Garlic and muslin removal

[lrivetz]

I need critique or idea or advice on how to best remove the Muslin and replace with a plain white backdrop. Using Photoshop, I’ve tested with layers > screen or image > adjustments > levels . After working with the background, my next task is to remove the white layer so the original color of the subject is visible. Does anybody have better steps on making the muslin backdrop invisible or turn it to solid white?

Let me know what you think of my garlic as far as its outer layer and lighting composition. Thank you.

Camera: Sony DSC-H1
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 13.8 mm
ISO Speed: 64
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: On, Red-eye reduction, Return detected

Great white background when taking macro:
White acrylic board
White tileboard
White seamless paper

[thompsonvp]

Hi There-

I am personally in love with the pen tool and don't know what I would do without it. It's a huge time saver and is very precise. You shouldn't have much of a problem getting rid of the muslin backdrop. You will have to cut out the shadows and reinsert them later because of the texture but that can be done fairly easily. Just create a path around your pieces of garlic and make them a new layer, then add whatever background you want. Here's a link to a decent pen tool tutorial:

How to use Photoshop's Pen Tool - Online Tutorial at Melissa Clifton page 1

Good luck!