What is The Clipping Path?

A Path is a closed vector path or shape used to cut out an image in current photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop. Once the clipping path is created, a clipping path applied to it so that anything outside the Path will be excluded when you place the file into photoshop, InDesign, or any web developing software. Inside the Path will remain the same as before.

Where to use Clipping Path?

Clipping Path Service is necessary when we use any photo/photograph/image to prepare a design, such as a brochure design, magazine design, web design, leaflet, and many more. For example, I have a photograph with a background color grey and need to be used on my catalog’s front page. I must remove the background of that particular image since my Catalogue color is green and have some other design. To do so, I will need to create a Path around the image and then convert it into a clipping path. And then, when I use it in Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, or any other program, the image background will disappear, mean no background (transparent). It will reveal only the image which was inside the clipping Path. Look at the pictures you worked on below to get a live view.

How to do Clipping Path?

1. Open the image in Photoshop

Open the image in Photoshop you want to use for your clipping path tutorial (File menu in Photoshop and Choose open, from the open dialogue box, choose the file you wish to use and then click open.

2. Choose the “Pen Tool” from photoshop

Once you have got the file open in Photoshop, Choose the “Pen Tool” from photoshop. Now, make sure that you have chosen “Paths” from the pen tool menu bar located underneath the Main Menu bar.

3. Click on the image edge and drag the mouse pointer

Now click on the image edge and drag the mouse pointer towards the upcoming step and release the mouse. Again click on the photo edge and continue the same process until you have completed moving around the image and finally see this “o” symbol. Which means you are going to close the Path. Click on it (starting point) to complete the Path.

4. Go to path pallet

Once the Path is completed around the image and it closed adequately, go to the path pallet (window menu/ select “Paths”). Double click on the “work path” and press enter to save the Path; the path name will be changed to “Path-1” instead of “work path” automatically.

5. Go to the “pop up” menu

Go to the “pop up” menu from the Paths palette and choose “Clipping Path”. A dialogue box will appear asking you to select your desired Path and Flatness. Choose the Path you want to Clipped and Put your preferred Flatness, and click “OK”. You almost completed all the necessary steps. Flatness is the preferred amount of pixel you want to make blur the image edges. The more you use Flatness, the more the image edge will be bluish. In general, leave the Flatness box blank, and the image edge will be 100% sharp. Apply Clipping Path Flatness

6. Save the file

Save the file in TIFF or PSD format. This time you will get the image without the background—That’s all about clipping Path. This is the basic process of how a clipping path service provider draws a clipping path around the image.