Photoshop Elements 3 Solutions: The Art of Digital Photography- P7 pptx

164 CHAPTER 6: MAKING PHOTO - REALISTIC COMPOSITES ■ Seamlessly Pasting One of the biggest challenges in composite making is pasting a selection seamlessly into another image so it looks natural without a halo or jagged edges. It’s a lot easier when you are pasting a selection into a busy background, as I did in the first example in this chapter, but more difficult when you are pasting to an area of continuous tone, such as a sky. I use one method with pretty good success. I’ll demonstrate by selecting, copy- ing, and pasting the Doggie Diner head from the image on the left in Figure 6.20 to the shot shown on the right. Figure 6.20: The two components of my composite. Figure 6.21 shows a close-up of what happens if I simply make a selection, copy it, and paste it into the street shot. Figure 6.21: By using a simple copy and paste, I get the jagged edges shown here. Now I’ll try something different: 1. I make a selection just as before, using the Magic Wand selection tool ( ). One click on the white background with a Tolerance of 15 pretty much does it, except I’ll use the Lasso tool ( ) to select some of the white areas in the Doggie Diner’s hat that were missed by the Magic Wand. 4363_ch06_p4.qxd 10/9/04 11:37 PM Page 164 165 ■ CLONING ELEMENTS FROM MULTIPLE IMAGES 2. I reverse my selection by using Select  Inverse (Ctrl+Shift+I / +Shift+I) and shrink it by 2 pixels (Select  Modify  Contract). This tightens up my selec- tion and reduces the chance that I’ll copy unwanted background areas. 3. I add a 3-pixel feather (Select  Inverse, then Select  Feather), as shown in Figure 6.22. Figure 6.22: The Feather Selection dialog box 4. I copy (Ctrl+C / +C) and paste (Ctrl+V / +V) the selectionon on top of Telegraph Hill. I use the Move tool ( ) to position it where I want. Because I slightly shrank my selection and feathered it, the edges of the Doggie Diner head now blend more naturally into the new background. 5. As you can see in Figure 6.23, the paste is almost seamless. Where it is not, I can use the Eraser tool ( ) with a combination of both hard-edged and soft- edged brushes to make it perfect. Figure 6.23: Now the Doggie Diner head looks like it’s always been on top of Telegraph Hill. Even on closer examination (right), the deception is barely visible. Cloning Elements from Multiple Images Up to now, I’ve shown you mostly select, copy, and paste techniques to combine images. With some images it’s just as effective to use the Clone Stamp tool to create photo-realistic composites. For some people, “painting” images with this tool is more intuitive and satisfying than pasting. Take the screen shot in Figure 6.24. The images were all taken with the same camera, around the same time of day, against a similar background. Using the Clone Stamp tool to combine parts of these images is easy because I don’t need to be precise. It would be more difficult if the backgrounds were significantly different. In that case, selecting, copying, and pasting would be the way to go. 4363_ch06_p4.qxd 10/9/04 11:37 PM Page 165 166 CHAPTER 6: MAKING PHOTO - REALISTIC COMPOSITES ■ Note: You can also use the Healing Brush tool to act like the Clone Stamp tool. In the Healing Brush tool option bar select “Replace” from the Mode’s pop-up window. Select “Sampled” as your Source. Now the Healing Brush tool replaces pixels from the target with pixels from the source rather than blending them as it does in the “Normal” mode. Figure 6.24: Combining birds from similar shots is easy with the Clone Stamp tool. This is what I did to come up with the composite: 1. I opened the four image files. (To view all your images side by side, choose Window  Images  Tile.) 2. I selected one of the bird photos as a target image. Because I wanted each cloned bird to go on its own layer, I created three new layers: Layer  New  Layer. 3. Next I selected one of the other three bird images and selected the Clone Stamp tool from the toolbar ( ). I picked a Soft Round 100 pixels brush from the options bar and placed my cursor over the bird. Then I held the Alt/Option key and clicked on the bird. This defined my source point. 4. After I had my source point defined, I selected my target image. In the Layers palette I made sure I was working on one of the new layers. Then I placed my cursor over the target image window, roughly in the area I wanted to add the new bird. I clicked, held, and painted. After I was finished, I selected another 4363_ch06_p4.qxd 10/9/04 11:37 PM Page 166 167 ■ PRE - VISUALIZING A SCENE image, containing another bird, and repeated the process. On the target image, in the Layers palette, I made sure to select yet another new layer, thereby keeping each bird on its own layer. 