Photoshop Compositing Secrets - Matt Kloskowski [10]
STEP THREE:
Now, get the Zoom tool (Z), zoom in, and start looking around the edges of the photo. If you’re lucky, everything looks awesome and there’s no more work to be done. Most of the time, though, you won’t be that lucky. In my example here, I noticed that some of his shirt is missing at the top of his shoulder on the right.
STEP FOUR:
To adjust the selection, we’ll use the layer mask that Refine Edge added to our layer. The way that the layer mask works is that wherever there is white on the layer mask, the image on the layer is visible. So, if you look at the layer mask, you’ll see that the white figure is the exact shape of our subject (what was selected in the last tutorial). Basically, wherever the layer mask is white, that part of the photo is selected. In fact, just to prove my point, press-and-hold the Command (PC: Ctrl) key and click on the layer mask. Photoshop will put a selection around whatever is white on that layer mask on your image. Go ahead and Deselect (Select>Deselect), since we don’t really need the selection just yet.
STEP FIVE:
In my case, I need to add to the selection. Remember, the selected areas are white on the layer mask, so I’m going to paint with white on the mask. First, make sure the layer mask is still active (you’ll see a black highlight border around it), then press D to set your Foreground color to white. Select the Brush tool (B) from the Toolbox and use the Left and Right Bracket keys on your keyboard to set the brush size to around 20 pixels. Zoom in on the shoulder (or other area) that was cut off and start painting until you see the rest of it appear.
STEP SIX:
If you happen to paint too much and accidentally bring back some of the background, then press the X key to swap your Foreground and Background colors. Now you’ll be painting with black, which is the same as taking away from the selected area. Paint back over the photo and you’ll see those areas you don’t want to show (like that small area of the gray background in Step Five) disappear.
STEP SEVEN:
Ready for a really cool trick? Zoom in and look at the left side of the photo where he’s holding his hand up near his face. See how there’s a dirty fringe-like edge that follows the contour of his glove? This happens sometimes if your original background was too dark (like mine was here). Sure, you could paint on the mask in black very carefully to remove it, but there’s an easier way.
STEP EIGHT:
With the layer mask still active and the Brush tool still selected, up in the Options Bar, set the blend Mode to Overlay. Then, choose a brush size that is about the size of the fringe you see, set your Foreground color to black (because black will hide whatever we paint on), and start painting on that fringe.
STEP NINE:
Don’t worry if your brush starts to spill over onto the subject. Normally, if we weren’t using the Overlay blend mode for the brush, we’d start hiding part of his hand if we painted in black. But because of Overlay mode, Photoshop hides the fringe, but still keeps everything else the brush touches. Now, if you kept brushing over and over on the same area, you’d eventually ruin the edge. But one quick swipe with the brush will remove the fringe and keep the rest of what you selected intact. Best of all, you didn’t have to be very precise about it. Give it a try around the rest of him, if you see any other areas where the background shows through.
STEP 10:
One last tip for pulling off a good selection: Zoom in on the left edge of his shirt, just above his shorts. Notice that really dark edge or fringe? It’s thin, but it’s definitely there. It doesn’t happen all the time, but I always zoom in to check for it.
STEP