Mastering Photography Masking

I most recently posted my Kimono pictures from my little make shift studio here in Japan and although I got some nice comments about my photography, I actually received more requests on how I masked out the background and added my own. So I thought it might be a good time to write up this little tutorial. Let me first say that there are many ways to go about this and not method is necessarily right or wrong. Just in my opinion, there are better ways (and sometimes quicker ways) – and knowing more ways to get somewhere gives you options when you are ready to go.

Here are some of the various ways you can mask out a background in Photoshop. I am using Photoshop CS4 but all versions of Photoshop will have at least one if not more of these methods available.

• Eraser – (Not recommended)
• Selection tool and a layer mask
• Magic Wand to make a selection and layer mask
• Pen Tool to make a selection and layer mask
• Photoshop’s Magic Eraser tool
• Photoshop’s Background Eraser tool
• Extract command
• Quick Mask mode to make a selection and layer mask
• Channel Masking

In this tutorial, I am going to show you how to use the last method listed – Channel Masking. This is a fairly long process at first, but after a few times you will have it down. And you will be ready for any masking challenge including hair, smoke or masking yourself shaking hands with the President. No one will ever know you weren’t actually there.

I will also create a video for this as soon as I can to demonstrate the process, but for now let’s get started.

Step 1 – This is Always Step One

Duplicate the image we are going to be working with. This is always my first step for everything I do. Never work on your original background image just in case you make a mistake and save over it.

Step 2 – The Channel Palette

Go to the Channels Palette. If you are in RGB mode and you most likely will be you will see 4 channels all highlighted. The RGB channel is a merged version of the Red, Green and Blue channels which makes up the colors in your image. You will also have the individual channels listed below the RGB channel. So now for the fun part.

Step 3 – Looking for Contrast

We are going to start clicking on each of the channels individually. We are looking at the Red, Green and Blue Channels of or image. What we are looking for is contrast. We want the most contrast available between the subject and the background specifically on the edges. Usually this is the green or blue channels but it all depends on your background. Once you have decided which one has the most contrast you will need to duplicate that channel. [Right-Click on Channel and select Duplicate Channel]

Step 4 – Starting the Mask

With the duplicated channel we start the process of creating and fine tuning our mask. Select the newly created duplicate channel of our image. (Make sure the Eye in only on our new duplicated channel) Our goal in this process is to turn fill background solid white and our subject with solid black or visa versa. Does not matter the way because we can always invert the mask. We do this by reading on to the next step.

Step 5 – Adding Levels

With the new channel selected lets run Levels. Go to Image -> Adjustments -> Levels or use the Shortcut [ctrl] +L. This will bring up the levels dialog. Now we are going to move the sliders to create more contrast getting us closer to our goal of a solid white background and a solid black filled subject. Start with the far left slider [Shadows] and move it to the right. As we do this the image is going to – as you guessed – start to get darker. We do not want to go all the way to the right as this will turn the whole image black. We are just looking for a darker contrast between our edge of our subject and the background without the two merging to solid black.

Next, let’s start to move the far right slider [Highlights] to the left. This will obviously greater our contrast between the shadows and the highlights in our image making it easier to create our mask. Be careful not to blowout your edges!

Lastly, you can adjust the middle slider [Midtones] right or left depending on your image tone to further fine tune the contrast. The goal again is the edges of the subject and the background we are cutting out so do not worry yourself about the inner appearance of your subject. I know you Mom told you that it’s what’s on the inside that matters but we are breaking that rule today – Just in Photoshop though.

Step 6 – Painting and Further Tuning our Mask

Ok. When you have the Levels where you want them, then click OK. It’s time to move on. Now you may want to zoom in on your image because we need to clean up our mask. Reset your swatches – Shortcut [X] so your foreground color is Black and your background color is White. Click the paint brush tool – Shortcut [B] and select a hard-edged brush at 100% hardness with a small brush size like a 5px-10px brush depending on your image size.

