Object out of photo and change background

[Shari]

I'm going to try to buy a book tomorrow but in the meantime .. I have a photo of the sunset from the balcony of our condo. In the photo is a telephone pole and wires. I would like to try taking them out and filling in with the ocean. If someone could give me some steps to proceed I would appreciate it. Would I start with duplicate copy? Thanks.

Shari

[MikeH]

Shari,

As a general rule always start by making a copy of the Background Layer. To do this left click and hold on the Background Layer and then drag to the "Create a New Layer" icon.

Without seeing the picture (you can upload it at www.pixenral.com and post the url here) you can remove the telegraph wires and post using the clone tool.

Press S to select the clone tool, select an area that you can use as a sample to replace the wires / post with, then hold the ALT key and click. Then start painting with the clone tool to replace the wires / post. Go in small steps and resample the area if necessary. Use a small soft edged brush.

If you upload the picture, we may be able to help to more...

Mike

[Wendy]

Hi Shari,

Yes start off with a duplicate image ... that way you can practise on it without being worried about spoiling the original. I always do that :)

Wires are fairly easy to remove ... just select the Clone tool, use the ocean (either above or below the wire) as a source and then clone over the wires. Stop quite frequently and select a new source as that makes it look better.

I would have suggested the healing tool but that may not work too well on the ocean ... but try it out and see if it works OK.

Now move on to doing the pole and use a similar method ... do let me know if you need any more help :)

Wendy

[Shari]

Thank you both for being so prompt. This forum is amazing. It's 11 am in Vancouver. I think I will have to try this later. My husband wants to take the dog for a walk and enjoy his Good Friday holiday. I tend to get into this and don't stop. He has made dinner twice this week!!! So if you don't hear from me it is not because I haven't tried - it is just because I have not got to it yet. Thanks again.

Shari

[Shari]

Couldn't stay away from it. Haven't gone out yet. Questions -

When I use the clone tool do I use the Clone stamp or Pattern stamp?

When I click on the tool it automatically picks up on a darker color in the sky even though I am clicking on the light part. When you first get the tool do you click on the source you want for the color. That is what I did and it was too dark.

Sometimes when I click it leaves a tiny white mark which I cannot cover over.

I have been having fun trying though and now I guess I have to go out.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Shari

[imported_admin]

Shari,
You'll want to use the clone stamp tool, rather than the clone pattern.
Another thing you might consider is to lower the opacity when you're cloning, that way, you can sort of ease into the area, and if it isn't enough at first, just go over it again. It makes the transition a little more subtle.

[MikeH]

Shari,

Use the Clone Stamp Tool...

When you first start, as you say, you need to select the source colour. If this is too dark then either resample or lower the opacity of the brush.

Also you can change how the clone tool works by changing Mode. For example, if you set the mode to lighten, it will only affect pixels that are darker than the source colour.

If you have white marks, the brush may be too big or too hard. You need to clone in small steps at a time. Also, it is advisable to start on a new layer regularly - so when you are happy with an area copy the layer and continue. This way if you make a mistake or mess things up completely on one layer you can delete it without losing everythingyou have done.

Mike

[Shari]

I did it! Took me a long time. I changed to a bigger brush. Lowering the opacity made a difference. Then it was alt click for a long long time = but I think I get the idea now. Thanks everyone.

Shari

[glenlakes]

MikeH

www.pixenral.com

Could you please validate this URL mentioned in a recent post. I seem to be getting an error when attempting to access it.

Many thanks,

Glen

[Wendy]

Hi Glen,

Mike's not around at the moment but the correct URL is:

http://www.pixentral.com/index.php


Wendy

[glenlakes]

Thanks Wendy,

Not sure what my difficulty was but your link works just fine.

Appreciate your prompt response.

[Wendy]

Thats OK Glen ...


Glad to help :)


Wendy