It makes perfect sense to go with what feels familiar, like basic retouching or background removal. But we’ve learned from working with thousands of photographers and business owners that your photos often benefit from multiple services working together. Combining services gets you better results with less hassle, since you can handle everything in one order instead of juggling separate projects. Let’s show you how to pick the right edits for your photos.

How to identify what your photos actually need

Before you start combining services, let’s figure out what you’re actually working with—it’ll save you time and help you get better results.

Photo diagnosis checklist

Take a look at your images and ask yourself if you spot any of these:

• Background issues: Is the background distracting, the wrong color, or inconsistent across your batch? Does it look messy or unprofessional?
• Subject problems: Are there imperfections, poor lighting, or color issues with your main subject? For apparel, does it need to show fit and drape without a model?
• Technical fixes: Is anything crooked? Are shadows missing or looking unnatural? Any dust, dirt, or glare issues?
• Brand requirements: Do you need multiple product colors? Specific formats? Transparent backgrounds for marketing materials?

Common photo problems and their solutions

Here are some scenarios we see all the time:

• “My product looks flat and boring” → clipping path + shadows
• “The background is messy and distracting” → background removal + retouching
• “I need to show this product in 5 different colors” → clipping path + color change
• “The model’s hair isn’t looking right” → image masking + retouching
• “My apparel needs to show shape without the mannequin” → ghost mannequin + retouching + symmetry

Most photo challenges need two to three services working together, not just one by itself.

How Path services work better together

Here’s why thinking in combinations instead of individual services makes more sense:

• Save admin time: Upload everything you need edited in a single order and get it all back together, ready to use. No juggling multiple orders or trying to keep track of which image versions are where.
• Speed up your workflow: Everything gets delivered together in the formats you need. Your designer handles all the edits for each image, so there’s consistency across the entire batch.
• Keep all photos consistent: When the same designer handles all your edits, you get cohesive results. Colors match, shadows look natural together, and the overall style stays consistent.
• Keep costs down: We offer discounts when you bundle multiple editing services together.

You can combine pretty much any of our services together—two, three, four, or more. What matters is understanding which combinations work best for your specific type of photography.

Service combinations by photography type

Every photography project has different needs, and you might even use the same image for different purposes. Here are some proven editing combinations that work well for different situations:

Sports photographers

When you’re dealing with high-volume shoots and tight deadlines, you need services that work fast and handle the most common issues in sports photography.

Your typical service combo:

• Image masking for complex backgrounds, hair, equipment details, etc.
• Background removal for clean, professional shots and official team photos, etc.
• Photo retouching for spot removal, color correction, skin touch-ups, etc.

There may be time-critical events such as championship coverage where you need polished images fast, or you might need to update and create consistent team roster headshots across an entire squad, just like this photographer does. You can choose different services depending on what each batch of images needs, whether that’s processing 200+ action shots or creating headshots with a uniform, professional look.

We offer turnarounds from 6 hours, so you can deliver images to your clients, magazines, or publications fast.

Product and ecommerce brands and photographers

For ecommerce, consistency is everything. Your product photos need to look professional, meet marketplace (like Amazon) standards, and convert browsers into buyers.

A standard combo:

• Clipping path for clean cutouts that meet marketplace requirements or create a clean website look.
• Shadow services add depth and dimension so products don’t look flat.
• Color change shows all available product colors without reshooting every single variant.

Advanced ecommerce stack (add these for even more polished results):

• Ghost mannequin is essential for apparel brands to show fit and drape.
• Symmetry shows perfect product alignment for a premium, professional look.
• Photo retouching removes any product imperfections (like wrinkles in fabric) and enhances details.

New ecommerce brands often start with the foundation combo (clipping path + shadows + color change) and add ghost mannequin as their apparel inventory grows. Established retailers may go with the full stack approach for complete consistency across their entire product catalog.

Portrait and headshot photographers

Professional portraits and headshots need to look polished but still natural. The goal is enhancing what’s already there, not creating something fake.

Typical professional edits for portraits and headshots include:

• Background removal/clipping path gives you versatile backgrounds for different marketing uses.
• Photo retouching helps with natural beauty enhancement, color correction, and flyaway hair fixes.

Corporate headshot scenarios may include:

• Basic combo of background removal + basic retouching.
• Premium package, adding advanced retouching and multiple background options for different brand uses.

Advanced portrait combination (for high-end clients or special projects) may include:

• Image masking for complex hair or clothing details.
• Color change for different outfit variations or brand color matching.
• Multiple background options so clients can use the same headshot across different marketing materials.

Wedding and event portrait combinations may include:

• Image masking for intricate dress details and flowing fabric.
• Retouching for flawless, natural skin and perfect lighting.
• Background removal for ceremony photos that need to work in albums and marketing.

How to choose your perfect edit combination

Use this simple framework to figure out which services make sense for any project:

1. What’s your end goal? Are these photos for marketplace listings, marketing materials, portfolio work, or client galleries?
2. What’s your biggest time constraint? Do you have a tight deadline, a high volume of images, or particularly complex edits?
3. What’s your budget priority? Are you focused on cost per image, or is premium quality and time savings more important?

Consider your photo use case

Sometimes the same photo needs different sets of edits depending on how you plan to use it. For example, a product photo might need:

• For marketplace listing: clipping path + white background + basic retouching.
• For social media: same photo but with different background + enhanced colors + shadows.
• For print: higher resolution + color matching + vector conversion.

How to mix and match your edits

Use this simple approach to figuring out which services work best for your projects:

• Start simple: Pick two to three core services that address your biggest pain points.
• Test combinations: Try different combos on smaller image batches to see what works best for your workflow.
• Scale up when it makes sense: Add more services as you see results and understand how they improve your final images.

When to add each editing service

Not sure which services you actually need? Here’s a quick reference for what each one does best.

Clipping path: When you need hand-drawn, crisp clean cutouts that you can use on any background.

Background removal: When you want clean white (or any color) backgrounds for product photos.

Image masking: For intricate shots with hair, fur, or complex borders that need precise, natural-looking cutouts.

Shadow: When products look flat or unrealistic—shadows add depth and dimension, and they actually help generate more sales.

Ghost mannequin: For apparel that needs to show natural fit and drape without models or mannequins, essential for consistent ecommerce catalogs.

Color change: When you have multiple color options and need to show true-to-life colors without reshooting every single shade.

Photo retouching: When imperfections distract from your subject—this corrects flaws and makes every element shine.

Multi-clipping path: When you need to select multiple areas within images for separate editing (like changing just the shirt color but not the pants).

Vector conversion: When you need scalable graphics and logos that maintain quality at any size.

Symmetry: When product alignment matters for brand consistency and that premium, professional look that converts better.

How to place your Path order

Ready to try combining services? Here’s exactly how to do it and how it works:

Getting started

1. Sign up for your Path account
2. Top up Path credits (optional but recommended—you get bonus credits when you top up)

The ordering process

3. Click “new order” to start your project
4. Select all the services you need for this batch—you can choose as many as you want
5. Upload your images using drag and drop
6. Get instant quote and you’ll see your total cost immediately
7. Set preferences like:
   a) File format for your edited images
   b) Additional comments or instructions
   c) Upload any supporting files if needed
8. Select turnaround time (longer turnaround means cheaper pricing, or choose rush for time-sensitive projects)
9. Review and approve your quote
10. Choose payment method and submit your order

If you need 1,000+ images edited a month, we offer bulk pricing with better rates and priority support.

Ordering edits with Path couldn’t be any easier

Now that you know which combinations work for your type of photography, placing an order is straightforward. Try Path free with 2 free edits and see how much better your photos look with the right services working together.

Let us look after your image edits, so you can get back to the fun stuff. Try Path free.

Learn more

The post How to Know Which Photo Editing Services You Need appeared first on Path Edits.

The contest

The Talent Hunt was created with a few goals in mind: 

• to identify exemplary photo editing techniques an
• to recognize the editors behind the edits—we do everything by hand here, no sloppy AI shortcuts
• to foster innovation and future leaders in the industry

We let everyone get in on the fun—our in-house folks, temp workers, and even our subcontracting team—to see who can make the best, the fastest, and the most accurate photo edits. And not only that, but how the rest of our organization can learn from them. It’s just another way we’ve found to continuously innovate and push ourselves to always do better.

We had three categories for winners:

1. Speedstar Editor: the person who can edit images in the least amount of time while maintaining quality standards
2. Quality Wizard: the editor who can edit images with extraordinary quality by using different techniques outside of their traditional quality within the defined timeframe
3. Technique Mastermind: for the most creative editing techniques that still deliver quality and speed

We also had a judging panel, made of:

Creative review

• Md. Ataur Rahman, Senior Manager, Production
• MD. Shahadat Hossain, Senior Manager, Customer Support
• Md Shaharia Kabir, Assistant Manager, Audit
• Rayhanul Islam, Senior Executive, R&D
• Abdullah Al Jasim, Executive, R&D

Overall organization and coordination

• Rifat Rahmatullah, Manager, Human Resources
• Shams Al Mujahid, Senior Executive, HR and Admin

Final decision

• Md. Atiqur Rahman Molla, CEO
• Rokaiya Yesmin, COO

The winners

Seven participants competed in the Talent Hunt, with two emerging as the top contestants. These editors displayed exceptional proficiency in all types of edits. Their techniques not only streamlined editing processes but also elevated the overall quality.

