Getting A White Background

[glenda]

I have learned a lot and still learning from Killersite. And I have purchased great videos over the years from them as well.

 

Now I am having problems developing a nice white background behind my web products. Each time I take a picture white a white background it still appears grey. I don't understand (yet) how use Photoshop, removing layers etc. So what I've done it ask someone to clean up my photo backgrounds. I have about 100 or more products.

 

I will take the photo and send it to him, he then will clean up the gray background to a white background and sent them back to me in a png file. He is charging me 10.00 per photo. Does this amount seem right?

 

Send me your opinions please. I really want to get my site up and running. Attached is an original picture I would like to convert to a white background.

 

Thank You

Glenda

[Andrea]

Changing background isn't hard. Just Google it. That's $1,000 you can spend on something else.

 

I cannot say about the charged amount. It should only take a few seconds for someone who knows what they are doing - so $10 seems pretty steep to me. But then, it is a special skill and Photoshop is expensive.

[falkencreative]

$10 seems relatively fair, depending on the photo and how much work is involved. I'd bet that each photo is at least 10-15 minutes to clean up -- adjusting the lighting and settings and potentially cropping out the entire object. As someone who does photo cleanup on a semi-regular basis, it's a lot more than a couple seconds per photo. Depends on the photo really.

 

But yes, there are a lot of tutorials on this subject online, so if you have a copy of Photoshop and the time, it's a skill worth knowing.

[Andrea]

$10 seems relatively fair, depending on the photo and how much work is involved. I'd bet that each photo is at least 10-15 minutes to clean up -- adjusting the lighting and settings and potentially cropping out the entire object. As someone who does photo cleanup on a semi-regular basis, it's a lot more than a couple seconds per photo. Depends on the photo really.

 

But yes, there are a lot of tutorials on this subject online, so if you have a copy of Photoshop and the time, it's a skill worth knowing.

 

Definitely listen to Ben - he knows more about this than I do. I was assuming a simple background replace.

[glenda]

Thank you so much. I will must invest in PhotoShop.

[glenda]

Thanks Ben...I will invest in Photo Shop and that's an investment for me.

[Andrea]

Photoshop is very expensive. There are cheaper (Paintshop Pro) or free (gimp) options out there that may be all you need.

 

Here is a thread with several free editors:

 

http://www.killersites.com/community/index.php?/topic/185-free-image-editors/

[glenda]

You are a gem! Thank you. Will paint instruct me how to erase or get a clean white background?

[Andrea]

You are a gem! Thank you. Will paint instruct me how to erase or get a clean white background?

Don't know, never worked with it. But it does compare itself to Paint Shop Pro, which I know, and that can. You can probably find that answer or ask that question on their forum.

[glenda]

I hope I found a solution. I used the fill tool. Then I touched it up with the eraser (white of course) So I hope it works.

[daddyalfie]

A while back I looked for "Photoshop" on e-bay and found an offer of PS 6.0 (A very early version compared to what is happening now!) I was able to buy it for $50.00!

 

Now, I have no idea of whether or not this was a totally legal purchase, (Pirated software?) but this version does all the stuff I have ever needed to do as far as photo editing is concerned.

 

Any thoughts / comments?

 

Alfie