PLEASE HELP! Need easy, fast way to batch remove background from multiple images.

[Kaijukilluh2099]

Hi,

I'm hoping there is a fast and easy way to do this! I have the full suite but currently Adobe express is doing the fastest and best job but it only does one image at a time. Are there any other options? I pay enough for the Adobe package and dont want to buy an App from some other company to do this! Any help is grestly appreciated! Thank you!

[Myra Ferguson]

If the images are all JPEGs, you could record an action where you unlock the background layer and use the Quick Action in the Properties panel to Remove Background. Then you could batch process them (File > Automate > Batch...) and select your action to run.

[Kaijukilluh2099]

Myra, I appreciate your response so much!

And I'm afraid that may be my only option with Adobe. But I have to say in 2023 that answer also depresses me. More and more I find simple things I want to do in Adobe still function like its 20 years ago with multiple steps and clicks yet there are Apps from other companies that do everything in one step. It seems crazy that I'm paying for a monthly subscription and still have to do so much when it should be drag and drop. It makes me wonder if Adobe even pays attention to what apps are doing these days.

I'm in a jam and will do my best to try and follow your extremley helpful advice. But the fact adobe doesnt have a simple drag and drop conversion sytem just bums me out.

[c.pfaffenbichler]

More and more I find simple things I want to do in Adobe still function like its 20 years ago with multiple steps and clicks yet there are Apps from other companies that do everything in one step. It seems crazy that I'm paying for a monthly subscription and still have to do so much when it should be drag and drop. It makes me wonder if Adobe even pays attention to what apps are doing these days.

Photoshop is professional image editing software, not an app for amateurs to quickly do whatever to their images.

Could you please post a couple of sample images. 

[D Fosse]

You apparently don't understand what a pixel image is. This isn't "objects" against a "background" that you can just remove at will. It's all just pixels at varying RGB values.

Yes, there are lots of apps to do funny pranks with images on phones. They are all quick and dirty and have nothing to do with professional image editing, which is what Photoshop is for.

And yes, AI keeps getting better at doing things that previously couldn't be automated. But to have any use in Photoshop, they need to meet certain criteria for technical quality, predictability and repeatibility. It has to be an actually useful tool.

[Kaijukilluh2099]

This is such a condescending and passive-aggressive response that I'm not sure how it meets the guidelines of being "kind" or "respectful".
You write to me as if I am asking "Why doesn't The Photoshopz have music like TikTok on my phone?"
Many moons ago isolating an image was a long and tedious task spent with the magic wand, the lasso tool, strained eyes, and an IV of coffee.
Photoshop now lets you isolate an object by simply pressing "subject".
Or you can use the newer Discovery Pannel and the "remove background" action which is even more efficient and eliminates additional steps you'd normally have to take.
Are you saying those features are not "professional image editing"? Or are they "quick and dirty and have nothing to do with professional image editing"? Because those are things Photoshop does now in 2023.
I'm simply questioning why there isn't a way to do the above with multiple images at a time.
That desire is very far from the narrative that you've outlined above.
Why would the want for more efficiency with something the program already provides be anything but "professional"? Why would that not be a "useful tool"?
And if trying to batch isolate images is your idea of "fun" you have my sincerest condolences. That also probably explains why you took such a rude tone to reply to an innocent and fair question.

[c.pfaffenbichler]

I'm simply questioning why there isn't a way to do the above with multiple images at a time.

There is (Actions, Batch, …) and you have been told as much.

Are you saying those features are not "professional image editing"? Or are they "quick and dirty and have nothing to do with professional image editing"?

As far as I am concerned they are insufficient for proper image editing at current (at least for »big« campaign imagery that would go on billboards etc.); they may provide a starting point, but the Masks usually need quite a bit of amending and the decontamination is usually not sufficient, either. 

[Kaijukilluh2099]

I was responding to someone who was snarky and I'm unsure what you are adding. 

[c.pfaffenbichler]

I was responding to someone who was snarky and I'm unsure what you are adding. 

By @Kaijukilluh2099

This is a public Forum, so I do feel free to add my opinion. 

Have you been able to automate the task yet? 

If not: Could you please post a couple of sample images.

[Kaijukilluh2099]

Yes, it is a public forum, but that reply wasn't adding anything positive or moving the conversation forward.
And now I have to repeat that I'm not asking for anything outrageous or anything Photoshop doesn't already do with a click for one image.
I was simply asking if it could do it for more than one image with the same ease.
Why is this concept so offensive to people?
Why is it ok that Photoshop will remove the background from one image with a click but you both clutch your pearls at the mere suggestion that it does the same thing with more than one image at a time and does not need scripts, codes, or actions?
It's like you both are willing to accept a unicycle as the peak of tranportation but if I ask "why not something with two wheels or four wheels?" you both think that's sacrilege and an insult to fine art of transit!

Per you request please see the below as examples of the many Jpeg images I'm looking to remove the backgrounds from and convert to .PNG files. 

[c.pfaffenbichler]

And now I have to repeat that I'm not asking for anything outrageous or anything Photoshop doesn't already do with a click for one image..
I was simply asking if it could do it for more than one image with the same ease.
Why is this concept so offensive to people?

The concept is not offensive, your insinuation that it is not already possible in Photoshop seems curious, though. 

Why is it ok that Photoshop will remove the background from one image with a click but you both clutch your pearls at the mere suggestion that it does the same thing with more than one image at a time and does not need scripts, codes, or actions?

What is your problem with Actions or Scripts (and droplets, Batch, Image Processor, …)? 

