Clone out distracting backgrounds in Photoshop (and Elements)

As promised, I want to give you more detailed explanation of some the fixes for bad backgrounds that I mentioned in my last post. In this post I will show you how to get rid of a distracting background.

Let's say that in the photo above we don't like the swingset and the kid on the swing. Maybe instead of the juxtaposition of play and quiet reading, you just want to emphasize the solitary reader. I have to warn you that this kind of fix takes time and that I hate doing it. Consequently, I'm not going to do a pro-worthy retouch, but I'll do enough to give you the idea.

1. Open the document with the distracting background and duplicated the layer (Mac: Command—J or PC: Ctrl—J). You never want to work on the background layer.
2. Select the clone stamp tool (S), and in the top menu bar select a medium-hard brush (at least 50%). Your opacity and flow should be set to 100% and the "Aligned" option should be checked (it's the default setting). Throughout the process you will change the brush size and shape (and possibly opacity) as needed.

You are about to begin the tedious process of cloning. The basic principle is simple: with the clone stamp tool selected you will set a source point and then clone that point wherever you want. Place your cursor in a part of the image you want to copy, hold down Alt and click to set a source point. Now (without holding down alt or anything) you can click anywhere in the image and clone from the source. Try it. Once your source point is set, anywhere you click will be aligned with that point and the surrounding area.

Time for tedium. This is why I hate cloning out things. See that clubhouse and swing set? I am going to set a source point on some nearby greenery and then clone leaves over the distracting parts of the image. It won't look convincing, but for now the main objective is to cover up the swing set with green. If you look at the image below, you will see that I have cloned out the boy's head. Now all I have to do is repeat that process about a hundred times. Ugh! To be fair, the number of times you have to choose new source points and the size of the brush you use vary greatly according to the size of the area you want to cover.

Check out a detail of my sloppy effort to cover the clubhouse:
So much for good bokeh. More careful cloning can get better results, but you will most likely not be happy at the stage.

3. Let's assume you are not a pro retoucher (if you are, I'm flattered that you're reading my tutorial and all, but get back to work). Once you have cloned over your cluttered background, you may want to improve it with a two step touch-up. First, do more cloning to break up unnatural repeated patterns. Next (and Elements users do not have this option), you can select the patch tool (J)—the one above the brush tool that looks like a patch—and smooth out the rough spots. I love the patch tool because you can make really jagged and sloppy selections, drag those selections to a new spot, and presto! thanks to a complex algorithm the source and destination merge into a "healed" final product.
In the image above (click to see it larger), I clicked down and drew a circle around a light area, then dragged it over a not-so-smooth transition to a dark area, and then it created a better transition (not pictured).

I LOVE the patch tool. I use it all the time in portrait retouching (but more on that in another tutorial). The only thing you should watch for is that if you use it too close to something you don't want in the blended mix (for example, near the pink sweater), you will get an unappealing blog (say, a pinkish green leafy blur). There are ways around this, but they are too complex for (read: I am too lazy to write them in) this tutorial.

I used the patch tool until I was sick of it, and was left with a still unconvincing background.

4. Blur to the rescue!
In order to beautify the bokeh, I selected Filter-->Blur-->Gaussian Blur, and dragged the slider until things began to look better:
Now the background has a better blur, but what about the girl?
5. Time for a layer mask. In the layers palette, click the layer mask icon to add a blank white layer mask:

NOTE to Elements users: Photoshop doesn't want you to have access to layers that aren't "Adjustment layers," so you have to do the following cheat:

• add a new adjustment layer such as Levels (we won't actually change the levels, we just want to steal its layer mask). When the dialog box comes up just click OK

• Now copy the photo layer and make an adjustment layer sandwich by dragging your new copy to the top like this:
• Now create a clipping group:

What you have just done (you cheater, you) is make that layer mask in the middle work as a mask for the photo above it.
Now you can go back to following the Photoshop directions.

6. Time to mask out the blur where we don't want it. Select the brush tool (b) and then use a medium hard round brush at 100% opacity with your foreground color set to black (the squares at the bottom of the left toolbar should show black in front and white in back. If they have another color, just hit "d" to return to default.) Because the layer mask is white, you will be painting out the blur filter wherever you paint black. You can toggle between black and white by hitting "x" (if you want to add blur back in somewhere, for example).

