Paintshop pro 2020 - remove chroma key green background

[kebaldwin]

HI - new to Paintshop pro 2020. I am a photographer. I like to remove back ground of subject. IN photograph - I used chroma key green backdrop all around subject. What is the best way to remove background? I thought it would be super simple since I was using chroma key green? Background eraser did not seem to leave green in some places and remove foreground in other places.

Am I not using background eraser correctly? Is there a better way? Seems like most google searches bring up discussions about doing it in videos. I need to remove background in photo

Thanks!

[migf1]

Hello kebaldwin,

it pretty much depends on the photograph. There are several ways to isolate the subject. The Smart Selection Brush, the Auto Selection or even the Magic Wand ( http://prntscr.com/trlyzn ) can help a lot if your background is a solid color (chroma key) and your subject does not have way too complex edges (like tiny hair/fur strands and such). Each of those tools comes with extra settings, located on its horizontal Options toolbar (so does the Background Eraser tool).

For complex edges, after you make an initial selection with any of the above mentioned tools (or even manually with the freehand or the pen tools), you can try the Refine button (shown last inside the tool's options bar): http://prntscr.com/trm3od, which will open the Refine Brush dialog for further adjustments: http://prntscr.com/trm4uu

Using masks for isolating the subject (or improving your current selection) is another way. It is a little more advanced but quite powerful.

The thing is that if you have never used any of these things, you should probably need to do some reading or watch some tutorials for each one of them separately. Note also that probably some of them will not be available unless you switch to the Complete workspace (it's not the default workspace).

It could also help if you share a photo that is giving you trouble in isolating the subject, so maybe we can suggest some effective ways of doing it for that particular photo.

PS. I think google search directed you to video editing, because "chroma key" is mostly a video-editing term. In photo editing it is most commonly referred to as solid-color background and such.

[hartpaul]

In my experiments using a green background to make it 'easy' to isolate the subject I found that if the subject was too close to the background and any green material in front then it gave green edges to the subject from the reflection. This made it very difficult to isolate as the eraser would take out greenish chunks of the subject as well.
You need to have the background far enough from the subject and separate lighting for the background and subject.
Turn off the fore ground lights and adjust the lighting for the background so the subject is completely silhouetted against the background. Then adjust your subject lighting .

[Jean-Luc]

Am I not using background eraser correctly?

The Background Eraser Tool is powerful if you master it. It needs a learning curve. When mastered, you can remove an uniform background, like yours, in one click or only a few clicks.

https://forum.corel.com/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=65906

https://forum.corel.com/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=65951

See also here:
320. Cut out Hair in one Click
http://pspcookbook.com/?page_id=445

If you post here an example of your work in its original size (partial if copyrighted), we can give you more precise advice.

[kebaldwin]

Thank you all - I really appreciate it!