PHOTO TO CUT OUT OR NOT.

[Young]

Hi.

Someone can answer my question?

I know this is my second one of this month 😌!

 

I just wonder if the photos of food should be cut out or not.

( ex. the following ones)

I don't think it's good idea to put both of them.( too confusing for customers and too much number)

 

Most of the time, the surrounding of the object aren't nice, too messy or whatever.( of course I could've get rid of plates next to them as a possibility)

Normally buyers have to cut out, am I right?

 

Young

[Young]

27 minutes ago, David Pimborough said:

You decide which looks best.  Me personally I'd not "cut out" food however there is a ready market for properly isolated food and other still life items.

 

On a side note you really need to avoid using on camera flash its not very flattering for food (or for anything for that matter)

 

Natural light or correctly controlled and diffused off camera strobe/flash is always much better

Hi David.

I think of doing cut out because my food photos are with too much stuff around object.

(Provably I had to photograph quickly being with other people.)

this is an old photo and I used to use flash, now I stop it fortunately.

Good point!

Thank you.

[spacecadet]

slow sync,, or fill flash, or whatever, can work, to lift the shadows. But I agree, straight on-camera flash isn't attractive.

 

[Ed Rooney]

There's a third option with that photo. Get rid of the distracting extras in Photoshop and leave the dish on the dark wooden table. 

[MDM]

The quality of that cutout is pretty poor. There are bits of background stuck to it, visible even at the size in this post. If you are going to provide cutouts for sale, then they should be of professional quality. It is not as easy as it might look. 

[spacecadet]

You can get rid of a lot of it just with crop and rotate- orientation doesn't matter much in that image. It often would- next time think twice and shoot once.

[Young]

15 hours ago, spacecadet said:

slow sync,, or fill flash, or whatever, can work, to lift the shadows. But I agree, straight on-camera flash isn't attractive.

 

 

1 hour ago, spacecadet said:

You can get rid of a lot of it just with crop and rotate- orientation doesn't matter much in that image. It often would- next time think twice and shoot once.

Hi Spacecadet.

I have to get informed with flash technics.

Indeed crop helps a lot but I was afraid the size of it would be too small.

Next time I'll just move the surroundings.

I'll think well before shooting.

Thanks.

 

[Young]

15 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

There's a third option with that photo. Get rid of the distracting extras in Photoshop and leave the dish on the dark wooden table. 

Hi Ed.

Actually your idea is faster and easier than cropping.

Or I'll master cropping perfectly.

Well, dark wooden table looks like black background.

Black or white background, another question for me,,,

White looks more popular than other on alamy collections that's why I cropped.

Thanks

 

[Young]

1 hour ago, MDM said:

The quality of that cutout is pretty poor. There are bits of background stuck to it, visible even at the size in this post. If you are going to provide cutouts for sale, then they should be of professional quality. It is not as easy as it might look. 

Hi MDM.

You mean the edge?

I found it difficult to do it.

Maybe the solution is to  to make edgeless, blur effect.

[MDM]

11 hours ago, Young said:

Hi MDM.

You mean the edge?

I found it difficult to do it.

Maybe the solution is to  to make edgeless, blur effect.

 

Yes the edge. You probably need the Photoshop pen tool for a cutout like this. Not an easy tool to master. Cutouts onto plain backgrounds and the pen tool are not areas of expertise for me but it is always easier to see that is wrong than explain how to make it right.

 

If you feather the edge for a cutout like this on a white background it is going to look pretty weird.  That would work if compositing it into an image with some detail but not on a white background. For the image above I agree with Edo - just remove the distracting stuff. 

 

My advice for what it is worth would be to learn how to do make high quality cutouts in Photoshop properly. There is a range of techniques for selecting and masking depending on what you want to do. I think a professional designer would use the pen for this one. Cutting out hair, for example, is totally different again. There are loads of tutorials out there. 