I want to paint with Black on my subject all the areas that are not completely Black. We want our subject (or whatever it is we are wanting to keep) to be filled with solid Black. Not grey or close to black but solid #000000 Black. The fastest way to do this (which actually seems the slowest) is to zoom in and start going around those edges of our subject and painting them … you guessed it, Black. We are basically making a complete outline of our image. Going around each edge and painting. Here’s a little tip. Clicking once with your brush on an area and then holding [Shift] makes that area like a starting spot. So while holding shift, your next click will create a straight line from your first click to your last click. I use this method throughout the process. On curves, I just make my point A to B be clicks smaller. This keeps me moving fast and in no time you have your outline. Use the Mouse wheel to move around your image as you work. Holding [Shift] and using the Mouse wheel will scroll the image fast.

See the before and after example below:

Step 7 – Filling it in

Now that we have our outline it is time to fill in the rest. Now there are numerous ways you can do this. You can now with a larger brush paint in your subject with black. You can use the Select -> Color Range and Select Shadows which will select all the Shadows and then you can Inverse the selection and use the paint or fill in your areas. I am going to use Levels again. Since I know that I have a solid black outline of my subject, I know that if I move the Highlights slider to the right, that I will blowout everything else accept my solid black. Now you have to use your best judgment here when moving this slider because if your black border has gaps you are going to lose those areas. Also with hair this can be tricky. See my example below:

Now you can see I still have a little gray area of background left, but I will just paint that area white with the brush. To ensure that my background is truly white, I will use the Magic Wand tool and select my subject’s border and inverse that selection and fill with white.

I still need to fill my subject with black and although I could reverse my previous selection and fill with black, I risk losing the hair. So instead I will use my brush to fill the face of my subject and then fill the rest with paint. Any method works here. Just fill your subject with all black and your mask is ready to be used.

Step 8 – Let’s Mask

We are done. Let’s apply our newly created and totally Awesome mask. [Ctrl] Click on your duplicated channel with the mask and this will select the mask. Then click the RGB channel to return everything to color. Now select our first duplicated layer that we started with. We want to inverse our selection so go to Select -> Inverse or shortcut [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[I] and then click on the Mask icon to mask your background. Now you can insert any background you want. Just add your background below your layer so it is behind it. And because this is a mask, we can always further correct any problems or anything else that we may have missed just by painting on the mask. Remember white conceals and black reveals!

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If so please let me know! And remember, when you are all done with your creation you can always apply some sweet JHP Actions to give your photo even more Pop.

How to Photograph the Moon

As photographers we are always looking for new subject matter to shoot. One subject that we all have access to every day but often ignore is the moon. Many of us probably think we do not have the right equipment to capture good photographs of the moon but you might be surprised what you can accomplish with what is in your bag already. All you need is a camera where you can set manual settings, a lens with a focal length of ~300mm or greater, and a tripod and you can capture this:

Here is how I approached it:

Focal Length:

As I mentioned you need a focal length of ~300mm. When possible you want to use prime (fixed focal length) lens as you will get greater sharpness and this is important for shooting the moon. For this shot I used a Canon 200mm f/2.8 L Series Lens with a Canon 1.4 telecoverter giving me a focal length of 280mm. Make sure to use your lens hood to keep out stray light.

Image Quality:

I recommend shooting in RAW format so you best quality and largest image available. If your camera offers different size RAW files such as RAW, RAW1, RAW2, use whichever setting gives you the largest file size and best resolution picture of the moon.

ISO:

You want to put your ISO as low as possible. In my case I used ISO100. I actually tried ISO 50 but the 100 shot looked better.

Aperture:

You’ll want to set your aperture at f/11 to make sure you capture all of the details in the moon’s surface.

Shutter Speed:

I used 1/125.

Focusing:

I set my camera into Live View mode, I manually focused using the LCD screen and zooming in 10x. This seemed to produce the best result. This also help you to avoid camera shake from the releasing of the mirror. If your camera do not have a Live View function, you can use Mirror Lock and it will accomplish the same thing.

Shutter Release:

You should release with either using a timer or a remote release. I released with Profoto Airsync remote release, all sitting on a Manfrotto 055CX3 with two 3KG weights to keep everything stable.

