Composite Tutorials - How to Improve Yours!
2) FINAL PROJECT
Final Project
For the final project, you are to take SIX images (ONE background and FIVE subjects to be extracted).
(Three of your images can be from the Internet if you so choose.)
Your task is to extract all five of your subjects as cleanly as possible and to insert them into your background image.
This seems easy, but you will find it difficult to properly blend each inserted image so that they all match and look natural.
Some possible ways to extract a subject:
- Lasso (or magnetic lasso) tool
- Quick Selection tool
- Magic Wand tool
- Channels / Overlay Brush method
- Threshold method (good for trees against a bright sky)
- Add a layer mask and brush manually (double-check brush hardness)
PRO TIPS:
- Lighting consistency is key to this project looking somewhat natural. Consider the lighting of your background image when planning your other shots. You ultimately want them to match, so either make it easy by shooting in the same light conditions, or be prepared to use adjustments to make your inserted subjects blend better with their new background.
- Note the level of focus of your background. Again, you want the subjects to match, so you may consider using a very subtle Gaussian Blur Filter (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur) on your individual subject layers.
Put your six images AND your final project (all .jpgs) into a Google Drive folder and ADD a shared link to it in CLASSROOM.
Final Project
For the final project, you are to take SIX images (ONE background and FIVE subjects to be extracted).
(Three of your images can be from the Internet if you so choose.)
Your task is to extract all five of your subjects as cleanly as possible and to insert them into your background image.
This seems easy, but you will find it difficult to properly blend each inserted image so that they all match and look natural.
Some possible ways to extract a subject:
- Lasso (or magnetic lasso) tool
- Quick Selection tool
- Magic Wand tool
- Channels / Overlay Brush method
- Threshold method (good for trees against a bright sky)
- Add a layer mask and brush manually (double-check brush hardness)
PRO TIPS:
- Lighting consistency is key to this project looking somewhat natural. Consider the lighting of your background image when planning your other shots. You ultimately want them to match, so either make it easy by shooting in the same light conditions, or be prepared to use adjustments to make your inserted subjects blend better with their new background.
- Note the level of focus of your background. Again, you want the subjects to match, so you may consider using a very subtle Gaussian Blur Filter (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur) on your individual subject layers.
Put your six images AND your final project (all .jpgs) into a Google Drive folder and ADD a shared link to it in CLASSROOM.