Get to know the winners—some of the very people who edit your photos:

Bishojit Sarker, 1st place

• Category: Quality Wizard
• Technique: image masking and photo retouching
• Prize: mobile phone

Mohammad Ripon, 2nd place

• Category: Speedstar Editor
• Technique: raster to vector
• Prize: tablet

What’s next?

Sure, the Talent Hunt was a lot of fun! But there’s also a business goal behind it. Our top editors have innovated to bring new editing techniques and workflows to their work.

By having this Talent Hunt, we can bring our larger team of editors together, identify top talent, and learn from them. The Talent Hunt winners can share their expertise, learnings, and techniques with the rest of the Path editing team to help continue to propel the quality of our services higher and higher.

Thanks for being a part of our family

We wouldn’t be able to edit images, innovate, and give back to our people without our customers. To us, Path is more than just a photo editing studio. It’s a family. And we’re happy to have you a part of that big, extended Path family. 

The post Putting People First: Congratulations to the Path Talent Hunt Winners! appeared first on Path Edits.

Chris does most of his work on his own—but he shares the burden of photo editing with Path.

Challenge

Chris has been a photographer for roughly 16 years. He started shooting portraits of dogs and children, and then started to branch out into family portraits, headshots, and eventually product photography.

Chris landed himself an awesome gig with a big box supplier that represents several brands. One of the main brands he works with is a fishing lure company.

“They need the images clipped out, and with an alpha channel and path,” Chris says. An alpha channel allows you to adjust an image’s transparency levels.

But not all the photo editing companies out there offer the option of an alpha channel. And Chris didn’t have the time to learn how to do it himself. “I had no idea how to do the alpha channel, and I was going to have to learn,” he says. “I hate doing computer work.”

“I had no idea how to do the alpha channel, and I was going to have to learn. I hate doing computer work.”

Plus, he still has to juggle shooting for other brands and vendors, as well as his local portrait clients.

Solution

About three years ago, when Chris received this request to put fishing lure product photos on a white background with an alpha channel, he began his search for a professional photo editing company that could help.

But many didn’t offer the option of the alpha channel—or they were too expensive.

That’s when he found Path.

“I went with Path because they were able to accommodate the alpha channel,” Chris says.

Outcome

Path fit seamlessly into Chris’s workflow. “Now, I take the pictures and I let Path handle the clipping, the retouching, the shadow, and the alpha channel,” he says.

“Path was able to do the edits real quick,” Chris says. And he has time to focus on the more advanced and creative edits to the headshots side of his business.

When you ask Chris about the biggest advantage of working with Path, it all boils down to one thing: time.

“Path handles the time-consuming tasks of clipping a product. And then when I realized Path also touched up photos, that has really improved my life. I don’t know how to clip an image as well as y’all.”

“Path handles the time-consuming tasks of clipping a product. And then when I realized Path also touched up photos, that has really improved my life,” Chris says. “Also, I don’t know how to clip an image as well as y’all.”

This time allows Chris to focus on shooting amazing photos and find a healthy work-life balance.

“I have more time,” he says. “The touching up has saved tons of time.”

“I have more time. The touching up has saved tons of time.”

You can save time on your photo edits, too. Give Path a shot with our free trial—no credit card, no commitment.

Let us look after your image edits, so you can get back to the fun stuff. Try Path free.

LEARN MORE

The post Find Out How This Pro Product Photographer Uses Path to Find Balance in His Work appeared first on Path Edits.

But he gets his creative fix with his photography business.

“Photography, of course, is a very creative job.” –Eric, CiReC 360°

Let’s learn more about Eric and how he juggles his job as a programmer, his photography and film business, and traveling along the way.

Challenge

Eric has a lot on his plate. Balancing his photography business with his day job as a programmer was already a challenge. But the real pressure came from the time-consuming nature of his photography work.

For each product, he needs 48 images to create a full 360-degree view.

“The most important thing is consistency,” he says. “One person alone can’t do [the edits] because of how much time it takes to clip one of these images.”

Plus, inconsistencies are common in 360-degree shots, making the editing process even more important. “It’s always a compromise. You can take an image with perfect lighting from one direction and the image looks fine, but in the rotation, the moment it rotates, the lighting isn’t perfect. This is the reason I did these kinds of corrections by myself. The important thing is the consistency of these images.”

The products in his photos tend to be fairly complex. “For example, there’s no need to do a 360-degree photo of a bottle. Mostly these are very technical products where you can get a feeling of the dimensions of the structure and function, for example. Or with clothes, you get a feeling of the cut and how it looks when you’re wearing it.”

At first, he attempted to do all the clipping paths himself. “I clipped about 1,000 images by myself and I realized, ‘Wow, this is a hard job,’ because time is important. The client sends me the product and they want to get back the image immediately. If you’re clipping 500 images by yourself, you can’t deliver within a reasonable timeframe.”

Despite his programming skills, which allowed him to streamline some of the processes, time constraints and the sheer volume of work meant he couldn’t deliver to clients as efficiently as he wanted. He needed help—someone who could handle the intricate and precise work of image clipping while maintaining the consistency his clients expect.

Solution

Eric turned to outsourcing. “In the beginning I wasn’t sure if it would work. I was a little afraid that everyone has their own technique—but these images have all to be handled in the same way,” he says.

He turned to Google to start searching for options and tried a few different providers. He came up short.

“I wasn’t that satisfied with their web interface, with their handling of the images. They wanted me to send the images per email, which is nonsense. I contacted one company in Germany and they told me, ‘Okay, we can do this. You can have an account on our FTP, but first we want you to buy 5,000 images from me and then we can do this.’” But Eric didn’t know when he would have 5,000 images. It was too much of a commitment.

That’s when Eric found Path.

He loved the signup process. “There was no problem. I made my account, I could upload the images. It was super nice that I got my quote immediately,” he says. “So I sent one image, I said, ‘Hey, I have 48 of these, how do you calculate these?’ And it was super simple.”

Path provided Eric with an efficient process: He would upload his images to our FTP server, and we would return the clipped images organized in the exact order he sent them. This eliminated any logistical headaches, allowing Eric to focus on what he does best—capturing stunning images and communicating with clients. Even when minor issues arose, our support team responded promptly and effectively, ensuring Eric’s workflow remained uninterrupted.

“I was very happy that Path had this organization with one folder—I can put my 48 unedited images into one FTP upload folder and get them back the same way. They’re just named by numbers. And I get them back exactly the same way and the same name I sent them to you. It was perfect from the beginning on. So from my side, there are not many things Path could improve.”

He appreciates the human touch we put on every project.

“You can’t do this by AI at the moment. And hand-drawn paths are definitely worth much more.” –Eric, CiReC 360°

“I look at the edits I get back from you and I say, ‘Hey, these people think about what they see, and they do the path this way because there are small mistakes in the product.’ The person who clips sees every mistake, and they clip it the way I want it. You can’t do this by AI at the moment. And hand-drawn paths are definitely worth much more than a masked clip by wand or something like that.”

Outcome

Eric was pleased with the quality of the edits he received from Path. “I was very happy to see the consistency was perfect. I think I’ve had between 10,000 and 20,000 images clipped by you. It was never a problem—the workflow was perfect for me. And if there was a question, support contacted me and asked the question, I answered, and everything was done.”

The collaboration has transformed Eric’s business.

“Finally, I can concentrate on photography and, of course, talking to my clients. That’s the most important thing. I’m able to put my time into the things that matter because of your help. I don’t have to worry about anything because I work on these photos simultaneously. When one set of images is finished, I load it up and I can do the next photo while it’s uploading. There’s nothing more for me to do.”

“I can concentrate on photography and talking to my clients. I’m able to put my time into the things that matter because of your help.” –Eric, CiReC 360°

By outsourcing the time-consuming clipping process, Eric can redirect his energy towards the creative aspects of his work and managing client relationships. His clients receive their images on time, and the quality remains impeccable.

Eric’s business has grown as a result. The consistent quality of the images not only meet but exceed his clients’ expectations. The streamlined workflow allows him to take on more projects without the stress of managing every small detail himself. In fact, the collaboration was so successful that Eric couldn’t think of any improvements to suggest when asked—everything simply worked.

By freeing up his time, Eric can now focus on expanding his business in meaningful ways, exploring new markets, and continuing to innovate 360-degree product photography.

Get your 360-degree photo edits with Path

Eric’s story highlights the importance of finding the right partners to handle specialized tasks. By outsourcing the complex and repetitive work of image clipping, Eric was able to focus on growing his business and doing what he loves most. The partnership not only solved his initial problem but also set the stage for future success.

The post How One 360-Degree Product Photographer Streamlines Clipping Paths of Thousands of Images appeared first on Path Edits.

That’s why we created a handy guide to all the Photoshop shortcuts you need to know to execute pixel perfect product photo edits—along with a downloadable cheat sheet to pin to your desktop or print out for reference.

A note on Mac vs. PC

Key command shortcuts are usually a little different between Mac and PC (Windows) as each system has a slightly different keyboard. For the most part, anytime you see CTRL for PC, you can substitute COMMAND on Mac, and anytime you see ALT for PC, you can substitute OPTION on Mac.

