Best method to do this.....

[Ricardo]

Hi guys,

This is probably an easy one but any assistance would be appreciated.

I have shot someone against a blank (off white) background and want to drop them into a different location I have shot. Now I can do this ok using masking etc but I can never get it looking believable (the hair is always a problem).

What methods would you recommend for dropping someone into a different background ewithout loosing the detail on the outline of the hair.

Thanks. R.

[holgaman]

I would suggest a plugin specifically designed for cutouts like Vertis Fluid Mask or onOne Mask Pro. They have different approaches to the same problem, but both companies have tutorials on their site and offer a trial download. Neither is quick and easy, but the results are better than anything you can do in PS alone.

[amica999]

I found some of the Russell Brown tuts quite useful for hair masking. Maybe you want to have a look? http://www.russellbrown.com/tips_tech.html

@holgaman, well, I have tried fluid mask and I think you really, really need to get used to it for making faster masks than in native PS. I have in fact tried to extract some hair and the result was not as good as one can expect...but that maybe because of lack of experience using it...

[Joeven]

Try using a layer style on the object. Inner Glow works great when you use the eye dropper to pick up a colour on the background.

Joe

[holgaman]

amica,
You're right about fluid mask not being very fast and taking a lot getting used to. Didn't buy it myself for that reason, just thought someone else would do better with it than I did. They sure do make it look easy in the tutorials, but they also pick photos that work well with their program. You don't get that luxury in the real world.

[Ricardo]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I've looked through the Russell Brown tuts and there a couple of really good ones like the stroke extract.

Thanks once again.

R.