exchanging picuture parts - Layer question

[rvrbndr]

I have been trying to select this young man and add him to another photo. I have a rough selection to practice with but when I put him into another photo it as the "biege background area" around him (not just the figure, but a little biege background). I then have to select him again to get just him into the other photo. Am I missing something here or is this the way it is done? I practiced with "How to Cheat", but they give you the cut figures to work with already, I feel like I'm missing something somewhere. :confused:

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1jfnNvwZgJrWDuUWXbefdhdozsBPW0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1jfnNvwZgJrWDuUWXbefdhdozsBPW0) http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1OnLTnT6O15aJC3gztbhtvbcLWwVBA_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1OnLTnT6O15aJC3gztbhtvbcLWwVBA)
The picture on the right is what I get when I add him to a background???? Suggestions please.

[frank abramonte]

Select by clicking the magic wand in the background of the boy photo. Use a tolerance of about 10. Make sure that the marching ants are around the boy. Now go to Select>Inverse.
This will isolate the boy from the background. You can now move the boy with the move tool without taking the background with him.

[kImages]

Sharon - what tool are you using to select the boy? The shape would suggest that you've used a marquee too rather than a lasso or quick select tool?

[rvrbndr]

Here is the picture I'm trying to cut him from (below).

kImageswhat tool are you using to select the boy? I ended up using the "magic extractor" in the end. What would be the best tool? Is one technique/tool easier to learn/use than the other??

frank abramonte Select by clicking the magic wand
I had trouble with the magic wand and this image.
http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1ik9cHdl3VlyNbB6si4lBEdbocP1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1ik9cHdl3VlyNbB6si4lBEdbocP1)

[Bayla]

Here is the picture I'm trying to cut him from (below).

I had trouble with the magic wand and this image.
http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1ik9cHdl3VlyNbB6si4lBEdbocP1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1ik9cHdl3VlyNbB6si4lBEdbocP1)

The magic wand tool is best when you've got a lot of contrast, not like here when there are a lot of similar colours. I think from your earlier post that Frank thought you just wanted to select the boy from off the beige background which is why he suggested the magic wand.

I would a combination of the lasso tool/magnetic lasso tool for this - you need to zoom in close and go very slowly. Also don't worry if you miss bits, you can always add them in or delete them afterwards.

Bayla

[frank abramonte]

"I had trouble with the magic wand and this image."

rvrbndr, I was referring to the photo with the beige background on which to use the magic wand. You have already extracted the boy in that photo, why would you want to go back to the photo with the busy background.
A photo with a solid color background is the perfect time to use the magic wand.
If you wish to extract him again then there are a number of ways.
1. Magic Extractor
2. Paint away the background with a white brush (see my sample). Enlarge the image on your monitor to about 200%, and carefully paint around the boy. Change brush sizes to get into tight areas. If you need to touch up some edges you can use the smudge tool to blend back some small imperfections. Once you paint around the boy you can increase your brush size and paint away the rest of the background.
When done follow my original instructions of clicking on the background with the magic wand, then go to Select>Inverse which will isolate the boy from the background. Now you will be able to move only the boy into the new background.


http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1qvx9Cc8Xkjwn2wfZm9uduo0B2JVrh0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1qvx9Cc8Xkjwn2wfZm9uduo0B2JVrh0)

[rvrbndr]

Thank you, I think I need to go back to the original and start over, due to the sloppy job I did the first time, or I could try and clean up my first attempt, but I think I erased some parts that should have stayed the first time. I didn't zoom in as I should have the first go around.

I will continue to work with these tips on various pictures.

I think from your earlier post that Frank thought you just wanted to select the boy from off the beige background which is why he suggested the magic wand. My original post did ask why he ended up with the biege background and why do I have to extract him every time I want to place him in a different photo. I still don't why/how that happened.

"Never, never give up" - at least that's what the boy in the picture always says.

[frank abramonte]

Sharon, even if the boy was on a white background you would still have to use the magic wand to select and then go to Select>Inverse or you would be dragging over the boy with a white background instead of beige.
To clarify, you must isolate the silhouette figure from the background in order to eliminate the background.

[Bayla]

My original post did ask why he ended up with the biege background and why do I have to extract him every time I want to place him in a different photo. I still don't why/how that happened.



I'm going to make a stab in the dark here. I've temporarily uninstalled PSE6 from my computer until I've sorted out my memory problems, but I think that you've probably dragged your selection of the boy up from the photobin onto your background photo. I think if you had dragged it down onto photo, or used some other method of moving him (Ctrl-C Ctrl-V for example or having your photos in Cascade mode and dragging from one to the other) you wouldn't have got the beige background. Dragging up from the photobin creates a 'frame layer' or 'smart object' which can be got rid of by right clicking and choosing simplify.

Of course I could be barking up the wrong tree....maybe someone with PSE6 actually on their computer could confirm?

Bayla

[frank abramonte]

Bayla, I'm on a mac which shouldn't be too different from PC Elements.
If the boy is part of the background layer you must isolate him from the background if you expect to copy over a silhouetted boy without the background.
Does making a photo a smart object automatically silhouette or isolate part of that photo? I've not used smart object so can not advise on it.

[mljrbg]

RVRBNDR, thanks for asking this question and thanks to everyone who answered it. This will solve some of the problems I have had.

Thanks again.

Mary Lou

[Bayla]

Bayla, I'm on a mac which shouldn't be too different from PC Elements.
If the boy is part of the background layer you must isolate him from the background if you expect to copy over a silhouetted boy without the background.
Does making a photo a smart object automatically silhouette or isolate part of that photo? I've not used smart object so can not advise on it.

Frank,

In PSE6 when you drag an image with a transparent background up from the photobin onto an image in the workspace it creates a "frame layer" with a plus symbol. The non-transparent pixels are surrounded by a grey rectangle rather than sitting on a transparent layer. I'm wondering if this is what this beige rectangle surrounding the boy is all about?

Bayla

[rvrbndr]

The result - needs some fine tuning to make him look like he was actually there though.
http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/14NVsqiiCp7lS6Q6ATVFag1CmyF00_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=14NVsqiiCp7lS6Q6ATVFag1CmyF00)

In PSE6 when you drag an image with a transparent background up from the photobin onto an image in the workspace it creates a "frame layer" with a plus symbol. The non-transparent pixels are surrounded by a grey rectangle rather than sitting on a transparent layer. I'm wondering if this is what this beige rectangle surrounding the boy is all about?Yes, originally I had pulled him from the photobin. Now I do FILE & then PLACE, that seemed to bring him in and I could resize him to fit the placement.

Thanks to everyone for the help and understanding as I worked through this. Now - Practice - Practice - Practice, that seems to be the only way I can remember all the steps. LOL

It's people like you that make this forum so great!;)

[Bayla]

Sharon,

It's looking really good! One way to make it look even more realistic would be to add a slight shadow on the ground. I think there is a tutorial by Wendy in the Subscriber Area on the PET website that explains how to do that.

Bayla

[rvrbndr]

Thank You! I found Wendy's tut here (http://http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/subscriber/tutorials/tw_castingshadows.php) and it worked great!