Cutting Out Horses: I've been trying to learn how to change backgrounds with Elements 13 and have gone a little crazy. There's still much to learn about getting the selection tools...

vicksart Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country

I've been trying to learn how to change backgrounds with Elements 13 and have gone a little crazy. There's still much to learn about getting the selection tools right and not ending up with weird fragments. I've gone from very dark backgrounds to the following with a gradient filter thrown into the mix. To say these are experiments would be appropriate. Hopefully they make some kind of visual sense after taking my rather scruffy horse, winter coat and all, out of a relatively busy background.

(Download)

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

vicksart wrote:

I've been trying to learn how to change backgrounds with Elements 13 and have gone a little crazy. There's still much to learn about getting the selection tools right and not ending up with weird fragments. I've gone from very dark backgrounds to the following with a gradient filter thrown into the mix. To say these are experiments would be appropriate. Hopefully they make some kind of visual sense after taking my rather scruffy horse, winter coat and all, out of a relatively busy background.

Vicky, I think you got the technique down very well. I am impressed an jealous because I have not done that.

deer2ker Loc: Nashville, TN

Really nicely done - the hairs are really hard - great job!

al13

Very Cool

one shot Loc: Pisgah Forest NC

I like these, especially the second one. I've never played with all the bells and whistles.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Nicely done. You might find it easier to place the new background as a layer on top of your original horse photo, then use a brush to mask away from the horse itself. I'd be happy to post a demo if you'd like

Jay Pat Loc: Round Rock, Texas, USA

I like the backgrounds!!!!
Pat

Jim-Pops Loc: Granbury, Texas

I think #1 & 2 are about as good as one could do. Great masking.
I saw a trick you could do to help #3. Under and over the neck you have red hair ends. I am assuming you have a mask to the right of your photo. If true you can use a cloning tool and pick hairs close to the red hairs for the part to clone and stamp on the red hairs on the horse picture not on the mask.The mask keeps the hair defined properly. If you were to turn the mask off your picture now would look blotchy. Red hairs now will be the proper color all the way to the ends. Hope this is clear and can do it with elements. I do it with Photoshop. I use this technique a lot on my composites.
--Jim

vicksart Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country

PixelStan77 wrote:

Vicky, I think you got the technique down very well. I am impressed an jealous because I have not done that.

Thanks for the vote of confidence Stan. I feel like I still have a lot to learn and any successes are "happy accidents." The process is lots of fun, and I've enjoyed experimenting just to see what each brush or option will produce. It's getting easier all of the time, and I'm really glad I got pushed out of my comfort zone. The edits take a lot longer, but I can undo anything I don't like as I play.

vicksart Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country

deer2ker wrote:

Really nicely done - the hairs are really hard - great job!

Fine hairs still need lots of work and maybe there's something I haven't learned yet that will make it easier. We'll see.

Thanks for taking time to look and comment deer2ker. I appreciate your input.

vicksart Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country

al13 wrote:

Very Cool

Thank you Al. I'm glad you liked my experiments.

vicksart Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country

one shot wrote:

I like these, especially the second one. I've never played with all the bells and whistles.

You've got to start "playing" just to see what you can do. I find myself looking back through old files just to find things to fiddle with. If I ruin something, it won't matter, and I can push some limits. It's so much fun!

Thanks for taking time to look and comment one shot. I appreciate it.

vicksart Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country

Linda From Maine wrote:

Nicely done. You might find it easier to place the new background as a layer on top of your original horse photo, then use a brush to mask away from the horse itself. I'd be happy to post a demo if you'd like

I'd love to see what you have in mind Linda. I know you've been doing really advanced editing for a long time now and suspect you've got lots of good ideas like the method you're suggesting. It makes a lot of sense. Please feel free to share your ideas either on this thread or let me know when and where you're posting a demo.

Thanks for the visit and for offering to share a teachable moment.

vicksart Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country

Jay Pat wrote:

I like the backgrounds!!!!
Pat

Thanks Pat. These were more of an effort to see if I could give the images new but believable backgrounds. I really wasn't sure whether anyone would like them, so I'm glad you were able to give a favorable comment.

vicksart Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country

Jim-Pops wrote:

I think #1 & 2 are about as good as one could ... (show quote)

Thanks for the thoughtful reply Jim. This is all new to me. Until I've really gotten a feel for what I've doing some of the terms and effects are a bit alien. I did clone some hairs in a few places but wasn't successful in places where either the direction of the hairs or the colors were off. I need to learn more about how masks work, too. As I play with the tools, more things make sense and become easier.