Three helpful hints:

• As you mask out the blur, you can use the right and left bracket keys to increase (right) or decrease (left) the size of the brush. Hold the shift key and use the bracket keys to make the brush harder (right) and softer (left).
• Use a soft brush wherever you want a smoother transition between sharpness and blur
• Hit the backslash key (\)to check your progress (This is called a "quick mask." See image below). Hit it again to return to normal view.

Anywhere you see red is where I have painted on black. You can leave it in quick mask mode as you paint. If the switch to quick mask mode has also switched from black to white (or vice versa), just hit "x" to get the color you want. You will have to watch out for that when switching between quick mask and normal view.

One last hint:

• As you paint blur in or out, experiment with different opacities on transitional areas. Thanks to the mask, you can even experiment with that selective blur look that has been popular for a while now.

Finally, we're done. It was a lot of work, wasn't it? The whole thing would have been easier if the picture had been right from the start. But sometimes we don't think ahead, so it's good to know how to fix an image.

Here is the "before" image:
And here is the "after" (I warmed it up a little as well—see my "adjust tone and color" post):

The hidden power of Photoshop brush tool

In this micro tutorial, I will describe my favorite features of Adobe Photoshop Brush tool. To learn all features, you can simply open Brush palette (Window menu - Brushes), change each setting and try the result when you draw a stroke. The first setting is Tip Shape. You can choose from pre-loaded shapes or you can create your own... more on that later!

 

Brush Tip Shape has one interesting setting: Spacing. It is usually around 20-25% but when you set it larger than 100-150% you will get very different result.

 

Using Shape Dynamics checkbox, you can randomize sizes and angles of brush dots.

 

Using Scattering, you can randomize locations of brush dots - as you draw a straight stroke, dots are added randomly around your mouse.

 

You can use Count setting to control amount of dots.

 

Dual Brush is very interesting feature, which will get you very different results depending on which brush and which mode you choose. Compare the two lines on this screenshot - first line made with simple brush, second - with Dual Brush enabled.

 

You can use Color Dynamics to randomize (or fade, or control with tablet pen) brush color. I do not use this often, though :-)

 

 

Wet Edges is simple and self-explanatory feature :-)

 

The most exciting thing is that you can easily create your own brush. Let's make a star brush for example. Create new image with transparent background (square for our star). Set foreground color to Black, switch to Shape tool (U), select Polygon tool on toolbar, open Polygon options, check Star checkbox, set Indent sides = around 90%, and sides = 4.

 

Draw a shape, rasterize it (Layer - Rasterize - Shape). Select all (Ctrl-A).

 

Go to Edit menu - Define Brush preset. Choose name for new brush, click OK.

 

Now, when you open Brushes palette window (from Window menu), you can see your new brush in Brush Tip Shape list.

 

Now you can enable and adjust Size Jitter, Scattering and Color Jitter, and with single mouse move, get result such as this!

 

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Another example - I took the shape of snow flake, created brush preset from it. With Size Jitter, Scattering and Color Jitter, this is what single brush stroke looks like.

 

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And another example - heart-shaped brush. Again, this screenshot made with only one brush move!

 

Realistic Shadow Effect In Photoshop

photoshop's Drop Shadow layer style may be great for adding simple shadows to images or text, making them look as if they're floating slightly above their background, but when it comes to creating more realistic looking shadows of people or objects, the standard Drop Shadow just doesn't cut it. In this tutorial, we'll learn an easy way to create a realistic cast shadow effect!

 TUTORIAL DETAILS

• Program: Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended
• Difficulty: Beginner
• Estimated Completion Time:  20min
• By Rahul ,rays and hues kottaym

  

final Product What You'll Be Creating

Here's the photo I'll be using for this tutorial:

Here's how it will look with the shadow applied:

Let's get started!

Step 1: Select The Person Or Object

Before we can add a shadow to someone, we first need to select them. Using the selection tool of your choice (Lasso Tool, Quick Selection Tool, Pen Tool, etc.), draw a selection around the person (or object) in the photo. When you're done, you should see a selection outline around them. Here, I've selected the girl:

Select the person or object in the photo.

