Adding a New Background to a Photo in Paint Shop Pro

Written by: Michele McDonough • Edited by: Rhonda Callow
Published Oct 20, 2009 • Related Guides: Photo Editing Software

There are several ways that you can change the background or add a new one to a digital photo in Paint Shop Pro. This tutorial will examine a method that you can try out for your own photo editing projects, starting with a photo that has a solid color background.

Changing a Solid Color Background

Based on some discussion from the comments section of the tutorial on using the background remover on Paint Shop Pro, I thought it might be helpful to give some more detailed explanation on changing the background of a digital photo when that background is a solid color. Sometimes when trying to describe the details, the process starts to sound a lot more complicated than it really is so I am hoping that a few screenshots along with the instructions will help.

If you're actually starting with a photo that has a solid background, you probably won't even need to use the background remover plugin and can just use some of the other tools found in Paint Shop Pro. The plugin is really for photos that have a more complicated background that is harder to distinguish from the main subject of a photo. This guide will look at some easier ways that you can change the background when it is less complex in nature.

Getting Started - First Steps to Take

For this tutorial, we'll start off with a digital photo of a woman that has a solid green background as shown below. (Click any image for a larger view.)

click to enlarge

Before getting started, make sure that you have both the Materials and Layers palette open since we'll be referring to them at various points in the tutorial. If they're not currently visible, you can toggle them on by going to the View menu on Paint Shop Pro's main toolbar, selecting Palettes, and making sure there is a check mark next to Materials and Layers.

click to enlarge

Also, while it isn't necessarily needed for every example we'll be showing, it's a good idea to go ahead and convert your photo to a full layer rather than working on the default background layer that is standard for JPEG images. So, after opening your photo in Paint Shop Pro, go to the Layers menu on the main toolbar and select Promote Background Layer.

click to enlarge

After doing this, your photo will show up in the Layers palette as a raster layer labeled Raster 1.

click to enlarge

Now, we can move on to showing how to change the existing background or add a new one.

A Simple Color or Pattern Change

If the only thing you want to change about the background of the photo is the color or if you want to use a pattern that comes preloaded with Paint Shop Pro, walk through these steps.

Step 1: Begin by selecting the Magic Wand tool from the side tool panel of Paint Shop Pro.

click to enlarge

A new toolbar for the Magic Wand will appear underneath the main toolbar at the top of your screen. Here, make sure that Replace is chosen for Mode, Color for Match Mode, and that your Tolerance is set to be around 25. (You may need to adjust the tolerance level depending on the photo you are working with, but 25 is generally a good area to start experimenting with.) If you click the screenshot above, you should be able to see these settings chosen in that larger view.

Step 2: With the Magic Wand selected, click on any part of the solid color background. It should select the entire area and surround it with dashed lines as shown below.

click to enlarge

Continue on to the next page for the rest of this tutorial on replacing backgrounds in digital photos with Paint Shop Pro.

Showing page 1 of 2

12next »

Michele McDonough Nov 29, 2009 11:27 AM

RE: Problem with Flood Fill

Hi Mike,

In order to make Flood Fill only fill a certain area, you would need to make a selection around that area first. However, it sounds like you may want to use the Color Changer tool instead - to access this tool, click on the down arrow next to Flood Fill and select Color Changer. There's also a Bright Hub tutorial on this tool at this link:

http://www.brighthub.com/multimedia/photography/articles/22864.aspx

Good luck!
Michele

Mike Hook Nov 29, 2009 9:20 AM

Problem with flood fill

Can anyone help with the problem I have that when I use the Flood Fill (tilting bucket) whatever setting I use, it completey fills my picture rather than filling the color I have clicked on. There is no missing pixel to allow bleed through.
Regards
Mike

Michele McDonough Oct 22, 2009 10:58 PM

Same Size Photo

Hi Clark,

It is making sure that each photo has the same dimension in pixels - there is no "exact" way to do this. If both photos are taken with the same camera and haven't been cropped/resized, then they should be the same size. If not, then you have to do a combination of cropping and resizing one of the photos so that they have the same dimensions. The cropping tool in Paint Shop Pro can help a lot here, since you can enter the exact dimensions of the photo you want to crop. Here's a link with a little more info:

http://www.brighthub.com/multimedia/photography/articles/19367.aspx

Hope this helps a little,
Michele

Clark Oct 22, 2009 5:42 PM

RE: Gala Greenscreen photos

Michele,
I have been researching how to make sure the two photos I use are the same size. Is that a matter of the file size of the photo or not? Either way I still need to figure out how to make sure the background photo is the same size. I followed your link on layers but have not figured it out yet? Any hints?
Thanks
Clark

Michele McDonough Oct 22, 2009 4:47 PM

RE: Greenscreen

Hi Clark -

Yes, a lot of the problem is because of the light and the lines actually making the background not a solid uniform color. but instead a blend of several colors - that will take more work to remove than a single completely uniform colored background. However, some of this can be corrected by changing the tolerance level on the Magic Wand - but the light will cause more "halos" around your subject.

-Michele

Clark Oct 22, 2009 4:02 PM

Gala Greenscreen photos

Well, I did a test last night and I got mixed results. Apparently I don't know how to make the background photo the same size as the original. I thought I just has to scale the photo with the Scaling tool that was available when I open the Patterns option and found the 2nd photo I had pulled up to use as the background. Also, I had more trouble with some Greenscreen sample photos than others with remnants of the Greenscreen scattered on the background photo and I don't understand why. Is it because the Green background is uneven or not evenly lite. I am using a couple of remote flasheds to light the background. One of the best results I got was from a photo of one of our Cats on the stool. The results are at www.Austinphoto.zenfolio.com/chromakey. Also I am going to try and get some of the wrinkles out of the greenscreen background to see if that helps. I can't seem to understand how to clean up the lines around the subject as well.
Thanks for all your help. It has been very much appreciated.
Clark

Michele McDonough Oct 20, 2009 7:16 PM

RE: Use PSP only -no BG Remover

Thanks again, Clark - and thanks for sharing your work! I hope the Gala goes great for you!

Clark Oct 20, 2009 7:08 PM

Use PSP only -no BG Remover

Michele,
Well it worked perfectly once I realized I had to change the angle of the Pattern Photo from 45 degrees to 100 and to scale the BG photo to match the Original Greenscreen photo.
I uploaded my photo to http://austinphoto.zenfolio.com/chromakey in case you want to see the result. I used a beach seen from a cruise we took so it looks pretty cool.
Thanks for your help!! You are a life saver.
Clark

Michele McDonough Oct 20, 2009 6:42 PM

RE: Replacing a Background

Thanks, Clark! I hope you'll keep us updated and let us know how it turns out.

Clark Oct 20, 2009 6:25 PM

Replacing a Background

Awesome!!
Wow, I better be careful what I ask for. This is great. I am still at my office working on other tasks and I need to take time to try this and I will shortly but first of all, let me say thank you very much. This will make my Gala experience so much better I can't wait to try it out. I just got my GreenScreen Muslin and want to take some test photos. Then I will need to find some cool backgrounds appropriate for the Gala attendees. Should be fun.
Thanks again, you are terrific!!
Clark

Adding a New Background to a Photo in Paint Shop Pro

Changing a Solid Color Background

Getting Started - First Steps to Take

A Simple Color or Pattern Change

Comments