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Hi Everyone

I am a newbie and a complete novice when it comes to photo editing. I am trying to change the background of my images so that the background will be plain white. I have searched google and someone suggested downloading PaintStar which I have done. This freeware appears to have won an award so I chose that software above another that was recommended. However, I cannot see anything in the help section explaining how to change or remove the background. I also have IrfanView and don't know how to do it with that program either.


Thank you in advance for all suggestions.

Hi Suzie

Can you post an example of your image - is the background all one colour or is it multicoloured like in in a photo?

Welcome to the forum =)

I hope this helps, not sure if it's exactly your problem as i don't use PaintStar or Irfanview.


If the viewing colour is black when you open an image with a transparent background the background will be black. If you change the viewing colour to white, it will be white. So you can open a transparent image and save it as a JPG (no transparency permitted) with any colour background you want. Of course, you could save as PNG and retain the transparency.

If the original is not transparent, then save as PNG first, with transparency, then change the viewing colour, reopen (file menu, reopen), and save a JPG with your chosen colour.

Otherwise, open the IrfanPaint plugin (F12), and use the floodfill tool. Note that this has no tolerance. The background must be a uniform colour for it to flood fill. JPG images may look like they have a uniform background colour, but they rarely do.


1. Open IrfanView
2. Press key "p" (For the settings dialog)
3. Click on the tab "Viewing"
4. Then you can change the main window color (Click on the "Choose" button)


[url=\"http://en.irfanview-forum.de/vb/showthread.php?t=1208\"][Source][/url]

[quote name=\'Tami\' post=\'43755\' date=\'Apr 17 2008, 12:47 PM\']Hi Suzie

Can you post an example of your image - is the background all one colour or is it multicoloured like in in a photo?

Welcome to the forum =)[/quote]

Hi Tami

Thanks for your quick response. It is a photograph of a dressed manequin I want the background to be solid white as it looks more professional.

Hi Jim

Thanks for your help. What I need to do is change the background of the actual photograph. For example if I have a photograph of a dress hanging on an old brown door, I want to obliterate the door so that all you see is the dress on a solid white background. I have tried your instructions and what it does is shows my dress on the old brown door in an irfan view white viewing window.

Have I misunderstood your instructions? I have to emphasise that I am a novice so dont understand what you mean about transparency etc but I did follow your instructions

Thanks for your help

[quote name=\'Tami\' post=\'43755\' date=\'Apr 17 2008, 11:47 AM\']Hi Suzie

Can you post an example of your image - is the background all one colour or is it multicoloured like in in a photo?

Welcome to the forum =)[/quote]

Hi Tami

I forgot to say the background is multicoloured - shows wallpaper and door. I am not sure whether the best approach is to colour the background or remove the background which I think defaults to white. I dont know too much about it, just been googling and have seen an example of removing a background which had the same effect of colouring the background it white. However, they were not using the program I am using.

I will need to do this on most of my photographs and I suspect it will be something simple as it is used on eBay all the time I just dont know how to do it.

Thanks

I seem to have misunderstood you the first time, my apologies. Seeing as this will be my first time using PaintStar hopefully this short tutorial will help you accomplish what you are trying to do. I hope that I have a better understanding of what you have asked this time. Please let me know if this solves your problem. I can post screen shots / a tutorial if these directions are unclear in any way, feel free to ask.

1. Use the "select hand-drawn regions" tool (top row, middle button) to outline the dress or whatever object you wish to save. Make sure to connect the two ends of the outline when you are done.

2. On the image window go to "Select" "Invert".

3. Make sure the top paint swatch in the bottom left of the main window is white, or whatever you want the background colour to be.

4. Click the "fill with a colour or texture" button on the main window (third row, second button in)

5. Click the area on the image that you wish to fill.

Hi Jim

Thanks so much for your help. It is exactly what I want the only problem is that itis virtually impossible to be precise when outlining your subject so I have managed to remove most of the background but still have a fine line of it around my subject. I am going to investgate more. I have just downloaded GIMP which claims to have some easier methods of changing or removing the background by selection by colour. I know there is an easier method just finding it.

Thank you again for your help.