There’s one notable exception to this rule. On newer Mac laptops, if you want to access the Function keys, you need to first press the FN key. On Mac desktops and PCs, however, no FN key exists.

List of basic Photoshop key command shortcuts

Learning Photoshop shortcuts can save hours of valuable time. Here are some basic Photoshop keyboard shortcuts you can memorize to make your workflow quicker and easier.

• Adjust image size: CTRL + ALT + I (COMMAND + OPTION + I on a Mac)
• Burn tool: O
  
• Close all open documents: CTRL + ALT + W (COMMAND + OPTION + W)
• Close document: CTRL + W (COMMAND + W)
• Copy: CTRL + C (COMMAND + C)
• Create a new document: CTRL + N (COMMAND + N)
• Create a new layer: SHIFT + CTRL + N (SHIFT + COMMAND + N)
• Create a perfect square or circle selection with Marquee Tool: SHIFT + drag
• Create duplicate in new layer: ALT + drag
• Cut (saved in clipboard): CTRL + X (COMMAND + X)
• Cycle between Blending Brush Modes with Brush Tool selected: SHIFT + +
  
• Cycle between Blending Modes: SHIFT + +
  
• Decrease or increase brush size (with Brush Tool selected): [ (decrease); ] (increase)
• Deselect current selection: CTRL + D (COMMAND + D)
• Eraser Tool: SHIFT + E
  
• Export document: SHIFT + CTRL + ALT + W (SHIFT + COMMAND + OPTION + W)
• Feather selection: SHIFT + F6 (FN + SHIFT + F6)
• Healing Brush Tool: J
  
• Merge copy: SHIFT + CTRL + C (SHIFT + COMMAND + C)
• Move in line with Move Tool: SHIFT + drag
• Open an existing document: CTRL + O (COMMAND + O)
• Open Curves dialog box: CTRL + M (COMMAND + M)
• Open Levels dialog box: CTRL + L (COMMAND + L)
• Open Preferences: CTRL + K (COMMAND + K)
• Paste: CTRL + V (COMMAND + V)
• Paste in place: SHIFT + CTRL + V (SHIFT + COMMAND + V)
• Print document: CTRL + P (COMMAND + P)
• Rulers show or hide: CTRL + R (COMMAND + R)
• Save a copy as: CTRL + ALT + S (COMMAND + OPTION + S)
• Save as: SHIFT + CTRL + S (SHIFT + COMMAND + S)
• Save document: CTRL + S (COMMAND + S)
• Select all: CTRL + A (COMMAND + A)
• Show or hide actions panel: ALT + F9 (OPTION + F9 on Mac, FN + OPTION + F9 on Mac laptop)
• Toggle between Brush Tool, Pencil Tool, Mixer Brush Tool and Color Replacement Tool: SHIFT + B
  
• Toggle between Healing Brush Tool, Spot Healing Brush Tool, Patch Tool, Content-Aware Move Tool, and Red Eye Tool: SHIFT + J
  
• Toggle between Lasso Tools: SHIFT + L
  
• Undo: CTRL + Z (COMMAND + Z)
• Zoom in: CTRL + = (COMMAND + =)
• Zoom out: CTRL + – (COMMAND + –)

In addition to these basic shortcut key commands, there are additional task-specific shortcut keys each section below.

5 Photoshop shortcuts to know for general photo editing

1. Keyboard shortcuts for working with layers

If you don’t see the Layers panel in your application, simply type F7 (FN + F7) to make it visible.

Toggle between blending modes

Blending modes on your layers allow you to affect how the layer interacts with the image in the layer below it. You control the blending mode in the Layers Panel. If you’re unsure which blending mode would be best for the look you are trying to achieve, you can quickly toggle through available blending modes by selecting the layer and typing SHIFT + ALT + + (SHIFT + CTRL + +).

Merge Layers

To merge your visible layers into one layer, type SHIFT + CTRL + E (SHIFT + COMMAND + E). To merge your selected layer into the layer beneath it (merge down), type CTRL + E (COMMAND + E).

Duplicate and Stamp Layers

To duplicate the layer you have selected, type F4 (FN + F4). In order to copy all layers into a new, merged layer (stamping layers), type SHIFT + ALT + CTRL + E (SHIFT + OPTION + COMMAND + E)

2. How to use keyboard shortcuts to adjust colors

Color Balance

To quickly bring up the Color Balance dialog box, select the layer you wish to adjust and type CTRL + B (COMMAND + B). Color Balance allows you to adjust the colors for shadows, midtones, and highlights. As you work with the sliders in the Color Balance dialog box, make sure you have “Preview” checked so you can see your changes in real time.

Note: If you want to adjust the color balance for all layers: create a stamped layer to work with, or create a Color Balance Adjustment Layer above all visible layers.

Hue / Saturation

The Hue / Saturation dialog box is similar to Color Balance in that it gives you the ability to adjust colors and tones of your image. However, Hue / Saturation allows you to adjust all colors in your image in one direction, and also gives you control over tint and saturation of your image instead of focusing on enhancing particular colors.

The keyboard shortcut for Hue / Saturation is CTRL + U (COMMAND + U). Any adjustments you make in the dialog box that appears will affect the current layer or current selection.

You can use the Hue slider to change the color of a particular portion of your image; however, use caution if you intend to adjust the entire image as the results can be very drastic.

You can also choose specific colors to modify from the dropdown menu that says “Master.” In this image, the woman’s dress is the only portion of the image that is mostly magenta. Therefore, we can choose “Magentas” from the dropdown menu and adjust the Hue Slider to change her dress color without affecting the rest of the image too much. This allows us to save the time we would otherwise need for creating a selection.

3. How to make an image black and white

In the Hue / Saturation dialog box, you have the option to move the Saturation slider all the way to the left, which will make your image black and white.

This method will work in a pinch, but there are other ways to make your image black and white that are just as quick.

Method 1: Convert image to grayscale

You can convert your image to grayscale while staying in the RGB color mode by typing CTRL + SHIFT U (COMMAND + SHIFT + U). This makes your image black and white, but, like desaturating your image, does not give you much control over your contrast.

In the black and white image below, you can see from the Layers panel that the color mode of the image is still RGB, even though the adjusted layer is black and white.

Method 2: Convert color mode to Lab mode

This next method is a very quick way to make skin look brighter in black and white images. Choose Image > Mode > Lab Color from the dropdown menu at the top of the application window.

When prompted, merge layers together.

Next, bring up the Layers panel by typing F7 (FN + F7 on a Mac). The Channels and Paths panels are connected to the Layers panel by default, but if Channels does not appear, you can also bring it up by going to Window > Channels from the dropdown menu at the top of the application window.

In the Channels Panel, select the a and b channels. Right-click (CTRL + Click) and choose Delete Layers. Flatten layers when prompted.

Now, you can choose Image > Mode > Grayscale to put the image in Grayscale mode. The final image will look more luminescent than using desaturation alone.

Method 3: Use Black + White keyboard shortcut

You can bring up the Black and White dialog box by typing CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + B (OPTION + COMMAND + SHIFT + B). The dialog box that appears gives you control over which colors in the original image you wish to darken and lighten. Make sure you have “Preview” checked to see the image as you adjust the sliders.

If you’re unsure how best to adjust the sliders, click the Auto button to have Photoshop do the work for you.

4. How to add text to a photo using keyboard shortcuts

To quickly add text to your photo, type T to bring up the Text Tool. Then, click anywhere on your image to start using the tool.

A small bit of filler text will appear in your foreground color, and a small Contextual Task Bar will appear underneath to quickly give you access to adjusting your font, alignment, and text color.

You can also adjust your text with more options using the Options Bar at the top of the application window.

In the Layers Panel, you will see a new Text layer has been generated as well.

If you click off of your type, you can select it again by grabbing the Type Tool and clicking on your text. Then, type CTRL + A (COMMAND + A on a Mac) to select all of your text. If you click on your image but not on your existing text, you will create a new Text layer; you can simply go into your Layers panel and delete it if you do this accidentally.

Photoshop is an evolving organism–as the years have gone by, new options have been added while old panels stay the same. As a result, there are myriad ways to adjust your type. There is no right or wrong way to adjust type in Photoshop 2024–it all depends on what works best for your workflow.

Here are some ways you can modify your type once it’s selected:

• Use the dropdown menus in the Options Bar to adjust your type.
• Use the Properties Panel (accessed by Window > Properties).
• Use the Character Panel (Window > Character) and the Paragraphs Panel (Window > Properties) to adjust your type.
• Use the Contextual Task Bar that appears right under your text (new to Photoshop 2024), or click on the three little dots to quickly bring up the Properties Panel and make more adjustments there.

5. How to use a shortcut for Generative Fill

Generative AI is a hot topic right now, and Photoshop 2024’s AI capabilities are state-of-the-art. In order to take advantage of this new feature, make a selection around the area of your photograph that you wish to change.

Note: All generative AI struggles with correctly creating human hands, so you’ll have best results if you avoid selecting any hands in your image.

Right click (CTRL + click) to bring up an options menu, and choose Generative Fill.

