PSP XI (don't know about the earlier releases) has a really good background eraser tool (like an eraser with a smart edge). Throw a new raster layer or image under your shoot with people and erase the background through.
Jimbo - no I dont, I havent put much thought into it yet, but at first try, magnetic lasso was working ok, but a pain in the nuts, and the "extract" tool didnt do a clean enough job. Thanks for the linkage.
Jimbo - no I dont, I havent put much thought into it yet, but at first try, magnetic lasso was working ok, but a pain in the nuts, and the "extract" tool didnt do a clean enough job. Thanks for the linkage.
When using adobe, things are easier using a layer mask (see this tutorial for help with it.) You can also zoom in to get more precise. Once you have created the mask you can usually just paste the background in as a new layer. Feathering your selection and blurring your background some also helps keep it looking natural. I don't have any editing software on this computer so I can't give exact step by step (I'll try and get on other computer and post some stuff I've recently done) but it isn't as hard as it seems, just takes patients...good luck
Yeah, thank you. Thats the technique I ended up using (for one of the indivdual pictures as a test shot) and it worked pretty well. Now I just have to wait for it to stop raining, and go shoot a "suitable" background image.
A Wacom graphics tablet is a worthwhile investment for this type of editing. Besides having a better "feel" to where you're selecting, the pressure sensitive pad lets you get into the tiny spaces (by using a lighter touch) without going in and changing your brush size constantly.
Well worth a look at. Zoom and fine tune/pen size down to 1 pixel.
Hope you find what your after, or at least something to make it easier. It took me a while to find something suitable, and I was provided this link in another sites forum.
I didn't go home last night, so I haven't worked on it any more. A sample I did with just one cheerleader against a similar background worked really well, with only a few minor places that need "touching up". I am going to try it again tonite with a full team picture.
The weird thing is, it doesnt even have to look perfect. The competition in the area that are doing this (exchanging one background for another) isn't doing an amazing job at it, but I hate doing things half or even 1/4th assed. It just seems that the purchasers of these shots don't care so much about perfection, they are easily amused by the fact that its a different background, and not at all bothered that you can see the original background in the gaps between the players, etc.