Step 2: Copy The Selection To A New Layer

With the person or object selected, press Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac) on your keyboard to quickly copy the selection to a new layer. Nothing will happen in the document window, but if we look in the Layers panel, we see that Photoshop has copied the selection to a new layer named "Layer 1" above the Background layer

This tells Photoshop not only to add a new layer to the document as it normally would, but to add the new layer below the currently selected layer (Layer 1), which places it between Layer 1 and the Background layer:

The new layer appears between the original two layers.

Step 5: Draw A Gradient On The New Layer

Let's create a new background for the effect using a gradient, which will give it a little depth. Click on the Foreground color swatch near the bottom of the Tools panel. By default, it should be showing black:

This opens Photoshop's Color Picker where we can choose a new Foreground color. Choose a light gray. If you want to use the same shade of gray that I'm using, enter 70% for the B value (B stands for Brightness) on the right. Click OK when you're done to close out of the Color Picker:

Set the Brightness (B) value to 70% for a light gray. H (Hue) and S (Saturation) should remain at 0%.Next, select the Gradient Tool from the Tools panel. We'll be using the Gradient Tool a few times for this effect:

Select the Gradient Tool.

With the Gradient Tool active, right-click (Win) / Control-click (Mac) anywhere inside the document window to quickly bring up the Gradient Picker, and make sure you have the very first gradient - Foreground to Background - selected by clicking on its thumbnail (first one on the left, top row). Press Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) when you're done to close out of the Gradient Picker:

Select the Foreground to Background gradient.

Then, click near the bottom of the document, hold down your Shift key and drag straight up until you're just above the horizontal center of the image. Holding the Shift key as you drag constrains your movements, making it easier to drag vertically:

Drag out the transition area for the gray to white gradient.

Release your mouse button and Photoshop draws the gradient, which becomes the new background for the image:

The subtle gradient adds a bit of depth to the image.

Step 6: Add A New Layer Above The Gradient

Click once again on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel (no need to hold the Shift key down this time):

Click again on the New Layer icon.

A new blank layer appears above the gradient layer:

Layer 3 appears above the gradient.

Step 7: Load A Selection Around The Person Or Object

Hold down your Ctrl (Win) / Command (Mac) key and click directly on the top layer's preview thumbnail in the Layers panel. Don't select the layer, just click on its thumbnail:

Hold down Ctrl (Win) / Command (Mac) and click on Layer 1's preview thumbnail.

This instantly loads a selection around the contents of the layer. Here, we can see that the girl in my photo is now selected:

A selection outline appears around the person or object that we first selected back in Step 1.

Step 8: Fill The Selection With Black

Go up to the Edit menu at the top of the screen and choose Fill:

Go to Edit > Fill.

When the Fill dialog box appears, change the Use option at the top to Black, then click OK to close out of the dialog box:

Set Use to Black, then click OK.

This fills the selection with black. We can't see it just yet in the document window because the image on Layer 1 is blocking it from view, but we can see it in the layer's preview thumbnail in the Layers panel:

We can see the contents of a layer in its preview thumbnail even when we can't see it in the document window.

Step 9: Distort The Shadow Into Position

The area we just filled with black will become our shadow. First, we need to reshape it and move it into position, and we can do that using Photoshop's Distort command. Go up to the Edit menu, choose Transform, and then choose Distort:

Go to Edit > Transform > Distort.

Reshape the black-filled area by clicking on the top transform handle and dragging it down diagonally, either left or right (depending on your image), until it looks more like the person or object's shadow:

Drag the top transform handle to distort the shadow into shape.

You may also need to fix the bottom part of the shadow by dragging the bottom corner handles. In my case, the bottom of the shadow didn't quite line up with the girl's shoes, so I dragged the bottom right transform handle up and to the right until everything looked good:

Drag the bottom corner handles if needed so the bottom of the shadow lines up with the person or object.

When you're done, press Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) to accept the transformation and exit out of the Distort command. Your shadow should now look something like this:

The initial shape of the shadow is now in place.

Step 10: Apply A Slight Blur

The edges of the shadow look a little too crisp and sharp, so let's apply a slight blur to it. Go up to the Filter menu, choose Blur, then choose Gaussian Blur:

Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur.