A dialog box will appear, giving you the option to type in what you would like to replace the selection with. If you want to remove the object you selected entirely from your photo, leave this box blank and click Generate.

If you want to replace your selection with an AI-generated image, type what you would like that image to be. In this example, I’ve typed “blue flower.” Then, click Generate.

Photoshop will attempt to create what you’ve asked for based on its own AI database and the pixels surrounding your selection.

Once a new portion of your image has been generated, you will see up to three variations you can choose within your Properties panel.

Choose the variation you like best by clicking on it, or click Generate again within the Properties panel to create three more variations.

Your image will now have a Generative layer named the same as your prompt that rests on top of your other layers. If you want to go back at any time to change the variation you chose, click on that Generative layer and change your selection in the Properties panel.

You can delete unused variations by hovering over the variation and clicking the Trash icon. Removing unused variations will help keep your file size from becoming too large.

5 Photoshop shortcuts to know when editing product photos

1. How to use clipping path keyboard shortcuts

We’ve previously discussed how to use the Magic Wand tool to remove a background from your product image using Select Subject. But if your background has similar focus or coloring as your foreground, the Magic Wand tool won’t work.

In these cases, creating clipping paths is your best option to remove the background. We’ve also put together a tutorial to help you learn how to use the Pen Tool to edit product images and remove the background in Photoshop.

Quick clipping paths are achieved with both of your hands: one hand typing on the keyboard, the other drawing with the mouse or stylus. Your keyboard hand types in the shortcut key commands to toggle quickly between tools so that your other hand can continue to draw the path quickly.

Before you create the clipping path, set up your workspace. Make sure both your Pen tool and your Direct Selection tool are visible in the Toolbar.

You should be able to see both your Layers panel and your Paths panel.

Note: If these panels aren’t visible, you can make them visible by selecting them from the Window dropdown menu at the top of the Photoshop application window.

If you plan to use a clipping path to separate a product image from its background, there are a series of key command shortcuts you can use to make the process quicker and easier.

Keyboard shortcuts for clipping paths

• P: select Pen tool
• A: select Direct Selection tool (to adjust points created with the Pen tool)
• H: select Hand tool
• ALT + click (OPTION + click on Mac) on point: create corner at point as you draw with Pen tool
• CTRL + = (COMMAND + =): zoom in
• CTRL + – (COMMAND + –): zoom out
• SHIFT + CTRL + N (SHIFT + COMMAND + N): create a new Layer
• Q: toggle Quick Mask Mode
• SHIFT + click: toggle Layer Mask
• SHIFT + F5 (FN + SHIFT + F5): fill layer with color
• CTRL + = (COMMAND + =): zoom in
• CTRL + – (COMMAND + –): zoom out
• SHIFT + CTRL + N (SHIFT + COMMAND + N): create a new layer
• F7 (FN + F7): hide/show Layers panel

Panel shortcuts

There are also some useful keyboard shortcuts within the Layers and Paths panels that will shave whole minutes off of your editing time.

How to use the stroke path Photoshop shortcut

When you apply the stroke path shortcut, your path will be outlined using the same width, hardness, opacity, blending mode, and color of your brush. Therefore, before you can use the stroke path Photoshop shortcut shown in the Paths panel above, you need to set up your Brush tool presets to the size and color you want. Because the path stroke will appear in your selected layer, it’s always a good idea to create a new layer and select it before applying the stroke path shortcut.

2. How to use a shortcut for clipping mask

On the surface, clipping paths and clipping masks appear to have a lot in common. However, there are subtle differences that become apparent when you use a clipping mask short cut.

The most common shortcut you can use to make a clipping mask is the small Add Layer Mask icon located at the bottom of the Layers panel and the Paths panel.

To quickly and effectively create a layer mask, first select the area of your layer you want to remain visible after applying the mask. Then click the Add Layer Mask icon within either the Layers panel or the Paths panel. You’ll instantly have the other parts of your layer “masked” out, leaving only your selection visible.

Another shortcut for clipping masks works with adjustment layers. For instance, the image below has two layers and an adjustment layer on top. The layer closest to the adjustment layer is transparent for most of the layer.

If you want to apply the adjustment layer only to the non-transparent areas of the top layer (in this example, apply the Color Balance to just the earbuds and not to the background), select the Adjustment Layer and type ALT + CTRL + G (OPTION + COMMAND + G on a Mac).

3. How to do a Photoshop crop shortcut

It’s important that your images have a consistent aesthetic across your site. You can set up your Crop tool to quickly crop similar product images so they’ll all be the same size and resolution.

How to create a crop preset for product images

When the Crop tool is visible in your Toolbar, type C to access it quickly.

Once the Crop tool is selected, you’ll have access to a series of options at the top of the Photoshop window.

In the first dropdown in the Options bar, choose W x H x Resolution.

Set your width and height to the final dimensions you want your product photos to be.

For websites and apps, you’ll want your width and height to be in pixels, and your resolution at 72ppi for standard web graphics. If you need your images to appear properly on a retina display, double both the height and width dimensions (so, a 400px x 400px image would now be set at 800px x 800px).

You can also click on the dropdown next to the grid icon to choose which guidelines you want to use to position your product image as you crop it. By default, this is set to Rule of Thirds.

Once you have your dimensions set, select the W x H x Resolution dropdown again and choose New Crop Preset. Give your preset a name that will help you remember what product images these crop settings will be applied to, such as “product thumbnail.”

With your crop preset created, you can click on any product image with the crop tool, select your custom preset from the W x H x Resolution dropdown, and use the guides to position the subject of your photo in a similar fashion across all images.

The Crop tool also offers you some other useful tricks to ensure consistency. Click on the Straighten icon and draw a line along the edge of your product photo to straighten your image. Or hover your cursor over the corners of the crop edge to rotate the crop.

Once you’re satisfied with your crop, click the check mark in the Options bar. Then repeat with the next image in your product series.

4. How to quickly export images for your website

Like the Crop tool, a little bit of setup with your export functions can save hours of time in your workflow.

If you know you’ll be working on a large batch of web-ready photos that need to have the same file format, you can set up your Quick Export settings and then rapidly export each file into a web-ready format.

To set up your Quick Export settings, go to File > Export > Export Preferences…

In the dialog box that appears, you can choose what file format you want your image to export to (JPG, PNG, GIF, or SVG), the location where you want the exported file to live, and what color space you want the exported file to be in. If you’ve created a metadata template with copyright information, you can choose to have that applied to exported files here as well.

Once you’ve set up your preferences, click OK.

Quick Export also has its own shortcut key command. To Quick Export once you have the settings you want, type SHIFT + CTRL + , (SHIFT + COMMAND + , on a Mac).

The next time you need to export your image for your site, all you need to do is type this key command—the image will automatically export with all of your Quick Export settings.

5. How to easily create a true white background

If you’ve shot your product against a white backdrop and don’t need to remove it from the background, chances are you still need to do some editing to make sure the white background in one image has the same brightness as the background in the next. This eyedropper shortcut will help you do just that in a matter of seconds.

With your product image open in Photoshop, choose Image > Adjustments > Curves… from the dropdown menu at the top of the application window. You can also bring up Curves by typing CTRL + M (COMMAND + M on a Mac).

In the Curves dialog box that appears, you’ll see three eyedropper tools at the bottom of the window. Choose the eyedropper on the far right. This is the Set White Point eyedropper.

With the eyedropper tool selected, click on the background of the product image. Choose the darkest part of your white background that is not a shadow. The eyedropper will make those pixels 100% white, and will adjust the rest of the image accordingly.

Click OK.

You can repeat the process with the rest of your product photos. If all your photos were shot using the same lighting, you’ll retain the consistency throughout while brightening the background.

Not happy with the shadows in your shot? You can learn how to add a natural shadow in Photoshop to fix them in post-processing. 

How to create your own Photoshop shortcuts

If Photoshop doesn’t have a shortcut for something you do often, you can create your own shortcut key. To create a keyboard shortcut, go to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts…

For this example, let’s create a shortcut to open the Shadows/Highlights… Dialog Box.

In the dialog window that appears, choose Application Menus next to Shortcuts For: since this is an option that can be accessed from the Application Menu. Because Shadows/Highlights… exists under the Image menu, click on Image in the scrolling menu at the center of the window, and then scroll down until you see Shadows/Highlights… under Adjustments.

You can create any shortcut key you’d like as long as it’s not being used elsewhere by Photoshop and it contains either CTRL (COMMAND on a Mac) or a Function (F1, F2, etc.) key.

Because Photoshop has so many shortcut keys already, this may take some trial and error to find one that is not already in use. In this example, I’ve successfully entered COMMAND + SHIFT + 0 as an acceptable key command.

Once you’ve decided on a key command, click Accept, and then OK in the dialog box.

5 Photoshop shortcuts for sports photo editing

You’ll want to do two key things when you edit a sports photo: 1) enhance the subject with high detail and contrast and 2) modify the background to help the subject stand out more. So the first thing you need to do when approaching any sports photo is to isolate the subject from the rest of the photo.

1. Quickly select subject

While using a clipping path is almost always the way to go with product photography, you can use Photoshop’s built in “Select Subject” functionality for sports photography since you don’t need as precise a selection.

