System and method for distinguishing between foreground content and background content in an image presentation. An initial background model is provided, and a final background model is constructed from the initial background model using the image presentation. The foreground content and background content in the image presentation are then distinguished from one another using the final background model. The present invention permits foreground content and background content to be separated from one another for further processing in different types of computer-generated image presentations such as digital slide presentations, video presentations, Web page presentations, and the like.