Photoshop Compositing Secrets - Matt Kloskowski [48]
STEP 10:
Once you have the arm and hand selected, click the Refine Edge button. Just use a small Radius setting of around 5, choose Layer Mask from the Output To pop-up menu, and click OK.
STEP 11:
Do this for all the other arm images, then drag them into one document, and save the image as a PSD file. If you’re following along, but don’t want to go through all of the selections for all of the arms, I’ve got a nice PSD file for you with arms in it for the next tutorial. You can just use that one if you want to skip the mind-numbing work of selecting arms from a background.
Creating the Composite
This composite is all about the mood. We’ll need to continue with the warm background that we’ve already created, and keep the same overall feeling with everything else we add. It’s also a great introduction to how supporting graphics can really take a composite to that next level. Right now, our subject is just a guy singing with no stage. But, we’ll be adding some cheering arms in the air, as well as some smoke, to make this feel like he’s really on stage during a concert.
STEP ONE:
Open the background image first and then take a look at the Layers panel for a minute. Notice it has a few layers in there: a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer for colorizing the background, and several lens flare layers added to the lighting. We need to make sure that the photo of the singer goes above the adjustment layer, but below the lens flare layers.
STEP TWO:
Next, open the selected photo of the singer. We started this one in Camera Raw and opened it as a Smart Object into Photoshop. Grab the Move tool (V) and then go ahead and click-and-drag the singer into the background image. Then, click-and-drag his layer down in the Layer’s panel, so it’s above the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer, but below the lens flare layers.
STEP THREE:
He’s way too big for the photo, so go to Edit>Free Transform. In the Options Bar, enter 62% for the width and height settings, and then press Return (PC: Enter). Then, reposition him in the center of the background image.
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Tip: Maintain Aspect Ratio
If you click on the Maintain Aspect Ratio icon (the little chain link) in the Options Bar between the W and H fields, Photoshop will automatically change the height when you change the width. Also, clicking that icon makes it so you don’t need to hold the Shift key if you manually decide to resize the photo using the transform handles.
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STEP FOUR:
One of the first things I realized once he was in the photo is that his arms and jeans are too bright. Since he’s on a Smart Object layer, we can change that really fast. Just double-click on the singer layer’s image thumbnail to reopen the photo in Camera Raw. Grab the Adjustment Brush (K) in the top toolbar, then set the Exposure to –0.50 and the Brightness to –17.
STEP FIVE:
Set the Brush size to around 7, and brush along his arms and legs to darken them. Don’t worry about brushing on the background, because we’ve already selected him, so none of that will show up. When you’re done, click OK to go back to Photoshop.
STEP SIX:
His skin is also a little too cool for the warm background we’ve placed him on, so click on the Create New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and choose Photo Filter. In the Adjustments panel, increase the Density setting to 60%. Since the Photo Filter adjustment is affecting the entire photo (and we just want it to affect the singer), go to Layer>Create Clipping Mask. This forces the adjustment layer to only affect the layer right below it.
STEP SEVEN:
Overall, I think he’s still too bright, so click on the Create New Adjustment Layer icon again, but this time, choose Curves. In the Adjustments panel, drag the middle