To begin, choose the Magic Wand from the Toolbar and choose Select Subject from either the Contextual Task Bar or the Options Bar at the top of the screen.

Next, click the Select and Mask… button in the Options Bar. A new window will open allowing you to refine your selection.

You can modify your selection by adding or subtracting areas of your selection within the Select and Mask window. When you’re happy with the way the selection looks, click OK.

Now, with your subject selected, type CTRL + C (COMMAND + C) and then SHIFT + CTRL + V (SHIFT + COMMAND + V) three times to create three new identical layers containing just your subject.

Accessing your selection again quickly

If at any time you need to re-select your subject, you can do so by clicking on any of the new layers and choosing Select > Load Selection from the menu at the top of the application window.

Once in the Load Selection dialog box, choose the Transparency for the layer you’re working in next to the Channel options and click OK.

2. Use Camera Raw Filters to quickly enhance sports photo subject

The Camera Raw Filters are a quick and effective way to get spectacular sports photographs. With your top layer selected, click SHIFT + CTRL + A (SHIFT + COMMAND + A) to bring up the Camera Raw Filters window.

Within the filters window you have many options for enhancing the photo. Some of the most useful options here are the Auto Exposure and Auto Contrast sliders (under Light) and the Texture slider under Effects. Feel free to explore other options within the menu on the right-hand side of the window. When you’re satisfied with how your image looks, click OK.

Within your Layers panel, you can choose to adjust the opacity or blending mode of your top layer to blend your changes with the original image. In the example below, we changed the Blending Mode of the layer we just adjusted to “Overlay” and set the opacity to 70%.

3. Using the Glowing Edges Filter to enhance sports photo details.

One of the best ways to add additional texture to a sports photo is to use the Glowing Edges Filter in Photoshop 2024. To access this filter, select the next to top layer (which should be of your unedited isolated subject). Choose Filter Gallery from the Filters menu at the top of the application window.

Within the Filter Gallery window that appears, choose Glowing Edges from the Stylize menu. Adjust the sliders on the right until your image has the level of detail you want (keep in mind the image will be in negative).

Click OK.

Back in your document, still with the same layer selected, click CTRL + I (COMMAND + I) to invert the image in the layer.

Drag this layer to the top of your layers in your Layers Panel, set the Blending Mode to Overlay, and adjust the opacity until you get the effects you desire.

4. Using Generative Fill to get a clean background

It’s a lot easier to add effects to your background if you remove the subject entirely from the background. Thanks to Photoshop 2024’s new Generative Fill tool, you can remove the subject from the background very quickly.

To begin, click the Eye icon next to all three layers that contain your sports photo subject, and duplicate the Background layer.

In the new Background copy layer, draw a selection around your subject using the Lasso Tool or the Polygonal Lasso Tool.

Once you have a loose selection around your subject, click Generative Fill from the Contextual Task menu that appears under your selection, or right-click (CTRL + Click) to bring up a menu where you can select Generative Fill.

In the dialog box that appears, leave the prompt blank where it says “What would you like to generate? (Optional)” and just click Generate.

Photoshop 2024 will attempt to fill in the space of your selection using cues from the background that is visible. Once it’s done generating a new fill, you will see three variations you can choose from within the Properties panel. Simply click on any of these options, or click Generate again to get three more variations.

Once you’re satisfied with one of the generative fill options, select the new Generative Fill layer and the Background copy layer in the Layers Panel. Then, type CTRL + E (COMMAND + E) to merge those layers together.

5. Add Effects to your sports photo background

Add Motion Blur

One really great effect you can add to a sports photo is a motion blur. This effect makes it look like your subject is moving at incredible speed.

Make sure all your layers are visible so that you can see the contrast of the background against your subject. Then, select your Layer in your Layers panel that has the background without the subject.

Then, choose Filter > Blur > Motion Blur… from the menu at the top of the application window. In the dialog box that appears, set your motion’s angle to 0 degrees and adjust your distance to your liking (the higher the distance, the greater the blur).

Click OK when you decide you like the results.

Add Radial Blur

The Radial Blur can create a stunning effect for your Sports photo. You can add a Radial Blur on top of a Motion Blur or use it on its own. In this example, we removed the Motion Blur before creating a Radial Blur.

To create a Radial Blur, select your Layer in your Layers panel that has the background without the subject. Then, choose Filter > Blur > Radial Blur… from the menu at the top of the application window.

In the Radial Blur… dialog box that appears, you do not have the option to preview your image before applying the effect. The image below gives you an idea of what to expect from the Spin option vs. the Zoom option.

Add vignette

Adding a vignette should be the last thing you do to your image, and for best effects, apply it only to the background portion of your image.

The easiest way to add a vignette to your image is to select the layer you will apply it to, then click CTRL + SHIFT + A (COMMAND + SHIFT + A) to quickly access your Camera Raw Filters.

Once in the Camera Raw Filters window, choose Vignette under Effects and move the slider to the left to create a dark vignette around the edges of your image. You can also move the Grain slider to the right to add a little extra punch to your image.

Click OK when you’re satisfied with how the image looks.

Using just a few simple shortcuts, your final sports photo will now look much more exciting than the original image.

Photoshop shortcuts FAQs

What is the shortcut key for?

A shortcut key is for completing frequent actions more quickly with a keyboard command. It helps you edit photos more effichiently.

What is the shortcut of clipping mask in Adobe Photoshop?

The shortcut of clipping mask in Photoshop is to click on the Create Layer Mask icon in the Layers panel or the Create Mask from Path icon in the Paths panel.

What is the shortcut key to mask?

The shortcut key to mask is ALT + CTRL + G (OPTION + COMMAND + G on a Mac). First select the Adjustment Layer and type and then this shortcut will allow you to apply the transparency mask of a Layer to an Adjustment Layer.

What are the shortcut keys in Photoshop?

The shortcut keys in Photoshop are listed in this post and in this downloadable cheat sheet pdf. Memorize the ones that work best with the tasks you do on a daily basis. For a list of some of the most common shortcut keys in Photoshop, see the list at the beginning of this post.

What is CTRL + J in Photoshop?

CTRL + J (COMMAND + J on Mac) duplicates the layer you currently have selected.

What is CTRL + F in Photoshop?

CTRL + F (COMMAND + F on Mac) opens a dialog box allowing you to search for tools, tricks, tips, and other sources of helpful information from Photoshop. You can use this dialog box to select tools or search for commands, as well as browse tips and tutorials.

Let us look after your image edits, so you can get back to the fun stuff. Try Path free.

Learn more

The post Photoshop Shortcuts for Clipping Paths and Editing Photos (Cheat Sheet Included) appeared first on Path Edits.

We let everyone get in on the fun—our in-house folks, temp workers, and even our subcontracting team—to see who can make the best, the fastest, and the most accurate photo edits. And not only that, but how the rest of our organization can learn from them. It’s just another way we’ve found to continuously innovate and push ourselves to always do better.

The contest

The Talent Hunt was created to identify and acknowledge exemplary photo editing techniques and the editors themselves while also fostering innovation and identifying potential future leaders.

We had three categories for winners:

1. Speedstar Editor: awarded to the person who can edit images in the least amount of time while maintaining quality standards
2. Quality Wizard: the editor who can edit images with extraordinary quality by using different techniques outside of their traditional quality within the defined timeframe
3. Technique Mastermind: for the most creative editing techniques that still deliver quality and speed

We also had a judging panel, made of:

Creative review

• Md. Ataur Rahman, Senior Manager, Production
• Md Asaduzzaman, Senior Manager, IT
• MD. Shahadat Hossain, Senior Manager, Customer Support
• Rayhanul Islam, Executive, R&D

Overall organization and coordination

• Rifat Rahmatullah, Manager, Human Resources
• Shams Al Mujahid, Senior Executive, HR and Admin

Final decision

• Md. Atiqur Rahman Molla, CEO
• Rokaiya Yesmin, COO

The winners

Eleven participants competed in the Talent Hunt, with four emerging as the top contestants. These editors displayed exceptional proficiency in multi-clipping path, natural shadow, white balance, and wrinkle retouching edits. Their techniques not only streamlined editing processes but also elevated the overall quality.

We had a celebration at our corporate headquarters in Uttara, Dhaka on March 29, 2024 to honor these top editors.

Get to know the winners—some of the very people who edit your photos:

Md Ishak Rahman, 1st place

• Category: Speedstar Editor and Technique Mastermind
• Technique: White balance and wrinkle retouch
• Prize: mobile phone

Md. Kamrul Hasan, 2nd place

• Category: Technique mastermind
• Technique: Natural shadow
• Prize: tablet

Jahid Hasan, 3rd place

• Category: Speedstar Editor
• Technique: Multi-clipping path
• Prize: smart watch

Md. Momin Prodhan, 4th place

• Category: Speedstar Editor
• Technique: Multi-clipping path
• Prize: crest

What’s next?

Sure, the Talent Hunt was a lot of fun! But there’s also a business goal behind it. Our top editors have innovated to bring new editing techniques and workflows to their work.

By having this Talent Hunt, we can bring our larger team of editors together, identify top talent, and learn from them. The Talent Hunt winners can share their expertise, learnings, and techniques with the rest of the Path editing team to help continue to propel the quality of our services higher and higher.

