Another way…similar to Mac’s. Make sure the two images are the same size, 50%, 33.3% etc. With your mouse simply grab from the layer palette the layer you want over to the target image and just drop it. Drag and drop, as simple as that.
You can also, do Select, Copy and then paste onto the target image.
Thanks to both responses, they cleared it up for me, thanks again.
Speaking of layers. I’ve tried for hours to edit a photograph filled with a composite of 15 people (I silhouetted each of them). I began with the background (the scanned photo). I made a copy of the background to work with perhaps three faces that were too red (I used levels to fix them). Then I made a new blank layer. I used the magnetic wand to outline another figure but when I want to fix them or it, a warning comes up that "no pixels have been selected". I’m going crazy. I end up doing hours and hours of work using a new "copy" of the background each time until I’m completely done. Then it never failed, I kept working on the new layer of a background and then one of the other layers is no good. All of my books on Elements show many different layers, none of them using so many copies of the backgrounds. I’ll bet it’s something so simple I’ll kick myself. Help. Thanks
Virginia,
Is your new layer the active layer? There arte no pixals in it so all selections would be "no pixals". Activate your background copy layer, make the selection an then make a new layer via copy.
Hank
Hank,
I’ve learned through trial and error to make sure I’m working on the "active" layer. Sometimes I’ve goofed, though. Uggg.
Are you saying that I’ve been almost right in always needing a "background copy" layer? So I should activate the, say, fifth background layer, make my selection around a face or whatever, and then make a new layer via copy and the new layer copy will accept a correction using the paint brush or pencil? I feel as though that’s what I’ve been trying to do but I’ll try once more. Wish me luck! Thanks so much.
Virginia
Hey Hank,
It worked! I’m so thrilled. That was never in the tutorials, or the Elements for Dummies Book or a thick instruction book, that I’ve seen anyway. Now I have to learn how to get red eye out of the photo. Funny, nothing I’ve ever looked for in the "Contents" of Help is in there. Must be me. I love these message boards. It’s the only place to learn things. Thanks again.
Virginia
We are the best co-dummies.
π
Leen
Virginia,
I generally work in PS 7 not elements (only because my card was pulled out of a box at an Adobe seminar and they gave me a copy for free), but I find the Elements forum more informative. For me any work on a selection I do better if I select > make a new layer from the selection > optionally make a copy of the selection layer . manipoulate the selection layer (increase the feathering on a selection for better blending of the changes. Hope this makes sense.
Hank
Thanks so much, Hank, now I may get my own digital camera. I was wavering.
Virginia
well, the more you waver the cheaper they get ;)…and the better they get.
Virginia,
It is well worth getting a digital camera … they are great π
Wendy
Hi,
I guess I’m really thick. I’m still back at square zero. Is there a way to open the Layers palette so that it shows a background that’s "empty" (analogous to a plain piece of white paper)? I cannot figure out how to open a file in a way that keeps it from appearing in the background level. And any attempt to open a second photo replaces the first in the background!
The help sections on changing levels to and from the background just don’t produce the advertised results.
I’m really spoiled by the intuitive operation of Microsoft Publisher. Now that is really designed for us dummies.
Thanks. — Allen Furfine
Allen, what are you trying to do? It sounds like you might be trying to combine two image files. First, no, there isn’t any such thing analogous to a blank piece of what paper in the way you’re describing it. I could give you instructions about how to create a new empty canvas, but I suspect that’s not really what you’re after in the long haul. And, yes, the image open on the desktop will initially appear as a background layer. Always. What you’re seeing when you open the second image is a new layer palette for the second image.
If my guess is right and you’re trying to combine two images, try this:
Have the Layer Palette open on your desktop, but don’t get concerned with it right away.
Open the image that you really want to be your "background".
Open the image you want to move on to the first image.
Choose the Movel tool from the Toolbar.
Click and hold on the image you want to move and simply drag it on to the "background" image.
Now look at the layers displayed for your "background" image. It will now have two – one the original image you opened and a second layer containing the image you moved.
There are a number of people here on the forum who are extremely comfortable merely moving layers from one image to another, but some people who are unfamiliar with Elements and Layers become confused, just like you are.
If I guessed wrong, post back and tell us what you want to do with your two images.
Thanks, Beth, for your quick reply.
I should have explained at the outset that I am trying to combine, alongside of each other, pictures (JPEGs) of individual grandchildren. Then, by some procedure, create a new picture that features the two children side-by-side, with a new distinctive file designation for the two-kid picture.
