Want your product photos to look crisp and professional? A pure white background in Photoshop can make all the difference. This guide walks you through every step, so even beginners can create polished, high-quality images with ease.
What Is The Background?
In photography, the background is everything behind your main subject. While natural backgrounds can work, product photos often require a clean, distraction-free backdrop. With Photoshop, you can easily replace any background with pure white—or any color you choose—giving your images a professional, polished look.
Way To Pure White Background Steps
Making a pure white background in Photoshop involves just a few straightforward steps. At Clipping World, we make the process easy to follow, even for beginners. While some images may be more challenging depending on the subject or background, you can still achieve professional results with a bit of extra editing.
Step 1: Selecting the Subject
The first thing we do is open the Photoshop program and load the image. Choose the Photoshop version you like; no problem handling this method. Professionals use the Photoshop CS6 version for their convenience. Also, this version is lightweight and rich with tools for manual operation.
Or you can use another version, Photoshop 2021, which is rich in artificial intelligence. You can save time and labor if you need to do editing for complex subjects most of the time. We are using Photoshop CC2019 for this project.
The image we are using is a sneaker with low complexity. Well, this is to make you understand the step only. If you like to learn more about the selection tool, follow our blog, “How to Make the background transparent in Photoshop”.
We are using the Quick Selection Tool here for convenience. The selection tool may vary depending on your subject and requirements. The selection may not be 100% accurate with point-to-point path creation. But, if you feel like accurate results,
Step 2: Isolating the Subject
As we have a selection around the subject, it is time to isolate it from the background. Copying the selected part to another layer is one of the most used ways. You can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl/Command+J for Win/MAC and see the selection in a new layer. Now, we will hide the original layer by clicking on the eye located on the left side of the layer.
Or we can use the mask option to hide areas except for the subject. You can have the subject without the background as well. After that, choose ‘Apply layer mask’ by right-clicking to disable the background totally.
Or select ‘Layer via copy’ by right-clicking the same way on the selection. The selection will create a new layer with the subject selected. Hide the background layer, and you will have the subject without the background.
Step 3: Adding a Pure White Background
Adding a pure white background under the subject is a very simple thing to do. We are using the Photoshop option ‘Create new fill or adjustment layer and selecting ‘Solid Color’.
To add a pure white background, we will use the whitest tone from the color panel. You can use the mouse’s left-click to place the color picker at the peak, as in the image below. Or you can use the color code ‘#ffffff’ for the bright white color selection.
Now move the solid-colored layer below the subject layer. And, you will have a bright white background. By the way, you can select any color as a background in the same way.
Step 4: Adding Shadows for Realism
As we are done with the bright white background addition, our task is done. But, without the shadow, the product looks incomplete. So, we use the blending option of Photoshop. Double-click on the subject layer to see the blending option.
On the left, you will see the options where the ‘Drop Shadow’ is located at the bottom. We are making some changes according to the subject we are using. Well, the subject you use may demand different modifications. Press OK to continue.
The final image is as follows. Of course, you can do further editing, such as retouching or color correction, for better results. We will discuss them in another tutorial in the future.
Why Do You Need a Pure White Background?
The purposes of a pure white background for photos are many. The most important and mandatory one is for eCommerce websites. See all the websites that contain products for marketing.
Each and every product photo is on a white background. And this is one of the prime conditions of online marketing. You cannot upload your product images if you do not follow these terms.
A pure white background comes with the operation of image subject isolation. So, you can use any background you need to replace the original one. Also, at this point, you can have the freedom to choose any color you need.
The photo subject or product looks distraction-free on a white background. The product presentation is perfect on that. Well, if the product is white or close to white, you should use a complementary color to make it well visible.
Shadow addition or modification is amazing with a white background. We generally add this shadow to the isolated subject. But if there is a subject that is already attached to the white background, it is convenient to isolate it. Then the shadow addition is alright anyway you like.
How to Perfect a White Background?
Bringing perfection to the pure white background completely depends on the operation we described. You can choose the brightest white tone while adding a layer for a photo white background from the color picker.
You can also use the code ‘#ffffff’ to choose the color that indicates a pure white tone. Also, you can have color palettes on the internet. Just download the file and load it in Photoshop. Then use the eyedropper to pick the tone and apply it to the background.
Conclusion
Creating a pure white background in Photoshop is straightforward when you follow the right steps. However, achieving perfect results consistently—especially for complex subjects—can be challenging.
If you want flawless, professional images without spending hours in Photoshop, check out our Background Removal Services. Our experts can handle even the most detailed subjects, giving you product photos ready for your online store or marketing campaigns.
Frequently Asked Questions
For simple subjects, the Quick Selection Tool or Select Subject feature works best. For complex edges, use the Pen Tool or Refine Edge to get cleaner results.
Add a Drop Shadow in the subject’s layer style. Adjust opacity, distance, and size to match the lighting, so the subject looks grounded and realistic.
Use subtle shadows, outlines, or light gray backgrounds to make the subject stand out. Proper lighting during photography also helps distinguish white objects from the background.