Post Processing:

In Photoshop CS5, I adjusted the curves to medium contrast and applied an unsharp mask filter (amount 150%, radius 1.0, threshold 0)

Summary of the settings:

Canon 5DMKII, Canon EF 200mm f/2.8 L, 1.4x teleconverter, 1/125, f/11, ISO100, shot in Live View, manually focused, released with Profoto Airsync.

Give it a try, you might be pleasantly surprised…

Dave Powell is a photographer based in Tokyo, Japan. Dave is the author of Shoot Tokyo, a friendly daily photo blog about photography and Japan. You can see more of his work on www.shoottokyo.com and find him on Twitter (@ShootTokyo).

Just Released! JHP-ADJUSTMENTS

Fresh off the shelf. My new actions are simple, powerful and CS5 approved.
Who could of thought you could do so much with just adjustment layers … but I did and you will find these actions to be an amazing mix of what all the JHP Actions can do.

Help you to Take Your Photography to the Next Level!

20 Awesome Mixed Bag Actions to get you started.

5 – Color Effect Actions
4 – Creative Effect Actions
4 – Details/Contrast Actions
4 – Image Popper Actions
1 – Retouch Action
2 – Black & White Actions

Investment: $19.99

Old Hollywood Style Lighting for $15

About a year and half ago, I decided to order some fresnel (a.k.a. “hot”) lights and try my hand at old Hollywood style portraits—you know the ones: harsh light, hard shadows.  After using the “hot” lights a few times, I left the idea behind.  The lights were too hot to touch and move around easily.  I really liked the look, though, and wanted to incorporate it into my portrait repertoire.  I had seen some chicken lights hanging in a friend’s studio over the summer.  That gave me the idea to use the chicken lights in place of hot lights.

A couple months ago, I finally picked up a pair of chicken lights (yes, the kind you find in chicken coops) at Home Depot for about $7 each.  There are countless ways to use them.  They have clamps that make it easy to attach to a stand or even to a backdrop.  You can have an assistant hand-hold them as well.

The image below was made with a chicken light coming in from behind the subject, camera right, to create a nice hair light and rim light for the subject’s arm.  Another chicken light was held camera right, above the subject at a 45 degree angle to create the harsh shadow camera left of the nose, as you would see in old Hollywood style photos.

In the photo below, the back light was the same as the previous, but I moved the main light around more to the front of the subject to reduce the shadow by the nose.  Any lighting pattern can be pretty easily created with a chicken light:  butterfly (shadow below the nose), Rembrandt, etc.  You can experiment with tinted lights for dramatic effect.  To increase intensity, move the light closer.  To “dim,” move the light farther away.

Camera left and above, camera right (further away):

Sandi started her photography career in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1999, shooting mainly commercial assignments and making her own art prints in a local darkroom. After relocating to Arizona and taking a few years off from photography, Sandi made the move to digital photography two years ago and shoots about 80% portraits, 20% commercial. She returns to Virginia every year to maintain her growing portrait customer base there. Sandi lives in San Tan Valley with her husband and three children and plans to move “closer to civilization” in the near future and open a studio in a retail location.

You can see more of Sandi’s work at> – http://studiocentricphoto.com

School – To Go or Not to Go? That is the question.

First off, thanks to @jhpactions for giving me this opportunity to guest blog here. My name is Jayce Van Der Linden, I’m a photographer from Kelowna BC, Canada, and I just recently graduated from a 12 month digital photography program. I’m currently trying to make it as a photographer, I have a part-time job at a supermarket, barely have enough money to pay my rent, but I’m loving life.

When you think of school what do you think of?  You probably think of classes with teachers going on endlessly, writing down notes, memorizing terms and past events and the dreaded homework, all the things that you dislike about school. Why is it that we always think about the negative things?

Before I went to school, I did a lot of research on photography, things like the basics of photography, shutter speed, aperture etc…  This is where I ran into Zack Arias and his Transform video. After watching his video; I was totally inspired to pursue something that I loved and to not let anything get in my way.  With this video in hand and the determination of a small kid I entered school, ready to school everyone.

