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Thread ID: 124131 2012-04-08 06:19:00 I want to blur the outline of irregular images straka01 (310) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1268896 2012-04-08 06:19:00 I have been trying to make nice transparent images for my website.
I've taken jpg photos & cropped them down to the subject's edges.
I've been able to cut out (make white) most of the parts of the image I don't want - leaving only a small background,
but the edges are sharp & look funny.
I have been trying all afternoon to use various programs to blur or feather the edges of these irregular images - but no luck.

I have various graphics programs:
Corel PHOTO PAINT,
GIMP
MSPAINT
IRFANVIEW
PHOTOSCAPE
Paint.NET
Image Editor
Photowise
maybe I'm not using them properly?

Or maybe there's a program that'll feather edges of irregular photos....

Anyway, I've attached the file I've been working on (hopefully) so you can see what I'm trying to do.
Happy Easter
straka01 (310)
1268897 2012-04-08 06:43:00 Adobe have the new photoshop in beta at the moment. Download it and give that ago. Plus heaps of video tutorials available. plod (107)
1268898 2012-04-08 07:00:00 Half of those programs can do what you want, especially Gimp and Corel. The trick is knowing how to do it. One way is to read the manual.

Another, probably faster way, you can check online for tutorials\help etc, search Google for such terms as "feather edge" + "name of your graphics program"

Here's something from the Gimp help documents: docs.gimp.org
Agent_24 (57)
1268899 2012-04-08 09:02:00 Is this what you want:

www.imagef1.net.nz
zqwerty (97)
1268900 2012-04-08 20:44:00 Yes, that looks great - how did you do it? straka01 (310)
1268901 2012-04-08 22:52:00 -Using PhotoShop, magic wand/select all the white, adjust selection/+,-, Ctrl, Alt, and clear up some gray in corners/edges, invert selection, use a combination of select/modify/expand and then smooth make an acceptable selection around the picture object, then invert selection again, using a soft brush paint the identical white up to the selection which can be done quickly hence the careful selection, save finished image once satisfied.

The soft brush gives the good blurred edges, much better than using feather which is always too coarse as you found out.
zqwerty (97)
1268902 2012-04-08 23:56:00 Blur worked quite well too - quick and dirty - not nearly as elegant! R.M. (561)
1268903 2012-04-09 00:31:00 The whiter you can get the background before you take the photos the better the result will look as well.

The pros often use a single curved surface that arcs up from bebeath the subject. Ideally a non-gloss surface to avoid the harsh specular reflections.

My brain is at a loss as to what material could be used for this without being too expensive, but whiter than your average white, and gloss-free if possible.

Playing with the gamma on the finished photo may also get the background looking whiter.

Good luck, It can be painful work.
Paul.Cov (425)
1268904 2012-04-09 06:01:00 I've tried the GIMP - feather edges feature - but it just doesn't seem to make any appreciable difference. The online tutorial is not that great... but I followed it without any real change to the edges. I then got my 24yo uni student to try but he had no luck with it either.... Don't know why I can't get it to work properly? straka01 (310)
1268905 2012-04-09 06:02:00 Do you mean the GIMP blur feature? Doesn't that blur the whole picture not just the edges? straka01 (310)
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