mzinn Loc: Indianapolis

I used to know how to make difficult selections in order to change backgrounds (or example, making selections around a subject's hair in headshots). I had learned a technique of using isolated channels and increasing contrast to make fine hair selections, but I have forgotten how to do it exactly. Have any of you members ever used this technique, and if so, would you please review it for me?
Thanks.

budrakey

I sure world appreciate learning this technique too.

gmcase Loc: Galt's Gulch

I have spent probably a couple thousand hours, conservatively, making selections in PS. There are numerous ways including channel masks and painstakingly using the pen tool, etc. The complex selection process can be similar to picking fly poop out of pepper with boxing gloves. I am quite good with the PS tools but I highly recommend you check out Topaz Remask. You can download for a free 30 day trial. I recently discovered it and did a couple very tough ones in very little time. I'll post later when I'm on my laptop versus my iPad. There may be others but I haven't found them. Watch the videos on their site. Very informative and well put together. About 69 bucks and worth every cent if makings elections is something you do often, like me. :-D

rambler Loc: Masssachusetts

Use Layer masks, quick masks and as you refer to, Channels or editing Alpha Channels.

Here is a walk through right out of the Missing Manual, p. 205.
download the Balloons.jpg found at missingmanuals.com/cds. Save it in Downloads then open it from there into PS.

1 Open the Channels Panel (Select Channels under Windows, if not already open)
2 Open the darkest channel, in this case the blue one, then duplicate it and label it "Blue Copy"
3 Choose Image> > Adjustment> levels (Open an adjustment layer and use levels)
4 Move the black slider left until thew balloons are almost black
5 Use the white eyedropper (the third one in the row in the Levels box) and click on all the gray areas until all of the sky is white
6 Paint the balloons light spots with a black brush to get them all black. (Switch between the foreground black to add black and the foreground white to erase if you blacken too much)
You now have black balloons and white sky.
7 EASY SELECTION STEP!!
"In the Channel's panel load the duplicate blue channel as a selection by Command-click Mac or ctrl-click on PC, or clicking the 'Load Channel as selection" button (the dotted circle at the bottom of the panel." p.208
Check out those marching ants, the selection has ben done for you!
8 Invert the selection to select the balloons instead of the background. Command shift I on Mac or ctrl,shift,I on PC
9 In the channels panel turn on the composite (RGB) channel and HIDE the duplicate Blue Channel
10 Open the Layers panel, (make the background layer editable by clicking on it) and then add a layer mask (hit the circle-in-the-square button)
Done.
Now you can copy and paste a new background (eg. Blue SKy with Clouds) drag it to the bottom of the layers stack to put the balloons on top of it.

rambler Loc: Masssachusetts

PART II

Another way to make easy selections using Quick Mask.

1 Use any tool to do a quick selection around the object you want to select.
2 Click the button at the bottom of the tools panel or press Q.
3 You should have a red overlay over everything, but the selcetion
4 Paint in the areas you missed (Deselect from your selection by using black) (Extend the area of your selection by painting white)

Create a soft edge by painting in gray (use the opacity %, too)

You can change the color of the mask by double-clicking on the Qick Mask icon.

5 When you finish fine-tuning press Q and the marching ants should re-appear.

NOTE: When you double click on the Quick Mask Icon, notice you have a choice of Masked Area or Selected area as well as a color choice. If you choose Masked Area, the area that will be covered in color is the area NOT part of your selection. Therefore, you will be painting to disclose what you want to be included in your final selection. If you choose Selected area, the color will be covering the area within your selection. You will then paint over areas you want included.
Use the black and white brush selection, switch between black and white foregrounds, to either add or erase.
Also, note the the brush Mode should be "Normal".

Use how to use the Adjustment Brush in Camera Raw It is the 10th icon over on the tool bar at the top of the page. This will do lightening and darkening much like a layer mask can do in PS.

gmcase Loc: Galt's Gulch

Balloons are super easy selections. Complex selections, such as bushy, leafy trees with background sky showing through, hair, etc., are difficult and time consuming. The most difficult, in my opinion, are bridal veils and similar translucent objects.

rambler Loc: Masssachusetts

No! Wait! Hair selection is made a lot easier using REFINE EDGE!

