[wolverine]

Dear Pros, I need your help.

Recently I've been learning to make neat selection with masking techniques. The one that I found is easier is Russel Brown's advanced masking techniques. However, it seems I did some error or I missed something in the process of masking. Because I never got neat selection. Instead I got rough edged image and unable to get details when selecting hair. Maybe because I don't know the key point in masking techniques. I've been trying several times to find the error, but unable to figure it out.

Here's the step of masking techniques that I used to extract the girl into new background. I hope somebody can find the mistake that I did.

- First I created channel mixer adjustment layer to increase black contrast, I click on monochrome, and adjust the RGB slider as follows: Red -100, Green +18, Blue +200. I call this layer as "black contrast".
- I created another channel mixer adjustment layer to increase white contrast, I click on monochrome, and use setting as follows: Red +168, Green +102, Blue -138. I call this layer as "white contrast".
- I click black contrast adjustment layer, select all, copy merged, create new channel, paste it there
- I click white contrast adjustment layer, select all, copy merged, create new channel, paste it there
- I go to alpha 1, and adjusted level to increase black contrast with following value : 34, 1.07, 207
- I used dodge tool, range highlight, exposure about 50%, and brush the white area until the area arround the girl is completely white.
- Then I blackened the girl with brush tool, and for some area that is still greyish, I used burn tool, range shadow, exposure about 50%, and make the girl completely in black.
- I go to alpha 2, adjusted level adjustment to increase white contrast with following value 52, 0.85, 226
- Then I used burn tool, range shadow, exposure about 50%, and brush the area around the girl until it's completely black. In order not to loose hair detail, I lowered exposure to about 15% and and brush around the hair area carefully. I had difficulties here, because the background behind the right shoulder of the girl is originally had some white part. If I used burn tool or brush tool, it will erase some part of her shoulder, so I used lasso tool to select the girl's shoulder, and fill it with white.
- Then I go back to alpha 1, invert, and select it with ctrl+click.
- While selection is still on, I go to alpha 2, and do luminosity selection with ctrl+shift+click
- Then I go to original image in RGB mode, add mask on it so that the girl is now on the new background.

But the problem is, I didn't get all hair's detail, moreover mostly the edge of the hair is very rough and still left some green color from old background.

What is the key point in masking techniques to get smooth selection and more hair details ?
How to smoothly eliminate the leftover of that green color from old background ?

Thanks in advance

[stopa]

first of all, you need as big file, as you can get - no compression. forget the .jpg file.
than, lots of hours of work. pixel by pixel. minimum magnification to mask hair is 100%. I use even 600%...
Be patiente...

[Mchilly]

Simply use the quick mask mode tool, once your done off the quick mask mode tool or click the standard mode. Then copy and paste and start smoothing the edges of your image by using blur tool.

[Dm_Cher]

I used Background Remover. It is deducated for object extraction from complex textured background. In latest version you can process hair.

Full image
http://www.imageskill.com/tmp/Image7.jpg

Download Demo of Background Remover