Help with editing this picture

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:57:03 -0000, "SS"
wrote:

I am happy enough with the scissor picture but would like to make the background white.
Link below.
How can I do this? I tried with layers but got messed up with not knowing what I am doing.
I could use the polygonal lasso but this takes ages and I have several similar to do.

Help appreciated.
thanks

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h194/scudo/AA%20Dates/Copy ofSupra.jpg

You are approaching this from the wrong direction. You’ve created a problem with your photographs that makes the solution very complex. What you want to do is knock out the current background and insert a layer filled with white under that. That takes you where you want to be.

Your problem is that your photograph is very poorly lighted and the scissor color is too near the background color. There are shadows and tonal difference in the background. That makes the easy solutions of using the Magic Wand or the Background Eraser impossible because any tolerance setting will take too much or too little.

You are left with making a Selection of the scissors with a Layer Mask, Quick Mask, Pen Tool, etc. and knocking out everything except the Selection. Then your white-filled layer will show through. That’s a tedious process with several images.

Instead of using white paper, use a colored construction paper* background. Use green or blue or red so there is a pronounced difference of color between the scissors and the background. Then you can use the Magic Wand or the Background eraser to knock out the color and let the white-filled background layer show through. Use a medium-dark shade of color minimize shadows. Not too dark, though, because you have shadows on the rounded scissor handles.

There are other photographic techniques, like using a gray card in the image where you can use Curves, but I don’t get the impression that you are up to this. Go for the simple solutions.

Take the tags off before you photograph. If you want to put identification or price in the image, do it with a type layer.

Rather than do photographs of all the items, take a photograph of one item on different backgrounds. Determine which background allows you to do the knock-out easiest, and then shoot the group of item.

* Get a smooth paper and not a grainy paper. If there’s an art or crafts store nearby, pick up a piece of foam board with a blue side. I’ve used that for photographing sterling silver and it works well.

—
Tony Cooper – Orlando, Florida

"tony cooper" wrote in message

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:57:03 -0000, "SS"
wrote:

I am happy enough with the scissor picture but would like to make the background white.
Link below.
How can I do this? I tried with layers but got messed up with not knowing what I am doing.
I could use the polygonal lasso but this takes ages and I have several similar to do.

Help appreciated.
thanks

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h194/scudo/AA%20Dates/Copy ofSupra.jpg

You are approaching this from the wrong direction. You’ve created a problem with your photographs that makes the solution very complex. What you want to do is knock out the current background and insert a layer filled with white under that. That takes you where you want to be.

Your problem is that your photograph is very poorly lighted and the scissor color is too near the background color. There are shadows and tonal difference in the background. That makes the easy solutions of using the Magic Wand or the Background Eraser impossible because any tolerance setting will take too much or too little.

You are left with making a Selection of the scissors with a Layer Mask, Quick Mask, Pen Tool, etc. and knocking out everything except the Selection. Then your white-filled layer will show through. That’s a tedious process with several images.

Instead of using white paper, use a colored construction paper* background. Use green or blue or red so there is a pronounced difference of color between the scissors and the background. Then you can use the Magic Wand or the Background eraser to knock out the color and let the white-filled background layer show through. Use a medium-dark shade of color minimize shadows. Not too dark, though, because you have shadows on the rounded scissor handles.
There are other photographic techniques, like using a gray card in the image where you can use Curves, but I don’t get the impression that you are up to this. Go for the simple solutions.

Take the tags off before you photograph. If you want to put identification or price in the image, do it with a type layer.
Rather than do photographs of all the items, take a photograph of one item on different backgrounds. Determine which background allows you to do the knock-out easiest, and then shoot the group of item.
* Get a smooth paper and not a grainy paper. If there’s an art or crafts store nearby, pick up a piece of foam board with a blue side. I’ve used that for photographing sterling silver and it works well.

Or another solution would be to get some white opaque perspex. Set that up with a light shining uo from below, and place your scissors on that.
Now light them from above as you did for the picture you posted, and take a correctly white-balanced image.
If you set up your underlight and white balance correctly, it should just take a slight tweak on the curves to make the background appear completely white.

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:57:03 -0000, "SS" wrote:

I am happy enough with the scissor picture but would like to make the background white.
Link below.
How can I do this? I tried with layers but got messed up with not knowing what I am doing.
I could use the polygonal lasso but this takes ages and I have several similar to do.

Help appreciated.
thanks

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h194/scudo/AA%20Dates/Copy ofSupra.jpg

depending on version of CS, cs4 has a smart lasso, cs3 almost smart lasso. CS magnetic lasso’s are very good. If you don’t have magnetic lasso, I can’t help you.. My PS collection doesn’t go back that far.
then again there’s ‘select range’ and just select the stuff that aren’t scissors. There’s a percentage option 0-100%

"SS" wrote:

I am happy enough with the scissor picture but would like to make the background white.
Link below.
How can I do this? I tried with layers but got messed up with not knowing what I am doing.
I could use the polygonal lasso but this takes ages and I have several similar to do.

Help appreciated.
thanks

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h194/scudo/AA%20Dates/Copy ofSupra.jpg

1. Get your camera ready.

2. Put the scissor on a white background, and plenty of lights around so no shadow. If you do this often then make a special BOX

3. Then snap another photo.

That’s it! It’s possible to to brighten the background but not easy, or retaken is much easier. Because some of the background color is same or so close to the foreground which may requires mutiple techniques, so I think retaken is a better Photoshop.

Or not worth the trouble.

SS wrote:

I am happy enough with the scissor picture but would like to make the background white.
Link below.
How can I do this? I tried with layers but got messed up with not knowing what I am doing.
I could use the polygonal lasso but this takes ages and I have several similar to do.

Help appreciated.
thanks

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h194/scudo/AA%20Dates/Copy ofSupra.jpg

Remove the tag. Rephotograph. It will save you tons of time.

"John J" wrote in message

SS wrote:

I am happy enough with the scissor picture but would like to make the background white.
Link below.
How can I do this? I tried with layers but got messed up with not knowing what I am doing.
I could use the polygonal lasso but this takes ages and I have several similar to do.

Help appreciated.
thanks

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h194/scudo/AA%20Dates/Copy ofSupra.jpg

Remove the tag. Rephotograph. It will save you tons of time.

Thanks to all for the replies that should be helpful.
Will give another go today.

I am happy enough with the scissor picture but would like to make the background white.
Link below.
How can I do this? I tried with layers but got messed up with not knowing what I am doing.
I could use the polygonal lasso but this takes ages and I have several similar to do.

Help appreciated.
thanks

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h194/scudo/AA%20Dates/Copy ofSupra.jpg

this is a perfect kandidate for the pen tool.
Do a google search for "pen tool tutorial"
It’s impossible to explain everything here (and you need everything!) It comes with a learning curve and lot’s of practice, but you get great results.
Personally, if possible I’d reshoot them with more light, it will take less time than
correcting them in PS and they will look much better.

"Fred" wrote:

I am happy enough with the scissor picture but would like to make the background white.
Link below.
How can I do this? I tried with layers but got messed up with not knowing what I am doing.
I could use the polygonal lasso but this takes ages and I have several similar to do.

Help appreciated.
thanks

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h194/scudo/AA%20Dates/Copy ofSupra.jpg

this is a perfect kandidate for the pen tool.
Do a google search for "pen tool tutorial"
It’s impossible to explain everything here (and you need everything!) It comes with a learning curve and lot’s of practice, but you get great results.
Personally, if possible I’d reshoot them with more light, it will take less time than
correcting them in PS and they will look much better.

Neah! Pen tool and most of the best masking plug-in may be able to extract the subject to *impress* some newbie or a small print (like 4×6 if no one cares about the edge), but not for professional use or large print.

And I too agree retaken the photo is a much better Photoshop skill.

"Joel" wrote in message

"Fred" wrote:

I am happy enough with the scissor picture but would like to make the background white.
Link below.
How can I do this? I tried with layers but got messed up with not knowing
what I am doing.
I could use the polygonal lasso but this takes ages and I have several similar to do.

Help appreciated.
thanks

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h194/scudo/AA%20Dates/Copy ofSupra.jpg

this is a perfect kandidate for the pen tool.
Do a google search for "pen tool tutorial"
It’s impossible to explain everything here (and you need everything!) It comes with a learning curve and lot’s of practice, but you get great results.
Personally, if possible I’d reshoot them with more light, it will take less
time than
correcting them in PS and they will look much better.

Neah! Pen tool and most of the best masking plug-in may be able to extract the subject to *impress* some newbie or a small print (like 4×6 if no one cares about the edge), but not for professional use or large print.
And I too agree retaken the photo is a much better Photoshop skill.

I eventually retook the pictures and after trial & error the best solution appeared to be a grayish background using natural light (it was sunny) with a piece of white paper to diffuse it and then using flash, I used the camera at a certain angle to stop the `metal glint` bouncing back, I also used some white paper to reflect the flash from the back to eliminate some shadows.

At least in my mind thats how I think I have done it 🙂 Anyhow it has been much easier to get a decent result in PS now.
The pen tool was not too good as the subject is scissors and I needed a (excuse the pun) A really sharp edge to reflect the quality. (they are

"Joel" wrote in message

"Fred" wrote:

I am happy enough with the scissor picture but would like to make the background white.
Link below.
How can I do this? I tried with layers but got messed up with not knowing
what I am doing.
I could use the polygonal lasso but this takes ages and I have several similar to do.

Help appreciated.
thanks

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h194/scudo/AA%20Dates/Copy ofSupra.jpg

this is a perfect kandidate for the pen tool.
Do a google search for "pen tool tutorial"
It’s impossible to explain everything here (and you need everything!) It comes with a learning curve and lot’s of practice, but you get great results.
Personally, if possible I’d reshoot them with more light, it will take less
time than
correcting them in PS and they will look much better.

Neah! Pen tool and most of the best masking plug-in may be able to extract the subject to *impress* some newbie or a small print (like 4×6 if no one cares about the edge), but not for professional use or large print.

The pen tool and lots of patience is the single most accurate way to create a mask.
That means it’s ideal for large scale and profesional work.

And I too agree retaken the photo is a much better Photoshop skill.

On this we agree.

Get off your ass and remake the photograph.

"SS" wrote:

"Joel" wrote in message

"Fred" wrote:

I am happy enough with the scissor picture but would like to make the background white.
Link below.
How can I do this? I tried with layers but got messed up with not knowing
what I am doing.
I could use the polygonal lasso but this takes ages and I have several similar to do.

Help appreciated.
thanks

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h194/scudo/AA%20Dates/Copy ofSupra.jpg

this is a perfect kandidate for the pen tool.
Do a google search for "pen tool tutorial"
It’s impossible to explain everything here (and you need everything!) It comes with a learning curve and lot’s of practice, but you get great results.
Personally, if possible I’d reshoot them with more light, it will take less
time than
correcting them in PS and they will look much better.

Neah! Pen tool and most of the best masking plug-in may be able to extract the subject to *impress* some newbie or a small print (like 4×6 if no one cares about the edge), but not for professional use or large print.
And I too agree retaken the photo is a much better Photoshop skill.

I eventually retook the pictures and after trial & error the best solution appeared to be a grayish background using natural light (it was sunny) with a piece of white paper to diffuse it and then using flash, I used the camera at a certain angle to stop the `metal glint` bouncing back, I also used some white paper to reflect the flash from the back to eliminate some shadows.
At least in my mind thats how I think I have done it 🙂 Anyhow it has been much easier to get a decent result in PS now.
The pen tool was not too good as the subject is scissors and I needed a (excuse the pun) A really sharp edge to reflect the quality. (they are £100+ a set.)

So thanks again for the input guys.

Using flash may not be a good idea to deal with small especially shinny object like the scissor. Or it may work but not the best way.

And as I have suggested to have several lights sources around the scissor, then photograph without flash may do. If you wanna take outdoor using sun-light, then you can always use some mirrors (or shinny object) to bounce the sun back to the scissor.

If you can get the background whiter then you can just use LEVEL to adjust the background to white (or whiter). And depending on the level of bright background, and you using the combination of Dodge/Burn to darken/brigher then foreground/background.

Of course you can use Masking Tool but may need it, and all the commands I mention often easier and quicker than Pen Tool (if you know how of course).

"Sam" wrote:

"Joel" wrote in message

"Fred" wrote:

I am happy enough with the scissor picture but would like to make the background white.
Link below.
How can I do this? I tried with layers but got messed up with not knowing
what I am doing.
I could use the polygonal lasso but this takes ages and I have several similar to do.

Help appreciated.
thanks

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h194/scudo/AA%20Dates/Copy ofSupra.jpg

this is a perfect kandidate for the pen tool.
Do a google search for "pen tool tutorial"
It’s impossible to explain everything here (and you need everything!) It comes with a learning curve and lot’s of practice, but you get great results.
Personally, if possible I’d reshoot them with more light, it will take less
time than
correcting them in PS and they will look much better.

Neah! Pen tool and most of the best masking plug-in may be able to extract the subject to *impress* some newbie or a small print (like 4×6 if no one cares about the edge), but not for professional use or large print.

The pen tool and lots of patience is the single most accurate way to create a mask.
That means it’s ideal for large scale and profesional work.

The problem that the Pen Tool may leave some error around the edge, and even with Feather #’s it may not give a good blending. Other than that I do agree that Pen Tool is a very good tool.

And I too agree retaken the photo is a much better Photoshop skill.

On this we agree.

Joel wrote:
[… snip more sittin’ in your ass instead of doing…]

I swear that PS is responsible for more photographic incompetence than anything in history.

On Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:17:21 -0600, John J wrote:

I swear that PS is responsible for more photographic incompetence than anything in history.

Not even close, LOL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownie_(camera)
—
Mike Russell – http://www.curvemeister.com

I eventually retook the pictures and after trial & error the best solution appeared to be a grayish background using natural light (it was sunny) with a piece of white paper to diffuse it and then using flash, I used the camera at a certain angle to stop the `metal glint` bouncing back, I also used some white paper to reflect the flash from the back to eliminate some shadows.

At least in my mind thats how I think I have done it 🙂 Anyhow it has been much easier to get a decent result in PS now.
The pen tool was not too good as the subject is scissors and I needed a (excuse the pun) A really sharp edge to reflect the quality. (they are £100+ a set.)

So thanks again for the input guys.

The sharp edge was the reason I suggested the pen tool.
Glad it worked out for you.

"Fred" wrote:

I eventually retook the pictures and after trial & error the best solution appeared to be a grayish background using natural light (it was sunny) with a piece of white paper to diffuse it and then using flash, I used the camera at a certain angle to stop the `metal glint` bouncing back, I also used some white paper to reflect the flash from the back to eliminate some shadows.

At least in my mind thats how I think I have done it 🙂 Anyhow it has been much easier to get a decent result in PS now.
The pen tool was not too good as the subject is scissors and I needed a (excuse the pun) A really sharp edge to reflect the quality. (they are £100+ a set.)

So thanks again for the input guys.

The sharp edge was the reason I suggested the pen tool.
Glad it worked out for you.

I do not mean to against your opinion, but to me sharp edge is one of the things I don’t like. Cuz when you blow it up then you will see the problem between foreground and background.

Or I usually work on detail portrait for printing, so Pen Tool is one of the tools I never use (even I know it’s a very powerful tool for selecting). Same with Sharpen, I never sharpen the whole image or usually just the eyes (and may be the lip and few other small part but never the whole photo). Or I almost never retouch image not in top rate (anything below average I may turn into art just for fun).

"Joel" wrote in message

"SS" wrote:

"Joel" wrote in message

"Fred" wrote:

I am happy enough with the scissor picture but would like to make the
background white.
Link below.
How can I do this? I tried with layers but got messed up with not knowing
what I am doing.
I could use the polygonal lasso but this takes ages and I have several
similar to do.

Help appreciated.
thanks

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h194/scudo/AA%20Dates/Copy ofSupra.jpg

this is a perfect kandidate for the pen tool.
Do a google search for "pen tool tutorial"
It’s impossible to explain everything here (and you need everything!) It comes with a learning curve and lot’s of practice, but you get great
results.
Personally, if possible I’d reshoot them with more light, it will take less
time than
correcting them in PS and they will look much better.

Neah! Pen tool and most of the best masking plug-in may be able to extract
the subject to *impress* some newbie or a small print (like 4×6 if no one
cares about the edge), but not for professional use or large print.
And I too agree retaken the photo is a much better Photoshop skill.

I eventually retook the pictures and after trial & error the best solution
appeared to be a grayish background using natural light (it was sunny) with
a piece of white paper to diffuse it and then using flash, I used the camera
at a certain angle to stop the `metal glint` bouncing back, I also used some
white paper to reflect the flash from the back to eliminate some shadows.
At least in my mind thats how I think I have done it 🙂 Anyhow it has been
much easier to get a decent result in PS now.
The pen tool was not too good as the subject is scissors and I needed a (excuse the pun) A really sharp edge to reflect the quality. (they are

The sharp edge was the reason I suggested the pen tool.
Glad it worked out for you.

I do not mean to against your opinion, but to me sharp edge is one of the things I don’t like. Cuz when you blow it up then you will see the problem
between foreground and background.

That’s usually my opinion too. But scissors also have very straight edges and
the sharpness adds to the picture + every little impurity is gone. It’s a product shot. (or could be, and I approach it that way)

Or I usually work on detail portrait for printing, so Pen Tool is one of the tools I never use (even I know it’s a very powerful tool for selecting).
Same with Sharpen, I never sharpen the whole image or usually just the eyes
(and may be the lip and few other small part but never the whole photo). Or
I almost never retouch image not in top rate (anything below average I may turn into art just for fun).

It took me a long time to get comfortable with the pen tool. By learning how to use it, I discovered the things that are the backbone of Photoshop: selections, masks, vectormasks, channels, paths… So, you can feather the mask you make of your selection which you made of your path.
Put it in a channel and you have it saved.
You can do the same with the vector mask. And feather it in CS4! Or you can edit your selection in quickmask mode.
It’s amazing what a few keyboard shortcuts can do with the pen tool and now it’s fun to play with.
Sharpening is different for every image anyhow and is not the same as a sharp edge.

"Fred" wrote:

The sharp edge was the reason I suggested the pen tool.
Glad it worked out for you.

I do not mean to against your opinion, but to me sharp edge is one of the things I don’t like. Cuz when you blow it up then you will see the problem
between foreground and background.

That’s usually my opinion too. But scissors also have very straight edges and
the sharpness adds to the picture + every little impurity is gone. It’s a product shot. (or could be, and I approach it that way)

Even I don’t use Pen Tool but know Pen Tool can do super well on the curve too. And I wish I knew the Pen Tool when I first started using Photoshop as I had hardtime with the Magic Wand and Lasso Tool etc.. which I gave up to learn different technique.

Or I usually work on detail portrait for printing, so Pen Tool is one of the tools I never use (even I know it’s a very powerful tool for selecting). Same with Sharpen, I never sharpen the whole image or usually just the eyes (and may be the lip and few other small part but never the whole photo). Or I almost never retouch image not in top rate (anything below average I may turn into art just for fun).

It took me a long time to get comfortable with the pen tool. By learning how to use it, I discovered the things that are the backbone of Photoshop: selections, masks, vectormasks, channels, paths… So, you can feather the mask you make of your selection which you made of your path.
Put it in a channel and you have it saved.
You can do the same with the vector mask. And feather it in CS4! Or you can edit your selection in quickmask mode.
It’s amazing what a few keyboard shortcuts can do with the pen tool and now it’s fun to play with.
Sharpening is different for every image anyhow and is not the same as a sharp edge.

Since I work mostly on slose-up portrait (headshot) and I retouch for printing not displaying so the Background and Foreground have to be smoothly blended together else the PRINTER will show the error clearly. Or unlike our eyes on monitor, the printer prints different color with different tone/shade of color, and the printer can turn a tiny error into a very ugly spot.

That’s why I usually zoom in 100-300% to check the edge and trying to blend the back/foreground with Quanity set to around 5-8% (often using Quick Mask). Just like most people, I started with normal Mask, Channel, Color Selection, Lasso, Extract etc. but none of them works the way I want, so I have to develope my own style and I can do much faster and better than using other techniques (the ones we often see from book or vidio tutorial).

I am still using CS3, and having some health problem so I haven’t done much for over a year.