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remove background with stray hair


bnilsen

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I could use some help extracting or replacing the background in this photo. I'm having a hard time because of the stray hairs. The background must be a solid white color.

Many thanks if you can help!
passport phto 2011.jpg
 

bnilsen

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Thanks so much for the link to the tutorial. However, I didn't have much luck. I'm doing something wrong, I just can't figure out what it is!!
 

ibclare

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bnilson, extracting hair is a difficult process and takes some practice. Below is a link to a simple technique. It is basically the same as the one Sir Max gave you, but with a lot fewer steps. Also, it is not going to give you the details of the hair as well. But you should be able to get enough of the "stray" hairs and curls to make it look natural. You might try combining techniques from each. And there may be a few steps that aren't clear in the first tutorial that are more clear in this one.

It helps if you have dark hair on a white background, but it is not impossible to deal with color as both these tutorials demonstrate.

Post your results so we can see how it worked for you and give you tips if needed. Here's the link:

Select Hair by Using Channels | Tools Tutorials | Planet Photoshop
 

ibclare

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One of the hardest parts I find is getting the levels adjustment so that you don't remove too much detail, pixellating the hair.
 

bnilsen

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What type of background is the image going on?


The background needs to be white, not grayish. It is for a passport and they have returned it to me twice!! So I just want to be able to make the gray area a solid color (white, off white).

Thanks!
 

Hoogle

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I will almost guarentee they will not accept it however good the photoshop is especially american Passports Mine got approved online with proper photography studio lit and they still insisted at the passport office that I had to pay for there photo booth that was a lot worse than mine but if it looks to enhanced ie this 1 they will just assume it is photoshopped
passport v123.png
 

ibclare

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IDK that I would say "easy." But it is certainly different from the ones I've seen. A lot of steps, so a beginner especially would have to pay really close attention. There is almost something in every tutorial that will make the student scratch his/her head. Where is that, what is that, etc.? Your results speak for themselves. I am going to try it (but not with this image :D)
 

SeniorS

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IDK that I would say "easy." But it is certainly different from the ones I've seen. A lot of steps, so a beginner especially would have to pay really close attention. There is almost something in every tutorial that will make the student scratch his/her head. Where is that, what is that, etc.? Your results speak for themselves. I am going to try it (but not with this image :D)

It have only 8 steps from which i use first 7.
There are few things which aren't obvious so here my comments (that's from challange 10 actually):

First i dublicated image and set background to 0 by curves and white point.
That i start to use for tutorial.
Step 1. Didn't know where is "Enhance > Adjust Color > Remove Color". I just used dublicated new image again and merging it with Black&White adjustment layer.
Didn't use "Perfomance tip" after Step 4.
Step 5. You have to CTRL+click on RGB in Channel panel. Then make Layers.
Step 7 (and final for me). I don't have thinked out why it works but IT WORKS!

And one more thing. It don't really cut image. It puts it on background. So it's not usefull for placing in other program like Ingesign or else but if all "project" is in PS then it's not a problem. And with this i always gets smoother result that with other methods.
 

Hoogle

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Mine only has 1 step lol open image up in camera raw select the adjustment brush paint around the grey background then slide the exposure up to the desired effect if you have feathered the adjustment brush to much that it has lit her up click the erase tool and and just the erase the exposure adjustment on her.
 

ibclare

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It have only 8 steps from which i use first 7.
There are few things which aren't obvious so here my comments (that's from challange 10 actually):

I just did it with a B&W photo from the web and it was ridiculously easy compared to the channel masking. But, I got stuck at step 9. Like you said: what is the enhance menu and the adjust lighting submenu? I didn't feel like figuring it out though I think he means levels... I am going to try Camera Raw method too.

Here's with "your" tut replacing BG of B&W photo with color sky. I do think there could be some enhancement around the really feathery hairs. Maybe I'll try more to figure out what he means or someone can tell me. Maybe this should be a new thread...
 

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bnilsen

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I tried your tutorial too, without much luck. Mine certainly doesn't look like yours! But then, I guess that's why I'm a newbie and you're not. :)
Yours looks great. If you'd like to share it, I'd truly appreciate that. If not, that's ok - thanks for the help and for an example of what it should look like!
 

bnilsen

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I couldn't find enhanced either. I tried desaturate to remove the color, but I'm just so confused at this point. I quit.
 

bnilsen

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I think I'm going to just breakdown and go have a "passport" photo taken. I've spent way too much time trying to fix one of my own. Everyone has been very helpful. I appreciate all the advice and comments.
 

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