My school experience was interesting; the photography program went through a big change while I was there. About half way through my year, the Head of Photography was replaced. It went from an old guy who has been photographing for 40 years, to a younger photographer who’s been at it for around 8-9 years.  The new photographer brought some really good changes to the program, and was a great asset to the program. Even with the addition of a great Head of Photography my class still complained about everything.

“Why doesn’t the school set up photo shoots for us?”

“The instructor should be bringing in subject matter for us to shoot”

“This teacher is self taught? I don’t want learn from him.

I really enjoyed my schooling, I put everything into it. I spent hours upon hours researching the things I learned in class, and hours behind the camera practicing. I practiced lighting the most, trying to get it perfect, and trying to learning how to control it. While everyone was complaining I was out shooting and teaching myself. My philosophy towards getting the most out of school is to not worry about all the small stuff, but to think of what’s going to further your knowledge and skills. Instead of complaining about why we were learning basics of coding, I ran with it, and made it enjoyable; I tried to learn as much as I could so I didn’t have to hire a web developer. Not everything you hear in class is going to be relevant to you, but you have to remember it might be benefiting someone else.

Here are a few things I would suggest to you to do while you’re in school.

1. Get Inspired
Find what inspires you, and hold onto that inspiration.

2. Network
Get to know everyone in your school, admin, students in other programs and your classmates.

3. Stay Inspired and Humble
Continue to search for what inspires you even as you grow as a photographer.

4. Work Hard and Don’t give up!
Remember the amount of effort you put into school, is the same amount of knowledge/skill you will get out of school

Now that I’m done with school, I’m trying to make it as a photographer. I’m doing everything in my power to pay my bills. I’m meeting with a lot of people who are involved with a lot of local businesses. My plan is to break into the corporate market, as well as the advertising market. It’s a tough go for sure, but my mentor/past instructor is encouraging me and I am forcing myself to do things I normally wouldn’t.

Going to class every day, has helped me grow as a person. In order to be successful as a photographer, you need to work with people, and have people skills. When I first entered the school, I was shy and couldn’t talk to anyone. Throughout my 12 months at school, I have overcome my shyness and have become more confident in my work. It was hard for me to accept praise for my work, but now thanks to all my instructors and classmates I have learned to appreciate it and not shrug it off.

School has done wonderful things for me, and it’s been one of the best choices I have ever made. Thanks to everyone whose supported me. Photography is a tough career to follow, and it’s not for everyone, quoting the instructor from my very first class in school “Only about 2-3 of you [out of 20 classmates] will make it as a photographer.”  I take those words to heart, and everyday I strive to be one of the 2-3 people. I WANT to be a photographer, I’m GOING to be a photographer.

Find and follow me on Twitter :: Facebook :: Blog :: Website

Here is what is Coming up in the next few weeks:

Featured Photographer Every Thursday – All about tips, tricks and testimonies from profession photographers and those aspiring to be!

Workflow Wednesdays – I will process a photo from the beginning to the end and show you how I did it using the JHP Actions / LR Presets. Video and step-by-step.

Photoshop Friday - I love Photoshop so on Friday and have used it now for about 15 years. So now on Friday you have a chance to send in a question or a challenge and I will attempt to unravel the mystery and hopefully answer your question in the process about Photoshop.

More Giveaways and Contests! - I will be doing more giveaways and soon I will be hosting some fun photography contests. Also, I will be doing special giveaways only found on my FB fanpage, so if you are not a fan hopefully you will be one soon.

So be on the look out and stay connected. Also, if you would like to be featured as a photographer then let me know. You do not have to be a JHP Actions customer as this is solely about photography. This is my way of giving back to the community. Besides, sharing is caring.

JHP FB Fans -Now you can catch the lasted blog update right from the my fanpage. New blog tab added.

If you have any other thoughts or suggestions of things you would like to see, please let me know by leaving a comment below.

Now I know that JHP Actions are great as I use them almost everyday, but I know there is a lot of photographers out there that are not so sure. Well, if that is you then take the JHP Actions & Presets Photographer Challenge – Prove It!

