What are Cut Out images and Why are they important?

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cutout

Infinity Console table (cut out)                                                                   Extending table (not  cut out)

Cut out images (also called deep etched) are photos where the object has been cut out from it’s original background onto a clean, white background, as here.

Why are they important?

  • When you look at the majority of products being featured in magazines and blogs you’ll usually find them as part of a “trends” or “get the look” style feature. To secure yourself a spot in one of these hot topic spreads, it’s important to have professional, individual product shots readily available for journalists. Cut out images on a crisp white background are really popular with journalists because they can bend and fit into nearly all of their articles with ease.

 

  • Cut out images also make your product stand out. They’re more appealing to the eye and by having this type of image on your own websites, you are putting your products in the best light and will absolutely help with sales. – It’s important to note that not all products will suit being cut out. Wallpaper and flooring for example often look best in lifestyle shots.

 

  • While great lifestyle shots are important to have in everyone’s image collection (which we’ll talk about another time) there are a higher percentage of journalist downloading cut out images on Press Loft. We have found that even product images with a grey background or dark shadows – as professional as they are – don’t seem to get as many downloads because they are not as universal.

grey cutouts

1.Nel Lusso Wooden Towers 2. Hero Statue Lamp 3. Pomegranate Iron Lantern 4. Black and White Tumblers 5. Pineapple Glory Platinum Cushion

 

How do I deep etch (cut out) my image?

  • You can do it yourself in a photo editing program like Photoshop or Gimp (free). There are plenty of tutorials online.
  • You can ask your photographer to supply images deep etched onto a white background when you do your next product shoot and they can just incorporate this into their editing process for you.
  • Or there are companies online who will do it for a small cost of about $1 per image, such as deep etch(see their clipping path service). Just upload your current images with any type of background and they’ll send them back to you cut out professionally.

 

** We recommend that you have a balance of Lifestyle and Cut Out images to really get the most out of Press Loft. By having both styles you maximize the chances of your products being featured across a variety of publications