# Photoshop help -cutting out subject



## Destin (Nov 30, 2011)

Okay, so I know the basics of how to cut out a subject. My preferred method uses a combination off all three eraser tools to get the job done (eraser, magic eraser, BG eraser) but that's not really relevent to this, so I'll continue...

I got hung up here:






I'm making a poster of a football player. I got everything around his upper body cut out just fine, just working on below his knees now. I've got like 20 minutes into it so far. But how would you go about making the area around his foot look good? leave a small patch of grass? Tried that but couldn't get it to look good. So... what would you do? I guess I could just cover up his foot with a letter from his name or something in the final poster, but I hate cutting corners like that if I don't have to.


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## Derrel (Nov 30, 2011)

Leave some grass, def! Maybe make a selection, and then clone-in or patch tool-in some grass in that area down by the dark sock, and by the front edge of the foot that is off the ground???


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## Peano (Nov 30, 2011)

All the eraser tools are basically evil. Stay away from them. Use layer masks.


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## Big Mike (Nov 30, 2011)

There are many, many techniques for 'extraction' in Photoshop.  There is even an extraction tool/function.  

One thing I'd suggest is to do it with layer masking, rather than eraser tools.  It makes it much easier to go back & forth between erased/masked and not masked.  

For something like your problem here, I'd look for another photo that didn't have the end of the shoe buried in the grass.  Then use it to recreate the missing bit in this photo.  You might even be able to use the left shoe that is already there.  It might be labor intensive and it may not look perfect, but if it's a tiny bit of the poster...it may be an acceptable solution.  
Or, as you said, keep the grass around the feet.  If a small patch of grass looks bad, then take a larger patch and work it into the design of the poster.


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## Destin (Nov 30, 2011)

Everyone says that. I hate layer masks. The eraser tools are just the way I was taught, and when used properly they work just fine. Here's where I'm at:





I've still got some minor touching up to do around him, but it's close. Now that you can see the whole photo, how much grass should I leave? And in what shape? Maybe just leave grass across the whole bottom of the poster? (I can bring it back easily with the history brush).

Here's the photo before it was touched, in case it matters:


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## Derrel (Nov 30, 2011)

I do not mind the original photo,actually...


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## Big Mike (Nov 30, 2011)

> Everyone says that. I hate layer masks


There is a reason why _everyone_ says that.


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## shootermcgavin (Nov 30, 2011)

Yeah what's wrong with the original that's a great shot.  Did the kid see a nike ad he wants copied or something, tell him that nike ad costs 20k to produce.


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## Buckster (Nov 30, 2011)

First, I'll echo the others and suggest you learn to adopt masking over erasing.  There's a ton of reasons, and they're why everyone's suggesting it to you.

Next, I'm not really sure what your goal is for the gray background, but that's really neither here nor there, so...

You might try something like this to deal with the ground issue:


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## bazooka (Nov 30, 2011)

OooOoOoOoooo, Buckster, I like!  Now swap out the gray with black and you got a sweet poster!


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## KmH (Nov 30, 2011)

Destin said:


> Everyone says that. I hate layer masks. The eraser tools are just the way I was taught, and when used properly they work just fine.


 No they don't, which is why you're having problems, posting your question, and have spent 20 minutes dicking around with them and still haven't accomplished what you wanted to do.

It's possible Peano has forgotten more about Photoshop than you'll likely ever know. I pay close attention when he posts. I recommend you do the same.

Whoever taught you to use the eraser tools instead of how to use masking did you a great dis-service, because using masks is not only more precise, it's a hell of a lot quicker.

You could use the green channel or the Color Range function to select only the grass around the feet. Visit Adobe TV or YouTube and watch some video tutorials. Having some good reference materials handy is always a good idea, if you don't already have some good ones handy (see link below).

You can get rid of all the grass, but the toe of the foot in the grass can't be seen and will also be lost. Copy/clone the toe of the other foot and use the appropriate tools to flip it and orient it so you can put it on the other foot.

Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers: A professional image editor's guide to the creative use of Photoshop for the Macintosh and PC


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## Buckster (Nov 30, 2011)

Here's another take on it, with black background, some added glow based on suit color, and a little drop shadow onto the grass, just for giggles:


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## Peano (Nov 30, 2011)

Destin said:


> Everyone says that. I hate layer masks. The eraser tools are just the way I was taught, and when used properly they work just fine.