How is automating the task proving problematic for you exactly? (Aside from a suboptimal result for »IMG_3526.jpg« at the top of the image.) 

The steps seem to record fine in an Action here, but naturally a Script would be better as it could include a file selection dialog or run on all open documents etc. 

[D Fosse]

OK, fair enough. But you'd be surprised how many come here with exactly those expectations. It probably gets to be a reflex response. Maybe it was a bit arrogantly phrased. Sorry about that.

The point is that Photoshop can do anything you can dream up to a pixel image. There is literally nothing it can't do. But - and this is where we seem to disagree - you normally have to put in some manual work to get there. Photoshop is a tool, not a universal magic button. For that there are probably other apps that are more appropriate.

[Kaijukilluh2099]

My friend, I accept your apology and appreciate your candor and change in tone.

But I feel you are still missing my point and purpose even though your own words and recent Photoshop updates support the concept I’m asking about.

You say “Photoshop is a tool, not a universal magic button” and yet Photoshop introduced the Discovery panel which literally has a "magic button" that removes the background from an image with one click!

I don’t know why my question and desire for it to do that same exact task for more than one image at a time is a line in the sand for you. This is truly mind-boggling to me.

By your logic:

> GOOD: Photoshop removing the background from one image at a time with the click of a “magic” button is "professional". 

> BAD: Photoshop removing the background from more than one image at a time with the click of a “magic” button is "UNprofessional" and something an App should do for the "kidz".

How does that seem logical? What am I missing?

[D Fosse]

OK. I've been thinking some more about this 😉

Here's where I think the whole concept rubs me the wrong way: you can't expect an automatic background removal to produce a finished result. No matter how smart the AI algorithm is, I can't see how you can ever expect a perfect result - or even "good enough".

It's a starting point, it might even be an excellent starting point, but you still have to refine it to get it where it needs to be. But automating it implies you're ready to accept the result as is.

Even in a textbook example like this. I used "remove background", but turned it into a mask overlay for clarity:

[Kaijukilluh2099]

As I feared I haven't been able to get that to work and have also tried a few tutorials and still nothing. I never seem to have any luck with batches or actions and its looking more and more like I'll have to pay for another service that will just let me drop a batch of images and it will remove the backgrounds at once. Do you know if there are any super clear tutorials that might help before I give up? Thanks again, I really appreciate your time and help.

[dlawrence80]

I think the tone of some of these repsonses stems from the fact that batch 'background removal' is process prone to errors and imperfections - it's the still-image equivalanet of shooting video on a phone with auto settings vs a $50k camera with a $20k lens and then asking why there are so many fiddly settings to deal with.

There's an understandable snobbery connected to lucrative enterprises like mass-production of AI-generated artwork to sell on online marketplaces like Etsy from 'amateurs'. Graphic design for was once reserved for those skilled and trained over many years.. not any more, hence the reaction. Photoshop, Illustrator, etc are seen as benchmark tools of the professional. Having percieved 'amateurs' questioning their functionality is likely to stir a response - or at least, that's how I see it.  

All that said - I think online tools like Canva or Mydesigns will achieve what you're after, with the caveat that you'll likely need to go through the generated batch files and fix the mistakes they make.

[Kaijukilluh2099]

I hear what you're saying and agree for the most part.

But the irony?...

Adobe is courting social media influencers for advertising not older  grumpy, veteran, classic designers.

Every time I pick up my phone there's an Adobe ad featuring some young influencer showing how they use Adobe express, PS + AI, etc to do 2 minute designs and edits.

The industry is changing.

These older designers aren't getting paid more because they spent 16 hours painstakingly making clipping masks with the pen tool, a wrist brace, and a sore back vs some kid spending 5 seconds using “select subject” on their phone at Starbucks.

It's 2024 and there are people literally asking for CHAT GPT to concept images and running them through the AI image generator of the day and getting PAID!

The fact anyone is posting a question on a community message board in 2024 should be respect and revered for its sole existence in an era of Reddit, TikTok, etc.

Claiming superiority or practicing snobbery on ANY message board today is like trying to claim you're the coolest person in an AOL Chat room.

In conclusion… dinosaurs can keep shaking their tiny fists at the clouds or get on the space ship before the meteor hits.

[Bojan Živković]

Here is action to try https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Nv-2Sxgvfqv_lyC4QJJY31lVU0QxypdE/view?usp=share_link

Download action file Remove Background.atn. Load action in Photoshop by double clicking on it or use File > Open > double click on Remove background.atn. Open Window > Actions panel and look for folder named Remove Background. Expand folder (action set) if necessary. Open any image and test action by playing Remove Bg action. Do not play actions below /////////////. To play action click on action name (Remove Bg) then click on Play selection button.

Test couple of images, if you like result look for tutorial how to batch process using Photoshop action or ask more questions.

[Kaijukilluh2099]

Bojan, thank you so much for your response and effort to help! Sadly I can't download any unknown files. 

[Bojan Živković]

Please try again, I have reuploaded ZIP file so you must unzip it before proceeding to the steps mentioned above.

[Stephen_A_Marsh · Accepted solution]

@Kaijukilluh2099 

The following batch script has an option to remove the background:

https://www.marspremedia.com/software/photoshop/batch-web-images

The script was developed from a discussion on the board.

[c.pfaffenbichler]

@Kaijukilluh2099 , should the Script @Stephen_A_Marsh linked to meet your needs don’t forget to mark the post as the correct answer. 

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

The select subject command used in the batch script did a good job! Due to the poor lighting/photography, I wasn't sure if it would do so (also considering the unknown training set used for the AI model, which presumably had many photos of people, but unknown product imagery to be trained on):