If you are on the edge and want to see more what the JHP Actions can do for you, now you can. Just click the JHP Actions – Prove It link and then upload your photo, name and email address and in 48 hours your image will be processed using the JHP Actions and featured in the Prove it! Gallery along with your photography credits and the recipe I used to create the image.

In addition, if your image is featured in the gallery and you like the results then let me know and I will send you a coupon code for an addition 15% of the JHP Actions Complete Set or 10% off any individual set to get you started on your JHP Actions Journey.

So what have you got to lose? Send your photo in today and let me show you what these amazing and simple actions can do for your photography.

Take Your Photography to the Next Level!

The Winners Are In

Alright! Awesome first giveaway. Thank you all for entering and letting others know. This was my first go at doing a giveaway and being that JHP Actions is still fairly new to the world, I think it was a success.

Please continue to check back and stay connected on Twitter and Facebook as I will be doing more giveaways soon!

And now to the Winners of some Amazing Video Training.

Winner of the Shooting My Kids eDVD is: Stephanie Baxter

and the runner-up and winner of one of Elizabeth’s awesome Post Production Videos is: Liza Lutton

Congratulations!!!!

For those of you who did not win this time, you should still really check out Elizabeth’s great videos. They truly are worth the investment.

P.s – Winners are generated randomly via Excel. I created a Macro program that allows me to enter the participants and then it randomly using the Rand method selects the winners. The picture below is a snap shot of the sheet. Red is the grand prize winner and green is the runner-up.  Just in case you were wondering.

I love photography and I love to take pictures of people. But when it comes to taking pictures of my own kids, the love is somewhat lost in the confusion of being both Dad and photographer. So, I was in search of some training to help me take better photos of my kids and enjoy the moment together. That’s when I ran into Elizabeth Halford’s blog.

Elizabeth is an awesome photographer and owner of Glacier Cake Studios in Hampshire, England. She has an amazing blog and offers a lot of great tips to new and experienced photographers. She recently released her new training eDVD called “Shooting my Kids“, and I knew I had to check it out.

The “Shooting my Kids” eDVD is a first hand look into the business of taking great photos of your children. She covers everything from camera types to lenses and lighting, in a manner that keeps it simple without all the technical jargon. It’s 40 minutes of personal training as though your right there with her on the shoot, and yet you never have to leave the comforts of your home. So if you are a Mom (or Dad) wanting to take better photos of your children or you are just starting out as a photographer, then this is the eDVD training for you.

And, you have a chance to get it for FREE! Elizabeth has been kind enough to offer one lucky JHP reader a free copy of her new – “Shooting my Kids” eDVD.  And that’s not all. She is also offering a runner-up gift as well. The runner-up will receive one free copy of one of her Post Production Lessons (Lightroom, Photoshop, or Elements). So don’t miss out on this great opportunity!

Giveaway Details:

{HOW}

Simple! You get one entry for each action you take below. Then leave a comment for EACH action you’ve taken. Each comment will be counted as an entry.

1. Mandatory entry: Head over to Elizabeth Halford’s blog and watch the short “Shooting my Kids” video trailer and come back and tell me why you would like to win this awesome training.

2. Additional entry: Tweet “@jhpactions is giving away Elizabeth Halford’s new – “Shooting my Kids” eDVD.  – http://tiny.ly/wJdr”

{WHEN}

There are only 7 days to enter. The contest ends on the 30th of October and the winners will be announced the next day.

Good Luck!

Here are some of my photos of my kids that I took after watching this training and I must say, I felt more confident and comfortable during the shoot.

Ok. Here it is. It took a long time to complete but I it is finally here. This is 61 pages of in-depth coverage of all the JHP Actions. This manual is going to show you how to install, how best to use and the differences between all the actions from sets JHP1 – JHP7 and the Vintage collection. It is all here. There are before and after images as well as a simple JHP Workflow that well help you get on your way to creating fantastic images!

Here is the link to the manual. You can right-click to do a Save As to your desktop.

http://www.jhpactions.com/JHPActionsCompleteManual.pdf

Next on my to-do list are the creation of my CS5 and PSE only versions of action which will be out early next month.

Stay Tuned!