Creating better selections...
I'm sure we all hate trying to make a selection that includes flyaway hairs or fur. It can be so annoying to try to get every hair in the selection. For this lesson, I learned how to make selections easily without the normal trouble it might take. Have a look!
THE SUBJECT
The first thing I started with was the subject. I was looking for something fuzzy to challenge myself. I stumbled across this picture of a bee lounging on a flower and I was inspired.
THE BACKGROUND
The next thing I did was find a suitable flower for the bee to sit on. I thought that these flowers looked comfy for an insect. so I downloaded this image.
THE FINAL
Although this was my first attempt at merging two images, I don't think it's atrocious. I used the select subject tool and then painted out everything that I did not want to transfer. Once the selection was made and masked, I used the curves tool to adjust the colors to better fit the background image.
THE SUBJECT
Yet again, I started first with the main focus. I thought that these rocks perched dangerously looked really cool and I wanted to work based off of them.
THE BACKGROUND
Onto the background I went. I found this stunning mountain range picture and decided that some rocks in the foreground might look cool.
THE FINAL
Second attempt down, and it's not too shabby. To make the selection, I first used the quick selection tool. Then I went into select and mask and touched up all of the edges. Once I had masked the image and placed it on the background, I realized that both pictures were to defined and they were clashing big time. So, I added an iris blur effect to make the mountain get more blurry as you get further away. Then I used the curves tool to change the color of the rocks to better fit the background, and VOILÀ.
THE SUBJECT
And again, I started trying to find something cool to work off of. I thought this tree looked cool, and I wondered if I could bury it in the background of another image...
THE BACKGROUND
I found this image and I thought that the other tree would look cool in this image because of its dramatic elements. So I began the process...
THE FINAL
I first used the burn and dodge tools to make a solid selection of the tree. Then once it was masked and placed onto the background I removed all saturation from the tree and bumped up the blue hue. This would make it fit in better with the other trees. Next I decreased the brightness and contrast, but the tree was still too dark. So I turned to the brush tool. I lowered the opacity and the hardness of the brush, sampled the color around the tree, and began to paint lightly over it. This gave it the appearance of distance and mistiness that I was going for!
THE SUBJECT
One last time, I started looking for a worthy subject, and when I saw this majestic picture, I knew it was the one. Now to find the perfect background.
THE BACKGROUND
My task to find a background that would suit the majestic horse was fairly difficult. I tried multiple different background before find this one. This scene felt just as mystical as the original photo. Now to merge them...
THE FINAL
This one was down right fun to make. I used the trick of using the burn and dodge tool to refine the selection. It worked like a CHARM and I was astonished at how good of a selection I got. Once it was masked and placed onto the background, I used Darkness/Contrast and Vibrance to darken up the background and give it more saturation to match the subject better.
LINKS!!
Here are the links to all of the pictures that I used. They were all found on Pixabay.
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1st -
Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/jggrz-7998824/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=7932494">Jürgen</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=7932494">Pixabay</a>
2nd -
Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/nennieinszweidrei-10084616/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=8156446">Annette Meyer</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=8156446">Pixabay</a>
3rd -
Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/chiemseherin-1425977/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=8195026">🌼Christel🌼</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=8195026">Pixabay</a>
4th-
Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/yakupipek-13990135/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=8207212">Yakup Ipek</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=8207212">Pixabay</a>
5th -
Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/noname_13-2364555/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3358468">NoName_13</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3358468">Pixabay</a>
6th -
Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/printeboek-6033538/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2571788">Ina Hoekstra</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2571788">Pixabay</a>
7th -
Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/kudybadorota-6300591/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3551832">Dorota Kudyba</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3551832">Pixabay</a>
8th -
Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/splitshire-364019/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=438432">SplitShire</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=438432">Pixabay</a>
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