Photoshop Extraction

[DVX100Shooter]

I am having a tough time trying to remove the background from a picture I need to use for something. I have only done this one time and it was several months ago and I cannot remember how I did it! I tried placing the "marching ants" around the object I want to keep which is in the foreground by using the Lasso tool. However the background still remains visible. What am I doing wrong? I have selected Extract from the Filter menu and the background is shaded a different color. I need to remove the background all together so I can use the foreground object.

[Erik Olson]

You can cut or copy into another layer once you have the object lasso'd.

I like taking selections into copy layers instead of negative masks because I think keys sometimes benefit from being able to adjust transparency and other image aspects element by element.

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[DVX100Shooter]

Ok thanks for your help on getting me this far. Now that I have figured that out. When I try to take the part of the picture I want to save and import that into another program (LIVETYPE) I am seeing a WHITE background! In Photoshop I was working on a TRANSPARENT background (little checkerboard grids) so I would be able to KEY it when I imported it in LT. I still am not sure what is going on!

[Norm Sanders]

When ever I want to keep a transparent background for something I'm bringing into Vegas, I either bring in the native photoshop file (to keep the transparency), OR create a solid red, blue, or green (depending on what color(s) may be in the image I'm bringing in) background and chroma key from there. It's worked like a charm everytime.

Also, if you're ever going to bring this file into Vegas for editing, you can simply mask the what you want & everything else just disappears.

So, if you're not going to work in Vegas at all, then I've probably just wasted your time. Sorry. But I'm sure Avid, Premiere, or any of the others can do the same thing just as well (chroma key, mask, working with photoshop files, etc.).

[Sirius_Doggy]

Another trick when cutting out the image is to use the Magnetic Lasso to outline the object you are trying to cut out instead of the regular lasso.
On the toolbar - click and hold the lasso button and select Magnetic Lasso. It makes selecting odd shapes so much easier!

[CaptainMench]

Does nobody use the Extract filter?

CaptM

[Stanrick_Kubley]

I used Extract a long time ago to pull a performer off a background. I believe I duplicated the Background layer (the bottom layer), used extract on the duplicate layer, then simply deleted the Background layer, thereby getting rid of the background. At that point, the performer was on a layer with a transparent background, which could be brought into another program.

P.S.: I'd only use this on short shots when either keying or rotosplines wouldn't work.

[DVX100Shooter]

I have another question...After I cut the background out the image I want to save. What are the best tools to use to help smooth out the lines and/or edges? I used the Eraser tool to remove parts of the background that still remained after I cut the "marching ants" However parts of my image have jagged lines and edges. Should I used the Blur Tool for this?

[craigbowman]

Its very important when dealing with the low resolution images produced from video that you understand what type of selection is best suited to what information is present in the image in terms of shape, colour, light, contrast etc. You can easily butcher up a selection. There is no one selection type fits all. Each image is different and you need to learn and recognize those differences.



An excellent book for building up your photoshop skills for digital film work is "Photoshop Masking & Compositing" by Katrin Eismann.

Also an essential is "Photoshop Color Correction" by Michael Kieran

When I started this post originally I had about twenty paragraphs of technical information that would probably just make your eyes glaze over, so..
get the books!

[Mino]

I've always cut my stuff out using the pen tool and zooming in real close on the item to be selected. The tool allows you to select point by point around the object then move any point in any direction to tweak. Once I have all my points selected I choose the make selection option and it's ready to clip. I also save my selection in case I need to add a slight feather later. I sometimes save a copy of the file with saved path info from the pen tool selection in case I need to tweek that. That's more because I taught myself that way than I don't trust the magnetic lassoo. It's a slow and tedious way of doing things but the results are well worth it.

[DVX100Shooter]

Mino are you working on a transparent background when you do the cut outs? I have what I thought was transparent (gray background) that see when I start cutting away at the parts of the picture I don't want. When I am all done and import that final photo into another program the gray (transparent background is still showing up. I need to have it look like a green screen type effect where you only see the part of the picture I saved.

