12-01-2017, 05:01 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-01-2017, 10:12 AM by williamting.)
This is my 7th year removing/replacing background on a daily basis. Hence, a quick and accurate background removal software is important to me. In the early years, I looked at specialized background removal software but non of them seems to work properly or can remove without flaw. So I ended up using Photoshop exclusively for background removal.
Photos targeted for background removal were normally taken using green or blue screen. Some suggested that gray screen should be used. I tried green, blue, gray and white. They all have their drawbacks and there is no ideal solution as the background colour normally bleed onto the object which you wanted to cut it out. But with care, eg, lighting control and distance from the background, the problem of colour bleed can be minimised.
I was excited to find background removal in PortraitPro and did a quick evaluation on one of my "standard" photos to see how good it is. So, I attached a picture of the comparisons between Photoshop and PortraitPro V17!
Pros:
PortraitPro provide a set of tools which removed the blue background effectively, without too much softening or losing of details. Colour bleed was effectively removed and leaves no trace of it. To do this, I found that the "Smart Background" is indeed smart! The slight jagged edges were quickly removed using the "Soften Mask Edge". (Note that I didn't apply the tool "Soften Mask edge" to the image attached and hence you can see the slight jagged edge on the skin).
Cons:
I wish the toggling of "-" and "+" tools are using "Alt" instead of "Shift" key.
There is no "Tone Curves" live view.
Other than the above, I can't find fault at the moment using my standard photo.
Photoshop:
Without "Color Decontaminate" switched on, a blue edge is clearly visible. To remove this, "Color Decontaminate" should be switched on but it introduces softening which may not be acceptable.
What I like to see improvement in PortraitPro so that it can integrate into my workflow effectively:
1. Allow transparent background transfer (ideally with mask or less ideally without mask) of image back to Photoshop. This is because there are still much works to be done on the image before it is finalised and also allows flexibility of changing to a new background should customer changes his/her mind.
2. Perhaps allows saving in PNG format with no background.
As of now, the PortraitPro new background removal feature still can't be part of my workflow without altering my workflow. I shall see how this can be handled. On the other hand, i wish PortraitPro can implement the above quickly.
My next test is to see how well it perform in an image which is challenging to have the background removed.
Photos targeted for background removal were normally taken using green or blue screen. Some suggested that gray screen should be used. I tried green, blue, gray and white. They all have their drawbacks and there is no ideal solution as the background colour normally bleed onto the object which you wanted to cut it out. But with care, eg, lighting control and distance from the background, the problem of colour bleed can be minimised.
I was excited to find background removal in PortraitPro and did a quick evaluation on one of my "standard" photos to see how good it is. So, I attached a picture of the comparisons between Photoshop and PortraitPro V17!
Pros:
PortraitPro provide a set of tools which removed the blue background effectively, without too much softening or losing of details. Colour bleed was effectively removed and leaves no trace of it. To do this, I found that the "Smart Background" is indeed smart! The slight jagged edges were quickly removed using the "Soften Mask Edge". (Note that I didn't apply the tool "Soften Mask edge" to the image attached and hence you can see the slight jagged edge on the skin).
Cons:
I wish the toggling of "-" and "+" tools are using "Alt" instead of "Shift" key.
There is no "Tone Curves" live view.
Other than the above, I can't find fault at the moment using my standard photo.
Photoshop:
Without "Color Decontaminate" switched on, a blue edge is clearly visible. To remove this, "Color Decontaminate" should be switched on but it introduces softening which may not be acceptable.
What I like to see improvement in PortraitPro so that it can integrate into my workflow effectively:
1. Allow transparent background transfer (ideally with mask or less ideally without mask) of image back to Photoshop. This is because there are still much works to be done on the image before it is finalised and also allows flexibility of changing to a new background should customer changes his/her mind.
2. Perhaps allows saving in PNG format with no background.
As of now, the PortraitPro new background removal feature still can't be part of my workflow without altering my workflow. I shall see how this can be handled. On the other hand, i wish PortraitPro can implement the above quickly.
My next test is to see how well it perform in an image which is challenging to have the background removed.
