Why you should add cut-out product shots to all your listings on Folksy – and the best tools to create them
Have a look at our Featured in the Press page and you’ll see that most of the images chosen by print magazines are cut-out shots. Press love cut-out images because they can drop them easily into any layout on the page.
In this article, we’re going to show you some tools you can use to create these white background shots and share some tips for adding them to your listings on Folksy.
What are cut-out shots?
In simple terms, a cut-out shot is photo of a product on a pure white background, where the original background has been removed so the product is ready to be placed on a white page – for example in a magazine.
When creating your listings on Folksy:
- upload the highest quality images you can
- include one cut-out photo with a white background, showing the entire product, as one of your five or 10 images
- we recommend using a lifestyle image as your first/main image and your cut-out image as one of the following images
To be used by the print press in magazines and newspapers, your images need to be:
- saved as a jpg
- 300dpi -which if you can’t see the dpi usually means…
- at least 1181 pixels or at least 10cm x 10cm
- over 1MB (NOTE: images over 5MB may fail to upload)
If you follow these guidelines, you will be more likely to get press coverage for your products, as we can download your original image directly from Folksy and then either send it to the journalist in response to a press request, upload it to our Press Loft account, where lots of publications are able to see and download it, or include it in a Press Release.
Find more advice on how to size your photos on Folksy here: https://folksy.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/57289-photos-sizing-and-uploading
How to create cut-out photo shots
You don’t need to be a Photoshop whizz to create cut-out shots. There are lots of apps out there that do the job for you. Some of them are free and others are paid-for services. However, for all of these apps to work well, make sure that:
- your original photo has the product in the foreground
- the product is in focus
- you can see the entire product
- the product has clear edges
- there is nothing overlapping or covering the product in the original image
List of apps to remove backgrounds and create cut-out shots for press
We’ve compiled a small list of apps below, which we have tested and found to work well. If you have other suggestions, please let us know.
Adobe Express Background Remover – https://www.adobe.com/express/feature/image/remove-background
This is a free app by Adobe that allows you to highlight the subject of your photo and create a transparent background. You can fine tune the cut-out in the editor. Don’t forget to edit the background and fill with a solid white before downloading. Adobe Express Background Remover is currently free to use but you will need to create an account to edit and download your file.
Photoshop – https://www.adobe.com/uk/products/photoshop.html
One of the best known and most-used pieces of software for photo editing, Photoshop has tools that help you remove the background and create high-quality images. You can usually get a free trial to see if it’s right for you. Photoshop is currently priced at £19.97 a month, although offers vary.
If you’re not quite sure how to cut-out the background in Photoshop, this video tutorial is really helpful:
CanvaPro – https://www.canva.com/
CanvaPro has a Background Remover tool, which you can read more about here > To use their background remover tool you will need a paid account. Canva currently offer a free trial of CanvaPro so you can test out their background remover before deciding if it’s right for you. To make sure your final image is large enough for magazines and newspapers, try setting up your image on CanvaPro as 12cm x 12cm, download it as a jpg and set the quality to 100%. You may need to experiment to get the dimensions and file size right.
PhotoRoom – https://www.photoroom.com/
PhotoRoom is a mobile app you can use to remove the background on photos on your phone or tablet. The app is free to install and use but you will need a Pro account (currently priced at £9.99 a month or £49.99 a year) to download the high-resolution images needed for printed press.
FocoClipping – https://www.fococlipping.com/pricing
FocoClipping is a web-based service that uses AI to remove the backgrounds in photos. It has a useful ‘product’ setting specifically designed for creating cut-out product shots. Although you can download low-resolution images for free, you will need to pay to download high-resolution files. FocoClipping works on a credit system, where removing the background from one full-resolution image costs 1 credit. You can either buy credits on a pay-as-you-go basis at $2.99 for 10 credits (downloads), or sign up to a monthly subscription.
Removebg – https://www.remove.bg/pricing
Removebg works in a similar way to FocoClipping, charging a fee to download the larger files needed for press. It offers pay-as-you-go or monthly packages. Example prices are £8 for 10 images on pay-as-you-go, or £8 for 40 images on a monthly subscription.
If you have any questions or recommendations for apps you have used to remove background and create cut-out shots, please let us know in the comments below.
Featured in header image: MOLLIE Liberty top knotted headband by VivaLaDuchesse; Floral Drop earrings in Deep Teal by WildPeak Clay; ‘Hello Summer’ Strawberry On the Block by Emma Corry Designs.
