removal based on different criteria.

Objects without backgrounds can be used in several different ways. They can be placed in a new backdrop and in different situational contexts. For eg.: a couch in furniture showroom could have the furniture showroom replaced with an office. The object can be moved around any which way and it's alignment w.r.t the new background can also be changed.

The great thing about an object without a background is that it maintains all its properties like shape and size, but becomes more flexible to individual usage.

About the Author: