I am fairly new to Photoshop. I took a photo of my grandson, but I am not happy with the background, I selected the subject and copied it to a white background, but the image looks false, how can I get it to look right in the new background? Thank you.
I agree with Larry…that is a great result for anyone new to Photoshop, well done.
Because you think it could be better, I tried to improve on it as shown in the demo below. I thought the main problem was the solid white background…too flat and featureless, and the stark white is not consistent with the tonal range of the subject. So, to create a different background, I masked out the subject and frame to make the white background transparent, and then I added a new Gradient Fill layer set to radial, at the bottom of the layer stack. I set the radial gradient colors and position to simulate a common photo portrait studio backdrop with a background light pointed at it, behind the subject.
Then I thought maybe the face could also look more spot-lit, to be more consistent with the new background, so I added another Gradient Fill radial layer with lighter tones, clipped to the subject layer, and set its blending mode to Soft Light. This adjustment is more debatable; there might be better solutions than what I did here.
The main point is that I find it useful to “re-light” photos using gradient fill layers. Gradient fills, clipped layers, and layer blending modes are intermediate Photoshop features that need a little study and practice. But the concepts of how to light the background and subject aren’t about Photoshop, they’re about portrait photography in general. For example, you can get ideas for this by looking at portraits of the mid-20th century (like the black-and-white portraits of Hollywood stars), and studying how those photographers lit their subjects and background in camera.
Thank you for your reply, it’s very helpful. I took a number of photos of all my grandchildren but this photo just looks as though it isn’t right, it looks like it has been cut out and not part of the background if that makes sense? The edges of the subject look too sharp I just wanted to help it blend in, I had no problem with the other images, perhaps it’s his hair that makes it not look right, what do you think?
the Camera RAW filter is a one stop shop letting you chanmge multiple aspects of an image. If you hold down the Alt/Opt key while dragging sliders, it will show where they are clipping, and for which channel(s).
Make the layer a Smart Object before you edit it, as you are likely to change your mind and want to fine tune. You can that as many times as you need with a SO.
BTW That is one scary image. I'm going to be having nightmares after seeing this! 😉
In addition to the new background, I'd also suggest using curves/levels or other tonal edits on the extracted image so that it has a wider range of tones, which is part of the current issue as it's too dark and flat.
You did an amazing job, Paul. No matter how many 5-minute tutorials I watch, I still haven't mastered hair.
What sort of background would you like? Simulate a studio backdrop? Scenery?
You already did the hard part, selecting the subject intact. So, select again, cut or copy to a new layer, bring in a new background layer. A few steps left out to let you give feedback.
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