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Place Subject onto Different Background


dcrave81

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Hi,

I am using Photoshop CS6. I would like to place the dog onto the daisy field background so that it appears like he is sitting natrually in the field. Please advise how to do this. Thanks!

DC

project-back.jpg
project-subject.png
 
What I would do is open both images first in ps copy the dog paste it onto the daisies image, I would use the eraser tool and a opacity of about 45% flow 45% and earase the tips of the dog and the butt areaarea just a bit to show the grass beneath as though it's going around him
like this
add drop shadow… the drop shadow on the image is at 75% capacity

sample.png
 
Sorry you will need to use the transform tool to scale the dog to size holding the shift button while you move the handles on the transform tool one corner should do it
 
Sorry, left out my usual details.

Open the dog and the field in Ps.
Place the dog layer beneath the field layer.
Use the Transform function (command + T) to transform the dog to size.
Command + click the dogs thumbnail to select the dog.
Highlight the field layer and add a layer mask.
Use your Brush Tool with white on the fields layer mask (of the dog) to add the field back. Use Black to add the dog back. Do this until you have the desired effect. I also lowered the Brush Tools opacity as I went lower on the dog. This softens the effect.
You can also use the Brush Tool to add the shadow. (I masked the shadow layer to hide some areas of the shadow)
 
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Hi IAmSam,

Thanks for your reply. I understand the instruction up to "Highlight the field layer and add a layer mask."

From there, I don't understand how you were able to get the daisies to appear nicely in front of the dog. Can you please elaborate? Thanks for your patience with a newbie!

Here is where I am currently:
project-ps.JPG

Dave
 
OK here is where I am now, I can't figure out how to get the daisies to show up nicely in front of the paw area...

project-bw.JPG
 
looks like sam might not be here I don't use that method but I think once you get the dog in place using eraser to show through where you want the grass to be or the daisies on the dog (always to duplicate your subject if you're going to erase part of it first)
 
Nevermind I figured it out. FYI the step that I was missing was, after I paint out the dog using the layer mask, then I have to move the layer mask from the field layer on to the dog. THANKS!

DC
 
Cool. Many ways to do it but as long as you found the one that made you comfortable you're good! :thumbsup:
 
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Glad to hear you figured this out.

A few more quick tips to help the dog fit the scene well:

1. Spend some time color correcting both dog/field images slightly to get them better matched
2. Some of the color from the field will naturally reflect onto the surface of the dog. This is VERY subtle, but by painting some green highlights on the dog, and then adjusting these highlights to a VERY low opacity, it can help the scene feel more cohesive
3. Similar thing, very subtle, but you can go as far as adding very faint overlays to the reflections in the dog's eyes
4. Finally, it's great to have the daisy's overlapping the dog, but masking individual grass blades can be a nightmare. If you find a grass brush set that's similar to the grass in your picture, you can apply a few strands of grass over the dog's feet to really complete the look.

I hope this helps!
 
Sorry, I did have to leave for awhile.

dcrave81 said:
Nevermind I figured it out. FYI the step that I was missing was, after I paint out the dog using the layer mask, then I have to move the layer mask from the field layer on to the dog.
Not sure how you made it work, but you do have to have the layer mask on the field layer for this to work based on my previous instructions. It can also work if you mask the dog layer above the field layer.

The problem in your posted examples above is that....first you need to move the dog layer below the field layer. Second, make sure the mask is chosen (click on mask and the white brackets will appear) and then hit command + I to invert the mask. In the mask, the dog should be black, in yours he's white.

Unless you have a much larger file to work with, the details are not going to matter much.
One thing I did add was some slight shading to the dog using the Burn Tool. I command + clicked the dogs thumbnail to make a selection and then used the Burn Tool. The selection keeps the burning inside the dog. Command + D to deselect.

project-back_02.png
 
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I think the main issue here is that the depth of field is hard to work with in the daisy image. The field only starts coming into focus right at the bottom of the image, so technically the dog wouldn't be quite in focus.

Here's an example after doing some of the steps from my previous post. It's not perfect, but as I mentioned it's actually quite a difficult pair of images to work with. I tried to apply very subtle depth of field variance to the dog too to make him feel like part of the scene.

dogfield2.jpg
 
That doesn't make sense, the depth of field of the dogs face would be in the same place as the flowers just below his face it would be in focus.
 
It is, it's more the backs of his ears and back that start moving more into the out of focus region.

Also, the flowers in line with his face aren't fully in focus, they're slightly out. If you compare them to the flower in line with the very bottom of the image, that's noticably sharper.
 
That's debatable because the paws are further back than the face, the face is actually more forward than the legs.
 
It's all individual taste/perspective i suppose.
 
Yup, that's why the face is more in focus.

I tweaked a little more to bring the flowers at the dog's feet more into focus, as they were too out of focus to be consistent with the dog's face, but I wanted to keep the facial sharpness as it's the focal point of this image:

dogfield2.jpg
 

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