Thanks for being a part of the team

We wouldn’t be able to edit images, innovate, and give back to our people without our customers. To us, Path is more than just a photo editing studio. It’s a family. And we’re happy to have you a part of that big, extended Path family. 

The post Putting People First: Congratulations to the Path Talent Hunt Winners! appeared first on Path Edits.

​​Isolating a subject allows you to repurpose your product photo and use it on any other background to fit your ecommerce or marketing needs.

Clipping path and image masking are two techniques that help achieve this. But what are the differences between the two? Let’s look at the breakdown for clipping path vs. masking and which tasks each photo editing technique is best suited for.

Clipping path vs. masking: what’s the difference?

The main difference between clipping path and image masking is the technique you use to remove the background from an image.

More complex images require image masking. It’s technically possible to remove the background from complicated images with clipping path, but the result isn’t as appealing as it would’ve been with image masking.

As you can tell in the image above, the photo edited with clipping path looks unnatural. That’s because the hard edges of a clipping path are visible. On the other hand, image masking handles hair very well for a seamless finish.

For more straightforward products, like Sana Jardin’s perfume bottle below, the brand likely used a clipping path. The result of shooting this shiny product? A sleek, clean-cut perfume bottle with a reflection shadow that adds a touch of luxury.

And to get the natural—but not messy—outline, the photo editor probably used image masking to remove the background of this Crown Affair scrunchie photo. Note the use of drop shadow as well. Adding a subtle shadow to products creates a 3D look and helps them stand out, especially against a clean white background.

You can use both techniques in a single image: clipping path for straight, hard edges and masking for the softer or more complex areas. If a photo calls for both image editing techniques, your best bet is to use a clipping path first and then follow up with masking for the finer details.

For example, this play gym from Lovevery was likely edited using a clipping path and masking.

The stronger lines of the toy’s frame could easily be edited with clipping paths, but masking would be more appropriate for the softer material bottom and baby’s hair.

What is a clipping path?

Like image masking, clipping path is an image editing technique that allows you to remove the background from an image. You can create a clipping path using the Pen tool in Adobe Photoshop and then selecting paths that form a closed vector shape to separate a part of the image. Everything inside the path will be selected, and anything outside will be left over.

Clipping path is generally used when the subject of the image has straightforward edges—think boxes, electronics, simple accessories or garments, ornaments, etc.

Still, clipping paths require an experienced, accurate hand. A poorly drawn clipping path can result in images that don’t look real or natural, and consumers easily notice even the smallest mistakes. Sloppy images don’t make a great impression, and that’s typically reflected in sales.

You want your product photos to stand out—in a good way—so you definitely want to consider working with a professional for these types of edits. To give you an idea of the level of detail involved, we zoom into images sometimes as much as 200% to get as close to the edge as possible.

Types of clipping paths

Clipping paths aren’t too complicated, but there are a few different types of clipping paths:

Single-layer clipping path

A single-layer clipping path is a simple path created on one layer with the Pen tool in Photoshop. This is useful when you need to remove or change the background for subjects with straight, simple edges, like in the examples below.

Multilayer clipping path

Multi-layer clipping paths are created with the Pen tool in Photoshop to extract multiple parts of an image. This is an advanced type of clipping path used to separate each part of a photo and is particularly useful for retouchers, especially to color correct sections of the image.

In the example below, we created a separate clipping path for each shoe and shoelaces. This allows not only to remove the background, but also to change the color of each shoe without altering the shoelaces.

Illustrator clipping path

Photoshop isn’t the only software or app you can use to create clipping masks. Adobe Illustrator also has its own path and mask tools. Referred to as Clipping Masks in Illustrator, this tool allows you to cut out portions of an image into a specific shape.

What is image masking?

Image masking is another method of image background removal. This technique involves a variety of tools in Photoshop, such as Background Eraser tool, Magic Eraser tool, and color separation technique.

Masking is a non-destructive way to adjust a part of your image while leaving the rest untouched. For photo editors, that means more control over where and how the image adjustments take place because masks are applied on layers. Masking is typically used for images that contain more complex lines, like hair, fur, etc.

Using AI to remove background and complete clipping paths and image masking

What if you’re in a hurry or don’t have access to a professional retoucher? Artificial intelligence (AI) photo editors and AI masking features in Photoshop can help you quickly remove the background without any editing experience.

The downside is the result won’t be as high-quality as hand-edited background removal using clipping paths or masks, especially for complex subjects. But for some marketing visuals, you might find it’s just enough. If you’re curious about the differences between AI and professional retoucher edits, take a look at this AI background removal comparison.

Why should you remove the background from product photos?

Perhaps you wonder why it may be necessary to remove the background. After all, can’t the photographer simply shoot a great product photo that’s publish-ready? There are a few reasons why you may want to consider isolating a subject in a photo:

• 
  Allows you to reuse visual assets: Once you’ve removed the background, you can repurpose your photo to fit Amazon and other marketplaces, create ghost mannequins for apparel, design creative marketing visuals, and more.
• 
  Cost-effective: Whether you isolate the subject yourself or outsource it to professional photo editors like Path, it’ll cost significantly less than photographing the same subject again. Ordering photo edits in bulk will cost even less.
• 
  Saves time: Instead of organizing a new photoshoot, you can use already photographed subjects and create new visuals in just a few hours, perfect for last-minute campaigns or store listings.
• 
  Elevates DIY photos: Not every photoshoot will have a spacious or perfectly-lit studio space. Knowing you’ll remove the background makes DIY product photography more accessible for smaller budgets.
• 
  Removes distractions: If you aren’t able to shoot on a clean white background and avoid unwanted objects in your shots, background removal erases all of that.
• 
  Makes pixel-perfect images possible: If you’re creating product groups, it’s easier to mix and match products with removed backgrounds for sharp, well-lit results, like the example below by vegan skincare and fragrance brand Fais. It features several products that all have backgrounds removed before placing them in a group to create a gift set.

The bottom line on clipping path vs. masking

When it comes to background removal, neither method is superior in a clipping path vs. masking comparison. Both clipping path and masking edits have their place in photo retouching, especially for the wide variety of images needed for ecommerce photos. And both require a practiced hand to execute well.

Interested in professional, affordable photo edits? The Path team does all edits by hand and offers 24/7 support.

The post Clipping Path vs. Masking: What’s the Difference? appeared first on Path Edits.

Generally, we remove the background using clipping paths or image masking:

• Clipping path: Used for a wide range of items with straight or smooth edges, like clothing, furniture, food, and household goods.

• Multi-clipping path: A more advanced technique for groups of products, items with holes like jewelry or bikes, and garments with complicated clasps or ties, among others. 

• Image masking: Great for more complex subjects and uneven edges, like wool clothing, furry plush toys, pets, hair, transparent objects, multiple models, and others. 

You can use software or apps that automate background removal (but don’t always get the edges to a professional standard), use software like Photoshop, or outsource to editors and studios such as Path for a top-notch result.

Why do brands use background removal?

Background removal is just one of the methods of enhancing your product shots with post-processing and unlocking the different ways you can use them for marketing and advertising. Here are some reasons why other ecommerce brands do this. 

Gives product shots an instant professional look

A perfectly white background and an uncluttered studio setup are challenging to achieve when photographing products. It only takes a small detail, like a background crease in a product photo, to leave a bad impression on your brand.

But removing any traces of the original background means your product takes the spotlight in every photo, and your online store looks professional—like in this example from the Little Seed Farm shop. 

Customers can shop and compare items easily because all products have a distraction-free white background. It also matches the website’s clean design.

You can replicate this with background removal on your product shots and changing the background to pure white or transparent if your website background color is different.

Fits industry standards for ecommerce marketplaces

Marketplaces drive 46% of online purchases, and 77% of shoppers think they’re the most convenient way to shop online. But if you want to sell across different marketplaces and introduce your products to a larger audience, listing photo preparation can be a headache because each platform has different image guidelines.

Removing the background and swapping it for a clean, white one is the first step for selling on any major marketplace like Amazon. Even smartphone product shots with a white background can be good enough for listing photos.

If the white background product shot doesn’t fit your own store aesthetic, you can adapt the same shot by changing the background color to match your site, like the sustainable clothing retailer Pact. The brand has a light beige background for products in its store, but its Amazon listings all have a white background.

See Pact’s online store: 

And its Amazon storefront: 

Cost-effective for inventory changes

You can avoid having to reshoot your inventory whenever your brand gets a new color variation of an already existing item. All it takes is changing your product’s color in post-production, and you can instantly add it to your store. And you save yourself time and money hiring a team to shoot products you already sell.

The consistency in your listing photos also makes it easy for customers to focus on choosing which color or pattern to buy. For example, yoga and fitness brand Mache shows the same yoga mat styling regardless of which color variation customers click. 

Adds new life to your visual assets

Removing background from your product shots gives you unlimited creative possibilities. You can use the product shots all across your marketing channels—and even combine products in groups or add other design elements.

For example, the original image of this machinery is completely unusable. But we carefully removed the background from the complex object to create a clean white background image ready for many uses. 

Take the holistic pet food brand Halo as an example. The brand uses its pet food product shots on the homepage as a banner, all across its store, and on other promotional graphics. 