That doesn't mean you were taught well. You'd be hard put to find any competent retoucher who uses eraser tools rather than masks. But if you want to stay in a rut ...


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## Destin (Nov 30, 2011)

I'll start start practicing with layer masks. But I'm just used to what I know. 

Buckster, the gray background was just there in a lower layer as I cut it out to make sure I didn't miss anything. I intended for the background to be black on the final product. 

I agree, I love the original shot, however the client saw a photo I did in the past and wanted something similar done for their son. So Im throwing it together for them just because it's a fun project. Obviously they're paying for it.


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## Buckster (Nov 30, 2011)

Destin said:


> I agree, I love the original shot, however the client saw a photo I did in the past and wanted something similar done for their son. So Im throwing it together for them just because it's a fun project. Obviously they're paying for it.


If you do a lot of this type of thing, composites, and you're getting paid for it, you might want to look into Topaz ReMask - Masking Made Easy to save you a lot of time and effort.  I was able to mask your image in about 30 seconds using it.


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## Big Mike (Nov 30, 2011)

Buckster said:


> Destin said:
> 
> 
> > I agree, I love the original shot, however the client saw a photo I did in the past and wanted something similar done for their son. So Im throwing it together for them just because it's a fun project. Obviously they're paying for it.
> ...


It's on sale right now...until the end of the day....30% off.  PM me for coupon code.


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## bianni (Nov 30, 2011)

here is another way. Copy the left shoe and flip it horizontally and with transform align the shoe to the right foot, with layermask, erase the excess grass. select the middle portion with the laces and move it to center it. use the clone tool to fine tune and liquify tool to reshape a bit. merge. clone out the people in the bg


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## Destin (Nov 30, 2011)

bianni said:


> here is another way. Copy the left shoe and flip it horizontally and with transform align the shoe to the right foot, with layermask, erase the excess grass. select the middle portion with the laces and move it to center it. use the clone tool to fine tune and liquify tool to reshape a bit. merge. clone out the people in the bg



Pretty much in love with that. But I'm not even close to that good in photoshop man. lol


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## GooniesNeverSayDie11 (Nov 30, 2011)

You could try taking the other foot but reversing it so you get a mirror image. It may take some cloning and building as well as changing the perspective a bit, but you may be able to get it to work a bit. You can still put the letters of the foot to cover up any sloppy work, but if you still see part of the toes sticking out past the letters, it would look better and would not scream "coverup job" . Of course, this may lead to it looking like crap too. Can't hurt to try though.


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## GooniesNeverSayDie11 (Nov 30, 2011)

whoops, I didn't read all the posts, looks like someone beat me to it.


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## bianni (Nov 30, 2011)

another one.


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## Destin (Nov 30, 2011)

Alright. Took the advice and got topaz remask. Not sure how I ever did any extracting without it. It's freaking incredible.


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## Majeed Badizadegan (Dec 1, 2011)

Bianni and Buckster. Both your second edits are great. And The image itself is great too.


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## Destin (Dec 1, 2011)

Alright guys, here's what I came up with using my sub-par editing skills:






Not a big fan of the font in this case, but the client is, so it's what I went with. How did I do?

EDIT: The more I look at this, the more I wish that I had put him on the right third of the image, so he was looking back into the frame. Oh well....


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## Majeed Badizadegan (Dec 1, 2011)

Destin said:
			
		

> Alright guys, here's what I came up with using my sub-par editing skills:
> 
> Not a big fan of the font in this case, but the client is, so it's what I went with. How did I do?



I don't mind the font for his name but for some reason the vertical Lancers bothers me.. A lot of black space around the font and just looks a bit tacked on. Here is a for-fun project I did recently that is a poster-like image that you might draw some ideas from:






A few suggestions for your image.
 Some sort of school logo as a backdrop...
Create a more appealing backdrop and tie the words in to bring the elements of the image together..
Tie the font in so it is more appealing


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## Majeed Badizadegan (Dec 1, 2011)

Also, get rid of the lancers and get his signature and jersey # in white letters and you could have a winner


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## Destin (Dec 1, 2011)

Rotanimod said:


> Also, get rid of the lancers and get his signature and jersey # in white letters and you could have a winner



Not a bad idea. I'll do some more work on it tomorrow. As for the example you posted, it's amazing. Someday I'll be half that good in photoshop.


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## Majeed Badizadegan (Dec 1, 2011)

Thanks. Good luck! Keep us posted on the final product.


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