5. After I finished cloning the birds, I went back and fine-tuned my composite. I used the Eraser tool to define the edges of some of the birds. I used a Transform command to slightly reduce the size of one of the birds (Image  Resize  Scale). I slightly rotated the orientation of one of the birds (Image  Transform  Free Transform). I could easily do all this because each bird was on its own layer. Figure 6.25 shows the final version. Figure 6.25: The resulting composite (left); the Layers palette (right). Note each cloned bird is on its own layer. Note: If you want to clone within the same image, it’s often useful to clone onto a sepa- rate layer. To do this, first create a new layer (Layer  New  Layer). Select the layer con- taining the pixels you want to clone. Select the Clone Stamp tool from the toolbar andthis is very importantgo to the options bar and select the box next to Use All Layers. Define your source point by holding the Alt/Option key and clicking. Then, in the Layers palette, select the new layer. Now when you click and hold while painting the image window, the cloned part will appear on its own layer. You can move it around separately, or remove it without damaging the original underlying image. This also holds true with the Healing Brush tool. Select “Use All Layers” from the Healing Brush tool’s option bar to “heal” onto a sepa- rate layer. Pre-visualizing a Scene Photo-realistic composites are extremely important in the world of architecture. Architects can use a composite not only to show a client what a potential building or remodel will look like, but also to help convince a design review board to approve a project by showing the effect that it will have on a neighborhood. David Mlodzik is one of those rare architects who is not only versed in design but is also computer-literate and adept with high-end digital imaging. A significant part 4363_ch06_p4.qxd 10/9/04 11:37 PM Page 167 168 CHAPTER 6: MAKING PHOTO - REALISTIC COMPOSITES ■ of his business is providing other architects and the construction community with design visualization and graphic services. Figure 6.26 shows one of his projects for a Hilton hotel. At the time David started work on the project, the hotel didn’t even exist. He took the design done by the San Francisco firm RYS Architects, and used a 3D rendering and animation program to create several views of the hotel. Then he turned to Photoshop. Although he worked in the full version of Photoshop, everything he did is possible using Photoshop Elements. Here are the steps he took to create an image of the hotel: 1. He scanned the site photograph shown in Figure 6.26. Figure 6.26: The site photograph. (Photo by David Mlodzik) 2. He copied and pasted the hotel into a layer with the site photograph. The ren- dering had a black background, which David removed by using the Magic Wand selection tool ( ) and then cutting to transparency. 3. David applied a slight Gaussian blur to the hotel rendering to make it look more realistic (Filters  Blur  Gaussian Blur). 4. As you can see on the left in Figure 6.27, the hotel sits in front of the McDonald’s in the site photograph. David created a copy of the background layer containing the site photo, and in that layer he erased the areas shown at the right in Figure 6.27 by using the Eraser tool ( ) and various selection tools to select and delete. Figure 6.27: When it’s pasted in (left), the hotel sits in front. David used various erasing techniques to make room for the hotel (right). 4363_ch06_p4.qxd 10/9/04 11:37 PM Page 168 169 ■ PRE - VISUALIZING A SCENE As you can see on the left in Figure 6.28, the hotel looks like it has always been there. Figure 6.28: The final composite (left). David’s Layers palette (right). Note: If you want to create a composite from several images and are willing to give up some control, try using Photomerge: File  New  Photomerge. It’s fast, it’s easy, and it’s fun. I’ll tell you more about this Photoshop Elements plug-in later in the book (  Chapter 8). Shooting Digital: Creating Realistic-Looking Composites A while back I got a call from a company in Sweden that wanted a group shot of their board of directors for an annual report. The only problem was that one of the directors, futurist Paul Saffo, lived in California and wasn’t about to make the long trip just for a photo opportu- nity. Would I