Tim Grey's DDQ Digital Darkroom Questions
Today's Question:
I have Photoshop CS3 and I would be interested to learn how to change backgrounds on a photo. I have tried a number of different ways all with no success. I would like to try and put a baby on a cloud background, or moving a person from one photo to another. Any help you can give me would be very much appreciated.
Tim's Answer:
The first step is to bring the two images together into a single composite image. To do so, you can open both images, and then use the Move tool to drag one image to the other (for example, dragging the baby image onto an image of clouds).
In most cases you can create a selection as the basis of the layer mask that will define where the upper image is actually visible (revealing the underlying image in areas where the upper isn't visible). So, for example, you could create a selection of the baby using any of the selection tools. With a selection active, click the Add Layer Mask button (the circle inside a square icon) at the bottom of the Layers panel. The "non-baby" area of the baby image will now be hidden, allowing the underlying cloud image to show through, and creating the appearance of a baby among the clouds.
Click on the layer mask thumbnail (the black and white thumbnail to the right of the upper image layer) to make sure it is active, and then choose Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur to slightly blur the layer mask so the composite doesn't show up with a "cutout" appearance.
At this point you should have a good basic composite image, but you may need to further refine things. Select the Brush tool, and press "D" to ensure the colors are set to their defaults of black and white. You can also adjust the size of the brush using the left and right square bracket keys ("[" and "]"). You can also adjust the Hardness setting using the Brush popup on the Options bar as needed to adjust the degree of blending where you'll work on your layer mask. Then paint with black in any areas where you need to block the original baby image (for example, hiding portions of the baby so it will better blend in with the clouds), and paint with white to reveal portions of the baby image. You can press "X" to swap foreground and background colors to switch between black and white.
The subject of layer masking is covered in extensive detail in the video tutorials on my latest DVD, "Photoshop Hands-On: Layer Masking", which starts shipping today. If you'd like a copy of this DVD, visit www.timgrey.com/order and follow the link to the secure order form. You might also be interested in the prior DVD, "Photoshop Hands-On: Selections", which is the perfect complement to "Layer Masking" because selections are so often used as the basis of a layer mask.
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