Ugly Hedgehog Newsletter

Hello...I'm Beverly & I enjoyed taking pictures..I would like to start a studio at my house..My question is..What is the best software to use for change the backgrounds for all occasions?

Thanks.

Johnny Loc: Shreveport, La

Just wondering what i could do with some shots i got of some cool pics while cutting out the pic taker as he may not be dressed appropriately for the occasion. I might add there is no dress code around these parts at least thats what I tell my wife. Now now now I'm not saying thats its me although there could possibly be a slight resemblance. Your help in solving this minor mattor would bo greatly appreciated. :oops: you know sometimes with the circumstances before you you only have time to grab the camera and run...

chauncey Loc: Rochester, Mi

This is rather an involved response and not to be a smart a$$...it depends. Depends if you always shoot in RAW format, if your willing to invest the time required to learn the software as making quality selections in a rather involved process.
The creme de la creme photo software out there is Photoshop CS5...unfortunately it has a learning curve, based on my experience, that is measured in years.

Ol' Don Loc: Hohenwald,Tennessee

Mornin',

This is something I enjoy playing around with for my own entertainment. I used Corel Photo Paint X5 though I just purchased Photoshop CS5 and like Chauncey said, it has quite a learning curve. There are some great teaching aids on Lynda.com for CS5 and many software programs if your interested.

My efforts... Take a basic photo, add another figure, change the backgrounds. This was done using the clone tool to transfer the subject from one image to another photo.

Ol' Don Loc: Hohenwald,Tennessee

Ooops... (don't try to post things when you're half asleep :mrgreen: )

PhotoArtsLA Loc: Boynton Beach

Shoot green screen. Use Photoshop and Digital Anarchy's Primatte plugin. The latest Primatte is almost automatic.

You usually have a little bit of work after using Primatte, mainly using the eraser, burn, and dodge tools.

Remember, universal focus is not usually possible, except in ultra wide angle photography, and so backgrounds, however you like the view, should either be shot out of focus, or put out of focus in Photoshop with the lens blur tool.

I have attached a couple of photos shot in this manner. As to how good it is, I have them as 24x36 prints on my wall. Nobody has figured out the technique. It all looks real.

My Daylight Studio. Green Screen. Custom Shot Background.


Strobe Studio, Green Screen. Another Custom Background.

henrycrafter Loc: Orem Utah

I have been using photoshop7 for years and I reallyknow the program.
Masking is my best friend in what you are describing

Deer in California-river in Arizona

marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

I use a program called Green Screen Wizard Pro. It costs $199 but is well worth it. In GSW choose any portrait with a green screen backdrop, choose any TIFF or JPG background you want from background collections that are readily available (or take your own if you live in a scenic place), and they combine automatically with hardly any retouching necessary.

Even if a little green shows through hair or thin material, there are easy tools to swipe that away in bulk without any tedious detail work. You can "scale" (enlarge or reduce) your subject or background to get the combination you want. You can adjust the exposure, contrast, brightness, color saturation, coolness, warmness, blur, sharpness, and many other characteristics of the foreground or background separately. When it is what you want, just save it and you're done.

Personally, I edit the green screen shot with PhotoShop and Portrait Professional v10 before I save it and put it into GSW then there is less to be done to the finished product.

You can even have a file folder full of backgrounds, let's say 10 or 12, and you click on "Pick" background. The software will create a page of thumbnails of your subject on each of the 10 or 12 backgrounds. Those can be shown to your customer and they can pick which background(s) they like, then you pick one at a time and fine tune the combination to an excellent result. Or you can have a file folder full of 10 or 20 subject foregrounds and the software will create thumbnails of all of them on the same background by using "pick" foreground. You can sandwich your subjects by using, let's say, a background, and a crystal ball foreground that makes your subject look like they are inside the ball.

GSW has been reviewed as being the easiest to use and most accurate green screen software. You can download a free trial version to mess around with but it puts a watermark over your final product so you don't want to print it and you can't save your finished products until you buy it. Try it and you'll be hooked!

There's also a little more costly version you can use at events. Let's say it's a convention and you want everybody who attended to have a picture with the same background and the same words overlaid (maybe date or convention title). You want to take the shots and hand them a print as fast as possible. You can tether your camera to your laptop and as the subjects are shot and come into a specified file folder, the GSW software automatically blends subject and background then prints without you doing anything else. Somebody can sit there and be sure the printer doesn't run out of paper and hand the prints to the right people while you shoot. It's a form of mass production that is meant for speed instead of creativity but GSW is so good at what it does that once it is set up you can feel confident that there won't be any green slipping through on any of the bulk shots you take.

As you can see, I'm quite happy with it and recommend it highly.

My only hot model - my wife!

marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

I just now could get my breath... You lucky b*ast*rd being surrounded with this scenery anytime you want. And I don't mean the backgrounds! :thumbup: