[chadfree] Re: Photo program question

What I would like to do is put the pictures onto a web page which has it's
own background.  I've noticed that on many websites, if the picture is cut
out and put onto the background of the web site it seems to make the picture
stand out more.  In theory that's what I'm trying to do.  So I guess what I
want to do is to be able to delete the background and than be able to save
the picture minus the background so that I can than put it onto the website
background.  I'd like to be able to do it in JPEG format.

Sort of like, if I had a picture on paper, I would take scissors to it and
cut the main object out and paste it onto another paper, like a scrapbook
format, if that makes any sense?  I just thought the photo editors ought to
have something where I could just click on "delete background" (after
cutting around the main object) and the back ground would just go away.
Infanview does it like that, but it leaves the background white.

With Microsoft Photo Editor I think I may have it figured out.  If I cut
around the object and than save it as a New Layer it dumps the background.
I'm still playing with it right now so I'm not sure if I have it figured out
or not.

Any helpful hints or advice are always appreciated.

Thank you especially for explaining the different file formats.  I'm not
positive I understand them yet but I'm working on it.

Peggy



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "-{ Rene Brehmer }-" <metalbunny@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <chadfree@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, April 18, 2004 6:46 PM
Subject: [chadfree] Re: Photo program question


> Think we need to know what you're trying to achieve ... from this it
sounds
> like you're trying to create an image with transparent background ...
> that's not really possible by just deleting the background, it will work
in
> the image programs proprietary format, but it will not work with other
> formats unless you use the right file format, AND do the right tricks to
> make it ... it requires a special file format and image manipulation to
> achieve it...
>
> GIF, PNG, and JPEG2000 are the only file formats that support transparent
> background ...
>
> Just a quick run down of SOME of the features these formats offer:
>
> GIF (more correctly GIF89a) only supports 8 bit paletted images, but it
> allows you designate 1 of those colors for transparency or 1 color for
> inverted (which will invert whatever background it's placed on) [gif also
> supports animation, but that's beside the point in this case]. Typically
> images for the web have been made in gif because of the transparency
> feature. How it works is to paint the transparent parts in a color that
> isn't used in the rest of the image, and then designate that to being
> transparent ...
> BUT, because of the low color count, GIF is only useful for lineart, text,
> and very small images with very few colors (the windows icon format  used
> up till Windows 95 is actually based upon the GIF format). For any other
> form of imagery, you need to use any other format (otherwise it will
> seriously be ugly)...
>
> PNG is very poorly supported in most programs. It was meant to be the heir
> to GIF (both formats are invented by CompuServe). It offers a 24 bit (16
> million colors) full-color palette, and transparency. The transparency is
> made the same way as in GIF: 1 color is designated to be transparent. BUT,
> the problem with PNG is that it's very, very poorly supported, in both the
> imaging programs and the programs that are to display them. Generally the
> transparency don't work at all because the programs don't support it. I've
> yet to find a program other than Photoshop where PNG transparency actually
> works (properly anyway).
> More info: http://www.libpng.org/pub/png/
>
> JPEG 2000 is very new. Only been about for 2-3 years (considering PNG and
> GIF have 10 and 20 years on the hiney...). It's the heir to the JPEG
> format, offers better quality, more colors (up to 48 bit colors), and
> transparency and other fancy features that used to be only possible with
> proprietary formats.
> In a JPEG2000 file, you mask out the part that you want transparent (using
> your programs mask tool), then save it. The mask will be saved with the
> image, and when viewed, the masked part will be transparent. This atleast
> is how Corel describes the procedure in Photo-Paint 12...
> You can read about the JPEG 2000 format here:
> http://www.jpeg.org/jpeg2000/index.html
>
>
> HTH
>
> Rene
>
> At 17:57 18-04-2004, you wrote:
> >Thank you Rene, I'll give it a try.  It does seem to me that this should
be
> >something that is in most photo programs but that I just can't/couldn't
> >figure it out.  In Infanview it did delete the background but when I
saved
> >the picture it wound up having a white square background.  So I was
afraid
> >that would happen with the Photo Shop too.  In Photo Impression, I could
cut
> >around the picture but when I click either "cut" or "crop" it deletes the
> >picture instead of the background!  LOL!  So I figure I am just doing
things
> >wrong.
> >
> >I'll try saving the picture with the grey and white checks and hopefully
> >I'll have no background.
> >
> >Thank you!
> >
> >Peggy
>
> -- 
> Rene Brehmer
> aka Metalbunny
>
> ~ If you don't like what I have to say ... don't read it ~
>
> http://metalbunny.net/
> References, tools, and other useful stuff...
> Check out the new Metalbunny forums @ http://forums.metalbunny.net/
>
>
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