Using Remove.bg

Guest Post by Marcia Carrillo

Remove.bg is an online tool used to remove the background of a picture in seconds.  The background is replaced by transparency, which allows you to insert the image into a new background. Being a skeptic, I took several pictures and uploaded them to remove.bg and was completely amazed at the quality and efficiency of this FREE tool. This tool/process is similar to the ‘green screen’ phenomena and literally takes seconds.

Have A Person in the Photo

One tip remove.bg mentions; there must be at least one person in the image.  You can upload the image or use the url of the image.

Step 1:  Take a picture or find your image and copy the url.

If the image is not yours, remember to ask permission or to use websites with free images such as these resources.

https://creativecommons.org/
https://unsplash.com/
https://www.freeimages.com/

Step 2:  Go to remove.bg.  

I use my phone or computer.

Step 3: Upload the image or paste the image URL to the URL box.

Remove.bg has removed background of my dad, Roy on his 80th birthday.  He received a Jerry Rice #80 jersey as a gift.

Step 5:  Choose a Background

If you are satisfied with the background removal, you can select “background” and “select file” (of a background image you saved).

This is a sample of how it will look when you “select a file” for background.  

You can use the erase to clean up any areas that might not have been removed. You can also just leave it transparent and skip adding a new background. 

Step 6:  Download the New Photo

Download the photo and use it in applications that allow you to upload photos. Insert the image (photo) on a Google Slide, Google Drawing, or a variety of other tools.

Insert image to Google Draw

Step 7: Choose PNG

Before you Tweet out your new photo, consider downloading it as a PNG image, (.png). (PNG, portable network graphics image files have many advantages over other image standards like GIF and JPEG, including: Higher compression rates PNG uses better image compression technology than GIF, allowing for smaller files that download more quickly.)

Marcia Carrillo, @MarciaMentor, is the New Teacher Induction Coordinator, for the Merced Union High School District. She is passionate about student-centered learning, equity and helping all students achieve.