[Allan Bell]

 

I believe there is a tool in PSE, so may be in other adobe programs too, which will do the hard work for you. Apparently in that tool you brush over the background but not too close to the item you wish to retain then hit go or whatever and the tool automatically detects the edges and removes the background leaving the item you wish to display on a white background.

It even can detect wispy hair on a models head and will leave it behind.

I have not used this tool and cannot remember what it is called. Also I have never used it but I am sure I read an Adobe article on the feature.

 

Allan

 

[MDM]

19 minutes ago, Allan Bell said:

 

I believe there is a tool in PSE, so may be in other adobe programs too, which will do the hard work for you. Apparently in that tool you brush over the background but not too close to the item you wish to retain then hit go or whatever and the tool automatically detects the edges and removes the background leaving the item you wish to display on a white background.

It even can detect wispy hair on a models head and will leave it behind.

I have not used this tool and cannot remember what it is called. Also I have never used it but I am sure I read an Adobe article on the feature.

 

Allan

 

The refine edge tool in a Photoshop does what  you are talking about there but you wouldn’t use it for a clean cutout of a plate. The pen tool is the best one for a really clean cutout as in this case I would think. There are several selection and mask tools in Photoshop. Channels are an important part of selecting and masking and not available in PSE (unless that has changed in recent versions)

[Ed Rooney]

Young, you seem to be having trouble making decisions about your Images. Everything in stock is a judgement call. Everything is in art and in life too. These pictures are not being made on assignment.

 

I make fast decisions shooting and doing the PP with stock and move on to the next image. If you were to upload all three versions of that food pic you would only have three similars. That's fine and they are not even that similar.

 

My advice? Move faster.

 

Edo

[Young]

On 06/12/2019 at 01:38, MDM said:

 

Yes the edge. You probably need the Photoshop pen tool for a cutout like this. Not an easy tool to master. Cutouts onto plain backgrounds and the pen tool are not areas of expertise for me but it is always easier to see that is wrong than explain how to make it right.

 

If you feather the edge for a cutout like this on a white background it is going to look pretty weird.  That would work if compositing it into an image with some detail but not on a white background. For the image above I agree with Edo - just remove the distracting stuff. 

 

My advice for what it is worth would be to learn how to do make high quality cutouts in Photoshop properly. There is a range of techniques for selecting and masking depending on what you want to do. I think a professional designer would use the pen for this one. Cutting out hair, for example, is totally different again. There are loads of tutorials out there. 

I started learning pen tool last week, Not to say complicated. but it's very long work,,,.

Feather effect looks a bit old fashioned for me. well , it's case by case.

Removing distracting things looks much faster and easier.

Hair technique looks amazing.

I start learning photoshop recently, before I only used lightroom.

 

 

[Young]

19 hours ago, Allan Bell said:

 

I believe there is a tool in PSE, so may be in other adobe programs too, which will do the hard work for you. Apparently in that tool you brush over the background but not too close to the item you wish to retain then hit go or whatever and the tool automatically detects the edges and removes the background leaving the item you wish to display on a white background.

It even can detect wispy hair on a models head and will leave it behind.

I have not used this tool and cannot remember what it is called. Also I have never used it but I am sure I read an Adobe article on the feature.

 

Allan

 

Hi Allan.

PSE? I'm gonna google.🙄

I've never heard of it, but it sounds like copy stump tool and i saw youtube tutrial working on hair.

Photoshop is amazing.

 

[Young]

18 hours ago, MDM said:

The refine edge tool in a Photoshop does what  you are talking about there but you wouldn’t use it for a clean cutout of a plate. The pen tool is the best one for a really clean cutout as in this case I would think. There are several selection and mask tools in Photoshop. Channels are an important part of selecting and masking and not available in PSE (unless that has changed in recent versions)

Later on, I actually tried photpshop on ipad with a apple pen, it cut out much easier😀.

 

[Young]

16 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

Young, you seem to be having trouble making decisions about your Images. Everything in stock is a judgement call. Everything is in art and in life too. These pictures are not being made on assignment.