[Frizzle Fry]

OK try this: Make a new layer and place it below the layer of the cut out selection. (You may have to double click the "background" layer and rename it to unlock it). Delete other layers, so you now have: Top layer, consisting of the subject which was lassoed, copied and pasted. And bottom layer, a new blank layer with nothing in it (checkerboards). Save as tiff and you're set.

And to back-track a little, try experimenting under the "select" menu and modify>smooth, expand, contract, whatever. Even feather. One or a combination of those should help you isolate your subject. The magnetic lasso tool is very useful. Be sure to adjust the settings of the tool for best results. For difficult images with very little contrast between subject and background, I find what helps is using an adjustment layer to exaggerate levels/contrast, then use the magnetic lasso tool on that adjustment layer, then select the original layer to copy, create new layer and paste, then delete the adjustment layer. The magnetic lasso tool looks for areas of contrast to decide where to place points. Be sure to move the crosshairs ever-so-slowly. When you're done, you can go around the image and use one of the marquee tools to delect/select jagged areas, missed selects, over-selects, etc.

Hope some of that makes sense.

[Mino]

Mino are you working on a transparent background when you do the cut outs? I have what I thought was transparent (gray background) that see when I start cutting away at the parts of the picture I don't want. When I am all done and import that final photo into another program the gray (transparent background is still showing up. I need to have it look like a green screen type effect where you only see the part of the picture I saved.

I select the object, cut or copy it to clipboard, open new file(set up however, green screen, transparent etc) then paste the selection on the clipboard into new file. The selection should paste to a new layer. Hope that helps.

[DVX100Shooter]

Thanks Frizzle but if you dont mind take me back even further. When I first begin the process. Should I be set up with a SOLID COLOR background then add a NEW Layer which would be the TRANSPARENT background or should ALL layers be made transparent?

[Frizzle Fry]

When you open your image in Photoshop, there will be one layer, named "background." Rename this layer to unlock it. Create a new layer and drag it beneath the original layer. Now you can perform the subject selection process and paste it into a new layer (leave at the top). Trash the original layer and you'll be left with 2 layers--the selection you want and a blank layer beneath it. Save as a tiff, and you should be golden. Tiffs maintain their transparency in other programs, I believe.

Sorry, I can't test the process further as I'm not near my NLE computer. But I think that will work for you.

[DVX100Shooter]

Well thanks for your help but for some reason it still isnt working. I did exactly as you said and when I went to import the picture into the other program a white background showed up! This process sounds simple to do and for whatever reason I cannot master this for nothing.

[Frizzle Fry]

When you're saving as a tiff, under tiff options make sure "save transparency" is checked.

[DVX100Shooter]

FINALLY it worked! I don't think I was saving the transparency. Thanks Frizzle and Mino for your help today!

Now that I got that....what tool is best to use to smooth the edges or how to add a white border around the subject kinda like a drop shadow to make the foreground stick out? I tried the Blur tool but its adding color to the edges that I want to smooth out. In the Help section it said one way is to select Feather. However Feather is all greyed out and unclickable. I ended up selecting SHARPEN MORE which made it look a lot better but I still want some of the edges to be smoother.

[Mino]

once you have your object selected, then feather the selection before cutting it from the bacckfround. I usually use 1 as my feather, just enough to blur the edges a tiny bit.
You can also feather the selection once it's pasted into a new layer. easy way to do that is choose the layer your object lives on, draw a selection box around it then switch to your move tool. Kick the object up one pixel with the up arrow and then down again one pixel to keep it registered. You object should now be selected. Now you can shrink the selection by one pixel, feather the edges, select inverse of selection and delete. That will remove the one pixel fringe you've created around the object. You ca also save the selection and load it time and time again to perfect how much feather you want to use to save you from clipping it out time and again.

[Frizzle Fry]

hey, glad i was able to help! in order to make the subject stick out from the background, you can select your subject as before, feather and such to taste, then paste it on a new layer. keep the background this time. select your subject (which is on its own layer) and apply the unsharp mask filter. try 200% and .03 or so to begin with. then apply a gaussian blur to the background, and maybe even desaturate it slightly. don't know if this is what you're after, but it's a neat way to create a false DOF effect.