View Full Version : big favor to ask
Hi guys...I was wondering if someone could look at these images and either teach me how to use corel psp to remove the backgrounds and change them to a black ...or if someone could do it for me?
I am so not good with psp...
I didn't take these images,they were taken by a friend of mine.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/whispering_rain/1025dac5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/whispering_rain/0ac7cee2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/whispering_rain/eb59ebac.jpg
It would be so appreciated!!
PhotoByMark
01-04-2006, 10:42 PM
Carol - How much of the background do u want to remove? Everything but the 2 subjects in foreground.
In PSP you can use the Background Eraser Tool.
I will give it quick go of it and post my results.
PhotoByMark
01-04-2006, 11:10 PM
Done very very quickly using background eraser tool. Is this what you trying to do?
http://static.flickr.com/38/82360751_71032bfdc7_o.jpg
PhotoByMark
01-05-2006, 3:19 AM
ok - it was late - could not sleep. Gave it one more shot - so here is slightly different pic.
Yep - At some point I over sharpened this a tad or more than tad - just what is a tad - LOL. Oh well. Also, I am not good at doing areas like where there is hair. There are better ways than just using the background eraser tool I know but, I do not know exactly how to do? I know I could have used a mask layer perhaps. OK-way too late for me. Got to get sleep now.
http://static.flickr.com/40/82436690_fae713fe09_o.jpg
Yes,that's what I'm trying to do...but when I use the background removing tool,it looks awful around the hair area...I must have done it 10 times before I gave up...
Thanks :)
I'll try the other two images again...but I'm sure I'll be back...lol
PhotoByMark
01-05-2006, 11:11 AM
I hear ya. The hair part for me is tough too. I know the other way to do this is using a mask layer and then you can erase and put back. But, that is just too tedious. I also know that I saw somewhere an additional tool that made quick work of this type of thing - I am thinking that Corel makes (sells) it. If I can remember where I saw it or what the name of it is I will post it.
PhotoByMark
01-05-2006, 11:31 AM
It is this thing I think it is suppose to work pretty good.
Called Corel Knockout 2
http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Corel3/Products/Display&pfid=1047024307431&pid=1047022702205
paradise
01-05-2006, 5:17 PM
To me, any of the edits look Very unnatural. The originals are of very poor quality and I dont know of a way to really improve 'em. Just honest feedback. I dont think they are improved by knocking out the background.
I actually wouldn't black it out. Instead, I'd just run a blur brush through the background instead. The only problem with this however is that there's a lot of noise in the rest of the picture and it would also look unnatural with just blur in the subject and less in the background.
phishphorphun
01-05-2006, 6:34 PM
As it was explained to me a long time ago by a few of the wise folks here; "Photoshop skills can make a good photo look better, but you can't make a bad photo look good".
I agree with Ed. Perhaps someone should try taking a better picture.
Well,she can't take a better image..that is great grandmother and in very poor health atm...
so she was hoping to save these family snapshots even tho the quality isn't the best.
Sometimes family snapshots are all ya have to work with,that's the case here...
I just wanted to try to make them the best I could for her.
phishphorphun
01-05-2006, 7:44 PM
Well,she can't take a better image..that is great grandmother and in very poor health atm...
so she was hoping to save these family snapshots even tho the quality isn't the best.
Sometimes family snapshots are all ya have to work with,that's the case here...
I just wanted to try to make them the best I could for her.
And, I guess I feel like Scrooge now.:-(
paradise
01-05-2006, 7:50 PM
Carol, I dont mean it as a "bad photographer" it's just there are limits to what you can do in post production. A photo that is technically "bad" (without any offence to the person behind the cam) is bad, it can be made slightly better but never good. You may make it passable in small size prints like 4x6 but it will come out bad if you make anything bigger than that. Photoshop should be used to make "seemless" changes to make the photo look like it was taken a bit differently, but not making it look like it's an EDIT.
Here is my attempt at one that still looks natural. It was done at work, my monitor is not calibrated so it may be not so perfect but it's an indication of an edit done better:
http://aquatic-photography.com/pics/grandma.jpg
darn,I didn't mean to make anyone feel badly...I was rushed when I replied...
I do understand what you all mean,and if it was possible to take new images,I would agree.
Paradise that looks wonderful :) I don't know how on earth you do it.I worked all day on that image,but I was just disgusted with my results.
Thank you so so much.It means a lot to me to be able to give her images that are improved.
Thank you for taking the time to do that...it reallly really means a lot!!
and I am sorry if I made anyone feel bad,that wasn't my intent...it was my explanation for why I wanted to work on these.
paradise
01-05-2006, 8:41 PM
Carol, no problem :) It's not that difficult, it's all in the approach. Instead of trying to CUT stuff out of a photo, figure out how to make it go away, what to do.
On that photo, I used the shadow highlight tool, (the lower bar) to make the front stand out a bit. After that I used levels to darken the shadows as much as I could which is the background. I color corrected a bit to give it that "old" look. Smart sharpen to make it pop a bit, and then a bit of Burn tool to even out the darkened background. All are suddle effects but the result is much more natural than "cutting" the pieces out.
BTW, I am not that great at it, I have very limited and basic knowledge of PS, there are better ways to do it that are cleaner and nicer. :)
jhoetzl
01-05-2006, 9:10 PM
One thing that would make editing life easier is to get yourself a wacom tablet. They make editing tasks like that a lot easier.
Using Corel Knockout, I came up with this...changed the DOF just a bit...well, that was what I was going for.
Knockout is pretty good at hair masks...about the best results with it and about 10 mins, once you learn how to use it and don't fight with it.
I use it inside of Corel PhotoPaint 12 - If you can take a CPT file, I can post the masking as a layer in it. Here is the jpg (http://216.91.101.69/myimages/1025dac5a.jpg)...
If you want the CPT, try this zip file (http://216.91.101.69/myimages/111025dac5.zip).
PhotoByMark
01-05-2006, 10:21 PM
I have been contemplating a pen pad - So these help a bunch heh? Cause using a mouse is very very frustatrating.....
So is the Corel Knockout worth the 100 bucks? Because I too, cannot really do that task very well at all.
jhoetzl
01-06-2006, 10:20 AM
On the tablets - to me, it is invaluable - a mouse (even the logitech laser mouse) just doesn't cut if for me. I am a lefty, but I use the mouse right handed since that is how I started.
I am not fully ambidextrous, so using the pen in my left hand is much more comfortable, plus, since I used to airbrush (left handed), it is just easier and more precise.
That said, using Knockout, you don't have to get that exact. The closer you get the better the result, but basically, you draw a line around the outside, draw another around the inside, and it figures out the difference. I wouldn't say it is perfect, but for masking complicated areas, it certainly does a good job.
As far as the price of it...most plugins seem to be in that price range. You can get it a little cheaper here (http://newsite.pagecomputers.com/store/Product_accessoriesx.asp?catalog%5Fname=Software&category%5Fname=27g27c175s801&product%5Fid=243783).
$83.92 with shipping.
As for a "trial" of - you can find it...just not on their website. I am a big proponent of trialing software by whatever means - and if I wind up using it more than 3 times, I buy it legally.
Sure there are people who think there is a difference between indefinitly trialling software and walking into a shop, take something off the shelf and leave without a receipt, but its not my style.
PhotoByMark
01-06-2006, 10:31 AM
So it sounds like my wish list just grew a little more.... LOL. The list grows way too fast.
I will download and try it out. And yes, if I use it I too will purchase it!
Thx for the feedback.
Carol - Sorry - did not mean to hijack your thread here.