Background removal is basically the idea that you remove the background of a photograph wherein the object/objects are positioned. The nice thing about using your editing program is that while removing the background you can choose to do the entire background or merely parts of it to achieve your desired result.
Prior to the popularity of digital cameras and photo editing software the method of removing the background from an image was an intensely arduous process.
Before the advent of digital cameras and photo editing software, the removal of a photo’s background was performed inside a darkroom with the required ambient conditions which typically included proper room temperature. The film was placed in working chemical solution and had to be monitored carefully. If you were not careful, overexposure of the film to the solution would result in an increase in background blur and decrease in resolution.
Today background removal is accomplished through the use of digital photo editing software such as GNU Image Manipulation Program, Photoshop, or GIMP. GIMP is a special type of graphics editing software that is able to support some types of object-oriented (or vector) graphics.
While it is not strictly imperative that your choice of digital photo editing software be able to support all types of object-oriented graphics, the main advantage in using GIMP is that it allows for easy vector to raster conversion.
Other popularly used raster graphics editors and digital photo editors will also work just fine. Most digital photo editors have a number of plug-ins which can modify the background in different ways. Plug-ins are computer programs with highly specific purposes. Most sophisticated photo editing programs use special purpose plug-ins and will perform background editing and removal based on different criteria.
Once the background is removed you will find that objects without backgrounds can be used in several different ways. You can place them in a new backdrop and in different situational contexts. For example, a couch in furniture showroom could have the furniture showroom replaced with an office. The object can be moved around any which way and its alignment with the new background can also be changed.
The great thing about an object without a background is that it maintains all its properties like shape and size, but becomes more flexible to individual usage.
