How to Remove Picture Background and Remove Duplicate Photos

Raza Ali Kazmi Duplicate Photos, Similar Images, Solutions

If you’re working on a presentation or a project, you might be using different image templates- each with different backgrounds. In order to use these image templates into your presentation, you may need to remove backgrounds and give them a uniform look with a transparent color.

The process is fairly easy and can be accomplished using different software- both freeware and paid ones. In this article, we’ll discuss these approaches and show you how to regularly scan your collection for duplicates and reclaim your lost storage.

Method 1: Using Microsoft Office PowerPoint

A less-known fact about Microsoft PowerPoint is that it offers functionality to crop an image’s background and turn it into a transparent one. If you already have Office installed, you don’t really have to bother about spending several hundred dollars buying an image editor software. The steps are outlined below:

  1. Start Microsoft Office PowerPoint.
  2. Create a new blank project.
  3. Click the Insert tab and then select Pictures.
  4. Browse and locate the image of your choice and click Insert.
  5. Click on the Format tab, and select Remove background.
  6. Adjust the different sizes and positions of the marquee lines.
  7. Now click the Background Removal tab and select the Mark Areas to Keep option to define the portion of the image you want to retain.
  8. Use the drawing pencil to define the area you want to keep.
  9. Use the Mark Areas to Remove icon in the same tab to define areas for background removal.
  10. You can also use the drawing pencil to define the area you need to get rid of.
  11. Don’t forget to select Keep Changes in the Close group of the Background Removal tab after finishing up.

Note: Should anything go wrong, you can undo your marking by clicking the Background Removal tab and selecting the Delete Mark icon.

Method 2: Using Adobe Photoshop

Popular image manipulation software Adobe Photoshop has an in-house Background Eraser functionality that does this job pretty well. With simple steps, you can get the hang of it and remove the background.

  1. Open up Photoshop.
  2. Click File | Open, and import an image into your Photoshop project.
  3. Click the Eraser Tool icon on the left-hand side toolbox and select the Background Eraser Tool. Alternatively, you can use the Shift + E shortcut keys and choose Background Eraser Tool from the expanded menu options.
  4. Click the Brush icon on the toolbox on the top and set an appropriate brush scaling size depending on the size of your image. If your image is large, 100px may help. For smaller and complex images, you may want to reduce it.
  5. Once you’re done selecting the brush size, set the Sampling to Continuous.
  6. Select Find edges in the Level drop-down box and Tolerance level to 20%.
  7. Move your cursor inside the background area to begin erasing.
  8. Do you see those crosshairs with a brush-sized circle? You can use them to your advantage to erase the color within the brush area. Remember that matching colors are only deleted within the hotspot area marked by the crosshairs.
  9. To delete colors in other regions, simply move the brush to those regions. You’ll also notice that it rids you of possible color halos that are built when foreground objects overlaid onto other backgrounds.

Note: It is also possible that the Background Remover may wipe out some portion of the foreground area that matches similar colors. In such cases, you may want to tweak the sampling and limits settings. For example: Setting the Tolerance level to 5% and Limits to Discontinuous might help. Of course, you can use the Pen tool to clean up the selection and repair messed up portions. However, it depends a lot on the nature of your image, color groups and height-width proportions.

Method 3: Using GIMP (Freeware)

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a free image editor with rich editing features. You can use the Fuzzy Select Tool mechanism to mark areas based on color similarity.

  1. Launch GIMP from it’s Desktop shortcut.
  2. Click on File, select Open.
  3. Select your image and open it.
  4. Press the U key of your keyboard to fire up the Fuzzy Select Tool.
  5. Click and drag over the selection pointer to select the portion of your image you want to remove.
  6. Drag over to the right and left to increase and decrease the size respectively. Holding the Shift key will enable you to add multiple selections. You can get rid of unwanted selections by pressing and holding the Ctrl button and clicking your selection.
  7. Once you’re done selecting the background of the image, use the Delete key of your keyboard to eliminate it. Alternatively, click the Edit menu, and select Clear.
  8. The image’s background will turn into a dotted-looking transparent object.

Remove Duplicate Photos Quickly & Easily

Removing duplicates is easy, if done correctly. With the right tools, you can compare images stored on your hard drive, USB stick and external hard disk. The key to delete duplicate photos is to use an algorithm-based software such as PictureEcho that offers various Similarity Levels to get the job done.

Why PictureEcho?

  • Easy to use, simple interface.
  • Ability to change Similarity Levels depending on one’s needs. Level 1 takes the shortest timespan into consideration, whereas Level 3 takes the highest. Level 4 does NOT take any time-span into consideration and so requires greater attention on part of the user.
  • Multi-selection makes it easy to specify different folders within different directories or drives.
  • Ability to customize included extensions (both Similar Match and Exact Match) from the program settings.
  • Using the program settings, you can exclude directories that you do NOT want to scan for duplicate photos. As a default, the program excludes all system folders that contain your operating system and program files and app data.
  • Exact Match scan mode finds images that are absolutely identical to each other whereas Similar Match finds images that are visually similar in nature.
  • Plenty of selection methods are available. Mark files that are bigger or smaller in each duplicate group. Mark files having higher or low resolution. Mark images that are newer or older in each group. Mark or unmark images by their parent directory.
  • A good duplicate photo finding software should be able to allow the user to preview the images so that you don’t have to open each file. PictureEcho shows image preview on the right-hand side panel whenever you select a file name from the results list.
  • The software offers users two actions- Delete the duplicate files permanently, or move them to another folder (if you think you will need them again).

Use PictureEcho to Find Duplicate Photos

Follow the steps given below to search for duplicate photos using PictureEcho.

  1. Download PictureEcho and install it on your computer.
  2. Click on the Add path on the left and select the directory you want to scan. Repeat the same step again to add multiple scan directories, if required.
  3. Select Exact Match or Similar Match.
  4. Click the Similarity Settings link to select a Similar Match scan type (if you selected Similar Match in the last step).
  5. Click on Start Search to begin the search.
  6. Now that the results have been laid out on the screen, click on Select Duplicates and choose a pattern of your choice.
  7. Once you’re done selecting the files, click on Select Action and choose one of the options from Permanent Delete and Move to folder.