 

I make fast decisions shooting and doing the PP with stock and move on to the next image. If you were to upload all three versions of that food pic you would only have three similars. That's fine and they are not even that similar.

 

My advice? Move faster.

 

Edo

Edo.

Everything in stock is a judgement call? PP?

Sorry i don't understand with my english level.

 

"I make fast decisions shooting and doing the PP with stock and move on to the next image. If you were to upload all three versions of that food pic you would only have three similars. That's fine and they are not even that similar."

ok.

 

"My advice? Move faster."

That's true. I'm not photo editor as Alamy contributor.

 

Thanks.

 

[MDM]

3 hours ago, Young said:

Later on, I actually tried photpshop on ipad with a apple pen, it cut out much easier😀.

 

That is a new one on me Young 😂. I meant the pen tool in a Photoshop, not a physical pen tool. Care to post the result at high res somewhere?

[Ed Rooney]

3 hours ago, Young said:

Edo.

Everything in stock is a judgement call? PP?

Sorry i don't understand with my english level.

 

"I make fast decisions shooting and doing the PP with stock and move on to the next image. If you were to upload all three versions of that food pic you would only have three similars. That's fine and they are not even that similar."

ok.

 

"My advice? Move faster."

That's true. I'm not photo editor as Alamy contributor.

 

Thanks.

 

 

You are doing very well with your English, Young. It can be hard. I can say 'hello' and 'thank you' in most Asian languages, but that's all. 😊

 

Understand that you ARE the photo editor with Alamy stock. Judgement means a decision.

 

The best of luck to you. Keep shooting.

 

Edo (not Japanese)

[Allan Bell]

4 hours ago, Young said:

PSE? I'm gonna google.🙄

 

Adobe's Photoshop Elements.🙂

 

A cut down version of PS.

 

Allan

 

[NYCat]

I think Ed means post-processing when he writes PP. I often don't understand the abbreviations people use on the forum and English is my native language. Computers are not.

 

Paulette

[Young]

On 07/12/2019 at 10:21, MDM said:

That is a new one on me Young 😂. I meant the pen tool in a Photoshop, not a physical pen tool. Care to post the result at high res somewhere?

I know that you are talking about pne tool in a Photoshop 😀

 

[Young]

On 07/12/2019 at 10:35, Ed Rooney said:

 

You are doing very well with your English, Young. It can be hard. I can say 'hello' and 'thank you' in most Asian languages, but that's all. 😊

 

Understand that you ARE the photo editor with Alamy stock. Judgement means a decision.

 

The best of luck to you. Keep shooting.

 

Edo (not Japanese)

Thank you.😀 I kind of studying English at forum.

Sometimes I notice that you shouldn't understand the language when visiting another country.

Hello and thank you are powerful words which replace everything!

"Everything in stock is a judgement call" sounds cool like the Prophets.😂  

Edo sounds very very japanese by the way!

Thank you for your advice.

 

[Young]

On 07/12/2019 at 11:37, Allan Bell said:

 

Adobe's Photoshop Elements.🙂

 

A cut down version of PS.

 

Allan

 

ok

[Young]

On 07/12/2019 at 12:59, NYCat said:

I think Ed means post-processing when he writes PP. I often don't understand the abbreviations people use on the forum and English is my native language. Computers are not.

 

Paulette

hi Paulette.

I see.

Me too, often the computer language is difficult.

Thank you for your help😀

 

[Bryan]

Have to agree with Michael that the pen tool in PS is the best way forward for quality cut outs. I have a steam age copy of the software, so more recent releases may have come up with something better, but the pen does a great job. Once mastered it's not difficult to use.  For complex curves I often use a considerable  magnification of the image to get the best profile. This is time consuming and, some would say, tedious work, but I find it quite therapeutic (but then I also enjoy washing dishes, playing scales and weeding the allotment, so definitely rather weird, but all give satisfaction of a job well done!). You also need to consider a drop shadow.