shoot a picture of Saffo here, and they’d Photoshop him into the group later? When you attempt to come up with a photo-realistic composite as I did for this one, there are several things to consider. Ideally, all the images should be shot with the same kind of cam- era and lens and from the same perspective. In my case, I had to rent the same kind of lens they used in Sweden. Unless you want to spend a lot of time trying to match the film grain or the resolution of the digital file, use the same type of film, or if using a digital camera, use the same resolution. As you can see in the following picture, it worked out just fine. And neither Saffo nor, for that matter, I, had to endure a long plane ride. 4363_ch06_p4.qxd 10/9/04 11:37 PM Page 169 170 CHAPTER 7: EXTERIORS AND INTERIORS ■ 4363_ch07_p5.qxd 10/11/04 7:50 PM Page 170 171 ■ EXTERIORS AND INTERIORS 7 Chapter Contents Straightening a Slanted Looking Facade Transforming a Kitchen Removing a Construction Sign Smart-Blurring a Background Balancing the Light Creating a Warm and Inviting Atmosphere Removing Wires Exteriors and Interiors If you are selling, renting, or swapping a build- ing, you’ll be amazed at all the things Photoshop Elements can do to help bring out desirable features and diminish or remove detractive ones. Even if you aren’t in the real estate business and just appreciate a good pic- ture, the techniques you learn in this chapter will be extremely useful. 4363_ch07_p5.qxd 10/11/04 7:51 PM Page 171 172 CHAPTER 7: EXTERIORS AND INTERIORS ■ Straightening a Slanted Looking Facade Look at just about any real estate magazine or newspaper section and you’ll see photos of buildings with sides that appear to converge rather than remain parallel. This is an effect called keystoning, and it occurs when the plane of the camera and the plane of the building are not parallel to each other. You already encountered a variation of this phenomenon earlier in the book, in Chapter 5, when you saw a poster on a wall that was shot at an angle. You can avoid keystoning by positioning your camera so that it is level with the plane of the building. However, this isn’t always possible, and Figure 7.1 illustrates my point. I shot it with a Canon Digital Rebel aimed up from the sidewalk. Notice how the pillars appear to converge when in reality they are parallel. In some photographs keystoning isn’t bothersome. But in others it can be so extreme that disorients the viewer and leaves an impression that something is profoundly wrong with the building. Fortunately, it’s not hard to fix shots like this with Photoshop Elements and the Perspective command (Image  Transform  Perspective). Figure 7.1: The pillars of this building appear to converge. 4363_ch07_p5.qxd 10/11/04 7:51 PM Page 172 173 ■ STRAIGHTENING A SLANTED LOOKING FACADE Here’s what I did to straighten the building: 1. I copied the background layer containing the building (Layer  Duplicate Layer). I turned the visibility of my original background layer off so it wouldn’t confuse me later when I applied the Perspective command. (You can turn a layer’s visibility off by deselecting the eye icon in the leftmost side of the Layers palette.) I created a copy for a couple of reasons: first, I wanted to keep my original image intact, and second, Transform commands aren’t an option when you are working on a background layer. 2. After duplicating the layer, I made sure all of my image fit on the screen and was visible by double-clicking the Hand tool ( ). 3. I then selected View  Grid to give me a series of 90-degree vertical references. The grid makes it a lot easier to determine when the lines of the building are straight. Figure 7.2 shows the grid, which I customized (as described in the fol- lowing Note). Using the grid is an alternative to another method I described ear- lier in the book, when I used the Pencil tool to draw a 90-degree reference line on a separate layer (  “Fixing Keystoning” in Chapter 5). Figure 7.2: A grid provides a series of 90-degree lines, which I can use as reference points when I try to straighten the building. Note: To change the pattern and color of the grid, choose Edit  Preferences  Grid (in OS X, choose Application  Preferences  Grid). You can select a preset color or a custom color. You can choose solid, dashed, or dotted lines. You can also vary the spacing of the major grid lines and the frequency of minor grid lines. 4363_ch07_p5.qxd 10/11/04 7:51 PM Page 173 [...]