wgm
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posted on July 21, 2004 11:00:27 AM
Help! How do I make the background of a photo transparent? I have tried the help index, but I can't understand it 
I haven't done much in Elements, so don't know my way around there very well. I know in the past you have posted some photos you have edited in Elements, so thought you would be the best person to ask...
Thank you so much! 
edited to add: I would appreciate any help from anyone who knows their way around Elements! I only addressed GlassGrl because I have seen her post about it...
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"The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work." - Richard Bach
[ edited by wgm on Jul 21, 2004 11:02 AM ]
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glassgrl
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posted on July 21, 2004 01:18:13 PM
sorry I was busy painting the Ebay room
transparent? what are you trying to do? I don't know what you mean by that....
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wgm
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posted on July 21, 2004 01:51:32 PM
Sorry too - I had to take my little boy to Sonic
I have a few images and the backgrounds are white and the photos are square-shaped. The white square doesn't look very good on the background of my new template, but the designs would look great with no border. Problem is the designs are not a standard shape. So I am trying to figure out what to do - I am not very techy, especially on image programs! I can crop and work with colors, but that's about it LOL!
So how does the eBay look? Mine needs a makeover too just as soon as I can get to it LOL
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"The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work." - Richard Bach
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glassgrl
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posted on July 21, 2004 02:14:37 PM
show me....post a pic here.
also eauctionmgnt teaches Adobe photoshop. Wonder where he is?
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CBlev65252
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posted on July 21, 2004 02:20:31 PM
wgm
What you probably want to do is cut out the background? That might give glassgirl as better description of what you need to do. I don't use Adobe. I use PhotoDraw and I regularly cut out the backgrounds on my photos.
Cheryl
God grant that not only the love of liberty but a thorough knowledge of the rights of man may pervade all the nations of the earth, so that a philosopher may set his foot anywhere on its surface and say: This is my country. - Benjamin Franklin
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wgm
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posted on July 21, 2004 02:27:59 PM
That's it, cheryl! Goes to show how bad I am at these graphics programs - I can't even get the wording right! LOL!!
Thank you
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"The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work." - Richard Bach
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OhMsLucy
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posted on July 21, 2004 02:42:24 PM
I think Adobe uses the term "transparent layer" for what you're after? I hope we get an answer here, I've been trying to figure it out too.
Lucy
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photosensitive
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posted on July 21, 2004 03:00:00 PM
I can give you some suggestions that might help but as Glassgrl suggested posting the picture you want to make transparent would help a lot. There is more than one way to make it happen depending on how complex the background and the edge of the object are.
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“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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glassgrl
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posted on July 21, 2004 06:01:52 PM
and the answer is:
The Magic Wand tool.
She emailed me her pics of what she was trying to do. Here is the fix.
Click Magic Wand tool and move it around first picture that she is trying to make the background transparent on. The magic wand will automatically outline her picture and also outline the box she is trying to delete. Then, right click and choose "select inverse" then go to the toolbar and choose copy.
Go to the back ground (which is already open, right?) and choose toolbar "paste". Wahlahh. The picture is now automatically cut out and pasted onto the new improved background.
Since this was a striped background it was impossible to cut, paint or use the bucket.
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wgm
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posted on July 21, 2004 06:33:52 PM
I tell you, glassgrl is a PRO! The pics look awesome - she did a fabulous job!!
KUDOS, KUDOS, KUDOS!
__________________________________
"The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work." - Richard Bach
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OhMsLucy
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posted on July 21, 2004 06:35:22 PM
So post the pic!
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glassgrl
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posted on July 21, 2004 06:52:03 PM
and I just realized you have to do this in .jpeg
it won't work in .gif or .bmp
edited to add: I didn't even know how to do this! I just started fooling around with the tools to see what happened. just goes to show you - you CAN teach an old dog new tricks.
[ edited by glassgrl on Jul 21, 2004 07:02 PM ]
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wgm
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posted on July 21, 2004 07:07:02 PM
__________________________________
"The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work." - Richard Bach
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glassgrl
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posted on July 21, 2004 07:14:14 PM
Did anybody else get this email?
They were together in the house.
Just the two of them.
It was a cold, dark, stormy night. The storm had come quickly
and
each time the thunder boomed he watched her jump.
She looked across the room and admired his strong appearance..and
wished that he would take her in his arms, comfort her and protect her
from the storm.
She wanted that...more than anything.
Suddenly, with a pop, the power went out... She screamed...
He raced to the sofa where she was cowering.
He didn't hesitate to pull her into his arms.
He knew this was a forbidden union and
expected her to pull back.
He was surprised when she didn't resist but instead clung to him.
The storm raged on...as did their growing passion.
And
there came a moment when each knew that they had to be together.
They knew it was wrong...
Their families would never understand...
So consumed were they in their passion that they heard no opening of doors...
just the faint click of a camera......
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toasted36
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posted on July 21, 2004 07:23:52 PM
ROFL glassgrl I got that e-mail sometime last year !! It still make me crack up now lol ! I got this in an e-mail tonight....it's so cool
http://s88606488.onlinehome.us/pianowithballs.wmv Man plays piano with balls lol keep yer mind out the gutter !
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eauctionmgnt
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posted on July 22, 2004 05:51:53 AM
Darn! I must have missed this thread yesterday! I just got back from a week-long trip and was catching up on stuff. Glad that GlassGrl helped you out wgm!
Just to throw in another neat little tip... Another tool that helps a lot in cutting out backgrounds from foregrounds is the Magnetic Lasso Tool. If you look at your toolbar, you'll see a tool that looks like a lasso. There should be a triangle in the lower right-hand corner of the tool icon. Click on that arrow... and you'll see a choice of other Lasso variants. One of them is a lasso with a magnet. That's the Magnetic Lasso Tool. Select that tool. Then, As you move your lasso around the object you're selecting, the selection will "snap" to your foreground object. It's really pretty neat! (and helpful if you've got a background with multiple colors that the magic wand won't work on as well)
Hope that helps!
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photosensitive
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posted on July 22, 2004 06:23:04 AM
If the object has a complex edge that is not easy to separate from the background I will paint a line around it with the paint brush. It is then easy to remove the other edges with the lasso and use the magic wand to remove the solid color line you have painted.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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