This opens the Gaussian Blur dialog box. Increase the Radius to around 1.5 pixels for a very subtle blur effect, then click OK to exit out of the dialog box. The edges of the shadow will appear softer:

A Radius value of around 1.5 pixels is all we need for starters.

Step 11: Use Quick Mask Mode To Gradually Select The Shadow

For a shadow to look realistic, the edges need to become gradually softer the further away it extends from the subject. To create this gradual blurring effect, we'll again turn to the Gaussian Blur filter, but first, we'll create a selection using Photoshop's Quick Mask mode.

Select the Gradient Tool once again from the Tools panel, then press the letter D on your keyboard to reset Photoshop's Foreground and Background colors to their defaults (black will be the Foreground color, white the Background color). Then, press the letter Q on your keyboard to switch into Quick Mask mode. Nothing will seem different in the document window just yet. With the Gradient Tool active, click near the bottom of the shadow and drag diagonally to the top, like so:

Drag out a diagonal gradient from the bottom to the top of the shadow.

Release your mouse button at the top of the shadow, and a red to transparent Quick Mask overlay appears across the image. The transparent part at the top of the shadow represents the area that is fully selected. The red at the bottom of the shadow is not selected at all, while the area in between becomes more and more selected as the red color gradually fades into transparency:

As the color fades from red to transparent, the area becomes gradually more selected.

Press the letter Q on your keyboard to exit out of Quick Mask mode and back into normal mode. The red to transparent Quick Mask overlay will be replaced with a standard looking selection outline that seems to do nothing more than divide the shadow in half, with only the top half selected. This is just an unfortunate illusion on Photoshop's part. Photoshop can only display selection outlines around pixels that are at least 50% selected. So while it looks like we haven't really accomplished anything here, that Gaussian Blur filter is about to prove otherwise:

Photoshop can't accurately display selection outlines around pixels that are only partially selected.

Step 12: Apply The Gaussian Blur Filter Again

Since the Gaussian Blur filter was the last filter we used, we can quickly bring it back up by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F (Win) /Command+Option+F (Mac) on the keyboard. This time, when the dialog box appears, increase the Radius value to around 10 pixels, then click OK to exit out of it:

Increase the Radius value to 10 pixels or so.

Press Ctrl+D (Win) / Command+D (Mac) to remove the selection outline, and we see in the document that the edges of the shadow now appear gradually softer from bottom to top:

The shadow edges now look more realistic.

Step 13: Add A Layer Mask

The shadow needs to fade out as it moves further from the subject, which is easy to do using a layer mask. Click on theLayer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. A white-filled layer mask thumbnail will appear to the right of the shadow layer's preview thumbnail:

A layer mask thumbnail appears after clicking the Layer Mask icon.

Step 14: Set The Foreground Color To A Dark Gray

We don't want the shadow to fade out completely, so click on the Background color swatch in the Tools panel, which should currently be black (the default Foreground and Background colors are reversed when a layer mask is selected):

Click on the Background color swatch (the one in the lower right).

When the Color Picker appears, choose a dark gray by setting the B (Brightness) value to 30%. Leave the H (Hue) and S (Saturation) options set to 0%. Click OK when you're done to close out of the Color Picker:

Choose a dark gray for the Background color.

Step 15: Draw A Gradient Across The Shadow On The Layer Mask

Then, with the Gradient Tool selected, click once again near the bottom of the shadow and drag diagonally upward to the top, just as we did a moment ago when in Quick Mask mode. The difference here is that we're drawing the gradient on the layer mask:

Draw a white to dark gray gradient from the bottom to the top of the shadow.

Release your mouse button at the top of the shadow. Since we drew the gradient on the layer mask, not on the image itself, we don't actually see the gradient in the document. Instead, we see the effect of the gradient on the layer mask, with the shadow now gradually fading as it moves away from the subject:

The shadow now gradually fades away.

tep 16: Lower The Opacity Of The Shadow

As a final step, let's lower the opacity of the shadow so it doesn't appear quite so dark near the subject (since shadows are always somewhat transparent). You'll find the Opacity option in the top right corner of the Layers panel. Lower it slightly to around 85%:

Lower the shadow layer's opacity to 85%.

And with that, we're done! Here's the final "cast shadow" effect:

Final Product

 

thanks