Make the most of your background-free photos

Just like the brand examples above, we have a few ideas to help you repurpose your cut-out products to maximize your return on investment and bring something fresh to your marketing visuals.

Add shadows for depth

White background product shots can sometimes appear dull and lifeless. But you can make your products stand out with a simple fix: add a subtle shadow to give your products a 3D effect and make them come alive.

Depending on your product type and shape, you can use different shadow effects: 

• Drop shadow: Adds depth with a subtle shadow so products stand out against the background.
• Floating shadow: Makes products look like they’re hovering above a surface.
• Reflection shadow: Gives an impression products are resting on a reflective surface.
• Natural shadow: Uses an imaginary light source created by the editor for a natural-looking shadow cast on the background or surface.
• Existing shadow: Keep naturally occurring shadows in the photo, even when the background is removed or replaced.

You can learn to do this yourself using Photoshop or outsource to professionals for faster turnaround.

Switch out backgrounds for seasonal promotions

Planning your marketing calendar means preparing for all different seasonal holidays and promotional campaigns ahead of the year. There’s no need to reshoot your products for every new promotion—you can simply use the cut-out product with a background that fits the theme.

Take a look at royalty-free stock websites like Pexels and Unsplash for some high-quality backgrounds you can use to fit any season of the year. 

Repurpose your product shots with a branded background and design

Once your product photos have the background removed, you can experiment with different on-brand colors and design elements.

In the example below, sustainable skincare brand Farmacy Beauty combines product shots with colorful gradient backgrounds for a striking first impression when customers land on its website. The brand is all about using nature’s best ingredients, so the thoughtful design touches and clever marketing copy reflect that. 

Create share-worthy product moodboards

Moodboards aren’t just for brainstorming your brand design ideas in internal meetings. You can use moodboards to excite your customers by mixing and matching products, for example, to show an outfit idea that goes with current trends. Not only will you create extra hype around your brand, but it may inspire some customers to shop for the full look.

You can use websites like Canva, Adobe Express, and VistaCreate to design collages or moodboards for free. Just choose a template, upload your products without a background, and add any design elements, branding, or text.

Get inspiration from publications that regularly curate products from different brands, like Luxury London. In this collage, the publication has put together a chic boardroom meeting look for readers who want to add color to formal wear. You can use this idea for product groups that work for your brand. 

Create infographics to educate and inspire customers

Original graphics like infographics are powerful visual tools to share a message with customers—just over 40% of marketers say this type of visual performs best for their brand. You can be as creative or educational as you want with infographics—whichever fits your brand.

For example, all-natural fabric and lifestyle brand Ettitude has a simple graphic to highlight the benefits of its vegan silk loungewear against a cheaper and less sustainable alternative. Infographics like these are a handy way to repurpose your product shots. And it makes a great alternative to using non-branded stock photos. 

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Sell more with product bundles

Product bundling is an effective way to boost sales. It involves promoting and packaging complementary products together and offering them as a single item. You can offer similar product bundles, promote gift sets, let customers mix and match, or upsell bundles of inventory you want to clear.

The female-founded fashion brand M.M.Lafleur reported a 20% increase in average order value for bundled items, but you can use this sales tactic for any ecommerce business. So as long as you have product photos with removed backgrounds, you can create different variations of bundles in your store.

For example, nature-inspired health and lifestyle store Fat and the Moon uses bundles to sell skincare sets for different skin concerns. The brand also has product kits for travelers, children, and new mothers. If you need to change your bundles at any point, you can simply add or remove items from the product group shot and update the listing. 

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Create lifestyle composites

You may not always have the budget for custom photography shoots. This is where lifestyle composites can come in. They consist of a stock photo as a background and your product carefully placed in the shot. If done well, the result is realistic, and your customers wouldn’t tell the difference.

It’s a quick and cost-effective way to get new visuals for your brand without planning a photoshoot from scratch. You can order lifestyle composites from many ship-and-shoot photography studios—all you have to do is mail your products, and the team takes care of photography and editing.

In the shot below, Products On White Photography used a lifestyle stock photo of a laundry room and added Meliora laundry detergent. Natural-looking shadows and the right product placement make the photo look as real as a “regular” photoshoot. 

You can use composites for white background product shots too. Suppose you want your customers to be able to better gauge the dimensions of your product by adding a person to the photo. You can use this photo editing method even on complex products like the industrial machinery unit below. The editor will first remove the background, change it to white, and then add a realistic-sized model.

Build a library of visual assets for your team

As your brand’s digital assets grow—from unedited product shots to cutouts to creative brand images—it makes sense to consider a streamlined workflow for saving and managing your visuals. It will be easier for everyone in the company to filter, search, and track all past orders and uses of photos.

Not only will a system like this speed up content creation for your marketing team, but you will also avoid paying twice for something your brand already owns. There are more ways than one to organize your files. From simple libraries on the cloud storage to more sophisticated digital asset management (DAM) software, the choice is yours.

Giving new life to product photos

With so many options for using background removal to spice up your product photos, the hardest choice is deciding where to begin. If your brand needs a helping hand with building up a library of background-free product shots, our experienced team of editors can help you get started.

The post How to Use Background Removal Services to Improve Your Product Photos appeared first on Path Edits.

What is a clipping path?

A clipping path is a powerful Photoshop tool that allows you to remove, cut out, or “clip” an item or product from its background when other methods won’t work. This method is particularly useful when you have a product featured against a complex or multicolored background.

When to use a clipping path

There are many instances where clipping paths are useful:

• When you need to display a product against a plain or white background
• When you need to display your product against a transparent background
• When you want to place your product in a composite photo with several other products
• When you want to change the color of your product or a portion of your product (useful if you have the same product in multiple colors)
• Any time you need to isolate your product from the other parts of the photograph

How do you create a clipping path in Photoshop?

1. Set up your Pen tool
2. Draw a path around your product
3. Save your path
4. Create a clipping path
5. Create a selection from your clipping path
6. Create a clipping mask

Step 1: Set up your Pen tool

You’ll need to use the Photoshop Pen tool to create your clipping path. If you’ve ever used the Pen tool in Adobe Illustrator, you’ll notice that Photoshop’s Pen tool is almost the same.

Before you can start to use the tool, however, you’ll need to ensure your settings are correct so you actually create a clipping path and not a shape.

In your image document, select the Pen Tool. You can find it in the Toolbar, or you can type “p” to select it automatically. If you don’t see the Pen Tool, it may be hiding behind the Freeform Pen Tool, the Curvature Pen Tool, the Add Anchor Point Tool, the Delete Vector Point Tool, or the Convert Point Tool. 

At the top of the application window, in the Options Bar, you’ll see settings for the Pen Tool. Select “Path” and choose “Combine Shapes.” See the image below for reference. 

Step 2: Draw a path around your product

If you’re familiar with how the Pen Tool works, drawing a path around your shape should be pretty straightforward. If you’re new to the Pen Tool, we’ll give you the basics to get you started with this powerful tool. 

With your Pen Tool, click with your mouse once along the edge of the image you want to “clip.” 

Click again to place the next point, but don’t release the mouse button quite yet. Instead, pull the mouse along the edge of your object to create a curved path. Once you’re satisfied with the shape of the curve, you can release the mouse button. 

Continue along the edge of your object in this manner until you’ve created a path all the way around the object.

To complete the path, hover your Pen Tool over the starting point until you see a circle appear right next to the Pen Tool. That’s your cue that you’re about to close the path. Click on your first point to close the path. 

If you want to modify or tweak the path by adjusting any of the points you’ve placed, you can do so using the Direct Selection Tool. 

Step 3: Save your path

Once you’re happy with the path you’ve created, go to your Paths panel in Photoshop. If you don’t see the panel, you can select Windows > Paths to bring up the Paths panel.

Once in the panel, click on the Work Path you’ve just created (if it’s not already selected). Then click on the panel’s menu and choose Save Path. 

Tip: Give your new path a name that identifies the object it’s outlining. This is good practice as you may find yourself working in a file that requires multiple clipping paths. 

Step 4: Create a clipping path

Traditionally, a true clipping path is a path created in Photoshop and can be read in other applications. For example, you can create a clipping path around a product photo in Photoshop without damaging your original image, and then import that image into design software such as InDesign or Illustrator, and the background of your image will be automatically “clipped.”

For this step, we’ll go over how to create a clipping path the “traditional” way. In the next step, you’ll learn how to use the path you created to remove a background directly in Photoshop.

To create a traditional clipping path, simply click on the saved path you just created in your Paths panel. Click on the panel menu again and choose Clipping Path. 

You won’t see a difference in your Photoshop document, but if you save your image in a PSD file format, and then place that image into InDesign or Illustrator, you’ll see the clipping path doing its job.

Step 5: Create a selection from your clipping path

For ecommerce use, you’ll most likely need to remove a background entirely from your product image within Photoshop. And now that you’ve created your path, the next part is easy. First, make sure you’re in a layer you can edit appropriately. Go to your Layers Panel. If you don’t see the panel, you can select Window > Layers from the dropdown menu at the top of the application window. 

Make sure the layer containing your product image is unlocked. If your image is in a locked Background layer, simply double click on the layer to make it Layer 0. Click OK. 