1 Make a loose selection with a lasso tool.

Now Under SELECTION>Refine Edge

Study all the options in the refine edge panel. Amazing, it make hair selection easy!!

Start by clicking the arrow next to the box with the picture. Check out all those different views.

Next learn about all those different slider options!!!!

Move the slider under "Refine edge" See what happens?
Refine even further, click on that Brush Icon just to the left of the Refine Edge box. Paint to add or paint to erase.

Keep going with the rest ......

mzinn Loc: Indianapolis

Some great responses here for anyone who has wrestled with complex selections. It will probably take me a few days to try some of these, but they look very promising.

Perfect timing! My family is tugging on my shirtsleeves to leave for spring break. Should I just let them go and stay here and play with these ideas? Please don't tempt me!

rambler Loc: Masssachusetts

From Scott Kelby on tricky hair selection:

Using a head and shoulder shot of a lady with some wavy strands:

Use the Quick selection toll over the entire image, work carefully to include the strands, but you do not have to be exact with it. It helps to enlarge the image as you select.

Goto the Refine Edge button up in the options bar.
In view mode, choose the Black and White.
You will see how well you did with the jagged edges, and why 'refine' is needed.
Turn on (check) the Smart Radius box.
Drag the slider right, watch the hair. You should see some detail appear.
Goto the Overlay View. The hair parts that did not get selected should show up as white areas.
Gotto the Refine edge tool (That is the brush icon to the left of View).
Just paint over the white areas That's it! You have selected out the difficult strands...the fine hair details.

Down at the output section click on Decontaminate Colors. This removes color spill over. It desaturates the edge pixels.

Choose New Layer with Mask.

NB: No need to get involved with the Adjust Edge section.

Thanks to Scott Kelby's Book on CS5. pp.256-259

He goes on to show how you add the new background.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Before buying any plug-ins, I suggest two things.

1.) Buy the most recent version of PS.

2.) Learn the new tools.

I am not a big fan of PS but it is the gold standard. While plug-ins are probably easier to learn than the same function in PS, do not underestimate the power of PS to do really difficult things such as selections. By time you buy a few of those excellent third-party plug-ins, you could have bought the latest PS.

Thanks to the various contributors for their well-written how-to's.

gmcase Loc: Galt's Gulch

I don't dismiss nor am I ignorant of the built in abilities of PS. Like I said, I have several thousand hours into using them. My point is that the Remask plugin is way beyond the built in PS choices and methods and is worth every cent IF, here comes the qualifier, IF you are doing complex selections all the time and speed and accuracy is important.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Gmcase. I was not doubting your experience. In fact, I respect it because I am such a hack at masking. It was advice for the less experienced.

I will check out Remask.

gmcase Loc: Galt's Gulch

I wasn't offended, in fact, I should have added that I agree with eeking everything you can out of PS before resorting to plugins. When you find a really useful one that costs soething then go for it. PS has come a long ways in asking very complex selections, especially with things like refine edge. One thing I really like about Remask is you can zoom in and work with tools quickly and rapidly use different background colors with a click or two. Quality is important, which Topaz certainly has but I have found it very fast and when you get on in years time becomes a precious commodity! :D

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Gmcase. I am not sure if the plug-in's really provide any more function than PS. But what they do for sure is to improve on that nearly incomprehensible user interface. I have always wondered if Adobe is really writing all those complicated programs behind the adjustments or are they buying them from other developers. And those developers are also selling the routines to Nik, Topaz and others.

I use Viveza and usually get pretty much the same result as in PS. However, Nik's masking process is a lot easier than PS. Once in a while, I get a subtle adjustment that I might not have gotten in PS.

gmcase Loc: Galt's Gulch

Speed was te appeal to me of Remask or any other comparable product compared to PS. The interface is all in one place and you can get to all tools quickly. One thing I don't like about Remask is after you hit OK you cannot go back to it later and pick up where you left off. That part of it stinks so I make sure I have enough time to complete it or put t off until I do. Obviously the quality has to be there too.