... pixels as I worked on the wire near the windowsill and the wire near the top of the roof I chose a hard-edged brush because I wanted to keep the texture of the stucco intact A soft-edged brush would have diffused the edges and blurred some of the details Figure 7.17: I used the Clone Stamp tool to remove the wires that crossed the building 1 To use the Nudge method, I followed these steps: I selected... times, the clone didn’t look quite right Ctrl+Z / +Z quickly reverted the step As a final step in removing the sign, Jeannie selected a Soft Round 35 pixels brush and a Soft Round 9 pixels brush and cloned the intact tree trunk over what remained of the sign (shown on the right in Figure 7.8) Figure 7.8: Jeannie started with the red cones, using the Clone Stamp tool to replace them with parts of the sidewalk... Alt/Option key while clicking on them, and then painting the sampled areas over the cones (shown on the left in Figure 7.8) Then she sampled parts of the wall and the sidewalk and painted them over the sandwich sign, this time using a Hard Round 5 pixels brush because the work in this area required her to be more precise Next she turned to the sign itself, sampling and using parts of the window and window frame... choosing a smaller Smart Blur Radius such as 1.0 The smaller Radius protects the thin wire mesh and still slightly burs the background After applying the Smart Blur to the selected area, deselect the first selection (Ctrl+D / +D) and then select the other window areas with the Polygonal Lasso Finally, apply the Smart Blur and stronger settings shown in Figure 7.11 N o te : The Smart Blur filter’s Radius... commands in Photoshop Elements 3: Shadows/Highlights (Enhance Adjust Lighting Shadows/Highlights) This command replaces—and improves on the Fill Flash command found in previous versions of Photoshop Elements Not only can you lighten the darkest areas of an image independent of the light areas, but you can use the Highlights control to darken the lighter colors independent of the dark ones Figure 7.12: The. .. using it—or the Healing Brush tool—to remove the rest of the wires To demonstrate a slightly faster alternative, however, I’ll use the Nudge method to remove the rest of the lines 185 ■ REMOVING WIRES Here are the steps for the first method: I selected the Clone Stamp tool ( ) from the toolbox and kept the default settings in the options bar I started with a Hard Round 19 pixels brush and then changed... positioned the red construction sign in the middle of her image window (If an image is larger than the image window, you can move it around by holding down the spacebar The cursor turns into a hand Then, when you click and drag, the image moves with your cursor.) She used a Soft Round 13 pixels brush and started on the red cones, sampling or “cloning” parts of the road and sidewalk by holding the Alt/Option... setting specifies the area the filter covers when look- Balancing the Light Figure 7.12 shows a dark living room with a lot of light pouring in from a window Getting a proper exposure in this kind of situation is tricky—especially considering the limits of the relatively inexpensive digital camera Jeannie was using To balance the light and bring out the details of the room, Jeannie used one of the most useful... street (left) She then cloned the tree on the left side of the image over the area where the red sign used to be (right) 4 5 She then zoomed back to 100 percent magnification (by double-clicking the Zoom tool) and tightly cropped the image Using the Levels controls, she adjusted the contrast of her image by choosing Enhance Adjust Lighting Levels or by pressing Ctrl+L / +L She then used the Hue/Saturation... it 5 pixels (left) Then I used the arrow keys to move the selection down (right) 2 While holding the Ctrl+Alt / +Option keys, I used the arrow keys to nudge up the selection of the sky This copied my selection and offset the duplicate by 1 pixel (shown on the left in Figure 7.19) I kept nudging the selection until the power lines were replaced by sky There was a little streaking in the clouds, but after . clicking on them, and then painting the sampled areas over the cones (shown on the left in Figure 7.8). Then she sampled parts of the wall and the sidewalk and painted them over the sandwich. a lot of time trying to match the film grain or the resolution of the digital file, use the same type of film, or if using a digital camera, use the same resolution. As you can see in the following. the edges of some of the birds. I used a Transform command to slightly reduce the size of one of the birds (Image  Resize  Scale). I slightly rotated the orientation of one of the birds (Image