In your Paths panel, make sure your new Path is selected. Then, from the Panel’s menu, choose Make Selection…. 

Check and make sure Feather Radius is set to 0. Click OK. 

Now, choose Select > Modify > Contract from the dropdown menu at the top of the application window. 

In the dialog box that appears, set the contract radius to 1. Click OK. 

By doing this, you’ll move your selection just slightly inward, so you don’t end up with any background artifacts showing up in your masked image.

Step 6: Create a clipping mask

For this next step, you’ll need to go back into your Layers panel.

Make sure your layer containing your product image is selected in your Layers panel. At the bottom of your Layers panel, you’ll see a little icon that looks like a black rectangle with a circle cut out of the middle of it — the Add Layer Mask icon. Click on that icon. 

You’ve now created a Layer mask that isolates your product image from its background. 

By using a mask, you are isolating the product image in a non-destructive way. Your original background is still there should you need it in the future, but it’s now masked.

You can easily place another background under your Layer 0 to put your product into another setting, or leave it on a transparent background. 

How to save clipping path in Photoshop

Saving your clipping path is absolutely crucial. Every time you create a path, Photoshop makes a “Work Path.” If you don’t save your path, Photoshop overwrites it with a new Work Path every time you create a new path.

If you followed the steps above, you already saved your clipping path in Step 3. However, if you didn’t save your clipping path in Photoshop, saving your path is a quick and easy step you should get in the habit of doing every time you work with paths.

To save your clipping path, go to your Paths Panel and click on the Work Path you just created. Then, access the Panel menu by clicking on the four little lines in the upper right-hand corner of the Panel. A dropdown menu will appear. Choose Save Path and name your path. 

Once you save your clipping path, you can create another path, allowing you to have multiple paths within the same document.

Moving forward with your clipping paths

While clipping paths are useful and powerful, creating them can be tedious and time-consuming, especially if you are new to clipping paths. Many designers and photo editors choose to outsource their clipping path needs to a team of professionals who are detail-oriented and excel at creating paths for product photos. 

FAQs about how to create a clipping path

Why is my clipping path inverted?

Your clipping path may be inverted because you had “Subtract Front Shape” instead of “Combine Shapes” selected in your Paths Option Bar when you created your path. To fix this, select your path using your Path Selection Tool. With the path selected, choose “Combine Shapes” from the Paths Option Bar dropdown. 

Why do we need clipping?

We need clipping to be able to isolate objects from the backgrounds in images. Clipping your product photos from their backgrounds allows you much more flexibility within just one photo, allowing you to place your same photo against multiple backgrounds, or display your product in multiple colors, without needing to reshoot.

The post How to Create a Clipping Path in Photoshop [Updated for 2022] appeared first on Path Edits.

Just as clipping path services are most popular for routine background enhancements, they can also pull their weight in the most imaginative of missions.

It’s not unusual for marketing plans to include group images, collection shots, or collages—in which case multi-clipping path services come in handy. Though it’s one of the most tedious and manual jobs in photo editing, it allows you to do many things with your product images. 

Looking to wrap your head around more uses of product clipping? Check out these seven ways to enhance your product images with this technique.

What is product clipping?

Product clipping is used interchangeably with a clipping path. Things may get confusing when different photo editing software products call similar tools differently. You may also have heard about the clipping mask, let’s scrutinize the difference between these terms in further detail later.

A clipping path is a photo editing technique to isolate or cut out objects with generally straight or smooth edges from the background it’s shot against. You can create a clipping path with the Photoshop Pen Tool to single out an object from the rest of the image. You can then edit this object independently from the background as well as put it on different backgrounds depending on how you plan to use the image. Or, if the path is reversed, you can isolate and edit the background instead of an object.

Usually, this method is applied to relatively straight-edged objects, like furniture, bags, shoes, electronics, and cosmetics.

You can also use automated tools and artificial intelligence (AI) to create product clipping paths and remove backgrounds. But this often leads to imperfections which are especially noticeable when shoppers zoom in on product images. To ensure the image looks realistic, it’s best to do your clipping paths by hand and keep the line as close to the borders as possible, zooming in on the object.

When it comes to separating objects with more complex outlines or borders, the image masking method is the best choice. You can learn more about the intricacies of clipping path vs. image masking, but here are some of the characteristic features of the masking for your quick understanding:

• Image masking used on the more ragged edges, like fur, hair, and fine-detailed jewelry.
• Masking requires more advanced skills, is more labor-intensive, and also costs more to outsource.
• You maintain all of the original images when image masking, so we can adjust how much of the original image is visible in the final version.

7 ways to use product clipping to sell more online

From swapping out backgrounds to repurposing your images for other uses, check out these seven ways to use clipping path edits for product photos.

1. Put your product on a white background for marketplace selling 

Selling on third-party marketplaces is a great multi-channel strategy. Amazon alone will be responsible for nearly $2 out of $5 spent online in the US in 2022.

When it comes to your online store, you can play with design—from funky fonts to attention-grabbing color combinations. However, this won’t fly with third-party marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart, and eBay. These channels limit brands’ creativity with rather restrictive standards—white background being one of them.

In the example below, this bright yellow camera gets a white background with the help of the clipping path method. The object’s edges are fairly even and straight with just a few minor bumps, so the clipping technique is a great fit.

Luckily, it’s relatively easy to learn how to put a product on a white background on any budget. You don’t even have to do the clipping paths yourself!

2. Prep images for your ecommerce site

Unlike marketplace selling, you have more creativity when it comes to your branded ecommerce site. This allows you to customize images to be consistent with your brand aesthetic, including colored backgrounds and text overlays.

You can follow Amazon’s guidelines or go for an off-white or pastel backdrop so as not to steal the focus from your item. Sustainable clothing brand Kotn uses a uniform light gray background look for a beautiful, clean aesthetic on its website.

As long as you stick to your brand standards—like using the same HEX color, placing objects at the same angles with identical lighting setup, or using the same filters and frames—you’ll have a consistent and professional look across your channels.

The best thing is you can reuse one product image edited with a clipping path, change background colors in Photoshop, and create a new feel this way.

3. Isolate products for further photo editing manipulations

Product editing is often a multistage process, involving a series of actions. Clipping path can often serve as the initial prep stage for succeeding photo edits.

To create a ghost mannequin effect, a garment is shot on a physical mannequin or even person while its inside part is captured separately. The photos are then combined into a single image in post-production.

In the example below, we removed the model from a black jacket only to showcase the inside print of a bikers’-beloved skull. The first step required clipping paths to isolate the subject from both the background and the model.

In the before/after image below a dress undergoes a series of post-production edits—including photo retouching to remove creases in the fabric—after the ghost mannequin manipulations have been completed.

Color change is another step that retouchers may play with to liven up an image after the technical clipping path manipulations have separated the object. The following example exhibits how a monochrome sneaker can be styled to be more playful with mix-and-match colors and shoelaces. This type of image is also excellent for marketing via email or social media. The first step involved isolating the product from its background via clipping paths.

4. Remove unwanted elements

Product photography calls for quite a bit of imagination. Maybe you want to make an object float in the air, fix it at an angle that defies physics, or use a model to display it. While there are many tricks you can do to set up the frame on shoot day, you can also rely on clipping paths to remove any props or elements you don’t want in the final shot.

Even though experienced photographers will avoid capturing unwanted things in the frame, it’s not always possible. We often remove hangers, price tags, and copyrighted labels from product photos, for example.

5. Turn photos into videos or animated GIFs for social media placement

Social media images are a separate breed of commercial photography. Here, images may be more boisterous, daring, and attention-grabbing.

Videos and GIFs work great on social media channels. In fact, video posts receive more engagement than any other content type on social media.

Why not cut out your product with a clipping path and then make a TikTok or Reel video with fast-changing bright backgrounds?

Image source

6. Create product collection photos

You can’t always plan, things slip your mind, and sometimes group images or series shots get overlooked.

Not a big deal. Use clipping service to cut out a few combinable objects and place them together for a stunning effect, like in this example by Igloo Coolers.

You might also create product bundles, in which case clipping out individual products and then placing them together in a single image also works well. And it’s a lot more efficient than reshooting all the items together.

7. Repurpose your photos for marketing

Creating a library of cut-out products using the clipping path method is a great idea for when you need to repurpose product photos for marketing collateral. This helps extend your product photography investment.

You may want to further combine your cutout object with other items or decorative elements, throw it into an infographic, or even create a collage for Facebook ads.

This Ministry of Supply example uses a wreath of green leaves behind a couple of models for a visual with immediate impact in a marketing email. The background depicts comfort, relaxation, and connection to nature. Realistically, the brand can put this image on a variety of backgrounds for different seasonal or contextual uses.

Outsource your product clipping paths to a virtual photo editing studio

The prime mission of the clipping path may be simple but it’s also rather technical—making sure the object is standalone, background-less, and still realistic. And you need to get every single pixel just right so as not to create a weirdly Photoshopped image, especially if someone zooms in for a closer look.

When you choose a clipping path service, ensure the service vendor has enough experience and creativity to use the entire arsenal of potential applications of this method—including the seven creative ones we listed.

The post 7 Ways to Use Product Clipping Paths to Enhance Ecommerce Product Photos appeared first on Path Edits.