I tried the steps you recommended to test my understanding. Nothing seemed to work as I expected: The Layers palette keeps closing. I cannot get the Move Tool to actually move anything as I understand it is supposed to work. At no time can I get to a display on the Layers pallette which shows both opened files — just one at a time. There are occasional alerts regarding "partially locked" images in/on the Layers palette.
This is NOT one of my better days, but then this aerospace retiree has a stubborn streak, so who knows?
Thanks again. — Allen Furfine
Allen,
It seems that you are worrying too much about layers. If you just want both kids on the same page, there are a number of ways to do this. One is to use the Selection Brush tool and select an area around one of the kids. To do this, open both files onto the work space, select the area around one kid with the selection brush, change to the move tool, then drag the selection from one photo to the other; I use this method to put several photos of the kids’ soccer season onto the same picture. A variation of this could also be to use the Rectangular Marquee tool to do the selection. Yet another variation would be to open both files and drag the entire photo over to the top of the other, and then erase the parts of the top photo that cover the child underneath; you would be able to see the bottom child by changing the opacity of the top photo.
You could make a new image by File>New, and setting the dimensions. Next, make a selection around each kid, then drag the selection to the new, blank image. That would let you have a more neutral background. Once you have both kids’ selections on the new image, check the layers palette and you should have three layers, each layer with one of your selections on it if you have made the new image active.
Don’t try moving the photos in the layers palette, as nothing will happen. These methods assumes that you are not concerned with making the final picture look like it was all the same photo because that is a different animal altogether.
Hope this helps,
Rick
Allen….
I too am a retired aerospace engineer, so I couldn’t resist throwing in my two cents worth. I hope this is not information overload.
1. If you want to can create a blank piece of paper to work on by going to File|New. When the window opens you can specify the size and whether or not you want the background to be white or transparent.
2.
Damn…hit the wrong key there…:-)
2. If you want to always see the layer pallete, you can click on the Layer Pallette tab in the Pallette well and drag it onto the work area. That way it will stay on top.
3. A couple of possibilities exist to create the combined picture depending upon what you want.
a. Have the new blank image open on screen.
b. Open the other two images of your kids that you want.
c. Goto Windows|Images|Tile and this should fit all three images on your screen. (Might look a little messy)
d. Click on one of the images of your kids, to make it the active window and then select the Move Tool.
e. Hold down the left button and drag the image onto the new blank image.
f. When you’ve done this and released the mouse key, you can position the image on the ‘blank paper’ and even re-size it by using the mouse to drag in the corner and side boxes.
g. You can then repeat this for the other image.
If you’re trying to get a composite image of just the two kids then you’ll need follow Ricks advice. Basically select around the part of the image you want and copy and paste it onto the other image.
FYI the act of copying from one image to another puts the pasted image onto a new layer. It keeps things tidy and makes re-work easier
You’ve probably worked out that layers are essentially like foils that are just stacked one on top of the other and that the result is what you see when looking down through the top.
Colin
Thanks to Beth, Rick, Colin, et al.
I think I’m getting the hang of it. I like the idea of starting with File>New since that gives me the sheet of white poster board I was looking for as a background. It seems to be the only way to get a Layers palette that looks like the ones show in the books!
So far I haven’t had any luck by simply dropping one open photo onto another. But I’ll play with that some more later. In the meantime. I can get to where I’m heading by Select/Move/Drop, etc.
Thanks again, all. — Allen
Allen,
Remember when you drop one photo on top of another via the copy and paste route you will create a new layer. If you already have a photo with a busy background you will simply put the new image on top of it.
You are probably on the right track by creating a new image with a white background.
Now, if you use selection tools to select parts of other pix and copy them to the new image they will not tend to cover up each other.
Dick
Thanks, Dick. Now I need to get back to the manuals and try more of the options mentioned. Practice makes, well, — not exactly perfect. π
— Allen
Since everyone is on layers, I’ve a problem. I’m trying to empty one JPEG file. But it was locked. I tried to change the file background into new layer, but when I flatten image it went back to locked position. And the lock icon is dimmed couldn’t be activate.
Can anyone here enlighten me on how to throw away this file which is 200MB?
Alex
Alex….
I’m not too clear of your question, when you say ’empty’ a Jpeg file. Jpeg files don’t support layers. Are you just trying to delete a file?
Colin
Sorry Colin, yes what I mean is that I’m just trying to trash this file. There is no layer in this file. When I dragged the file to the trash bin, it prompted with the message: "You have no prevailage to delete as it is locked" something like that.
Alex
OK….
Still not sure about what you mean by dragging the file to the trash bin….are you talking about the Trash Bin on the layers pallete. If so that wont work.
It’s probably better to close the file and open up the File Browser, locate the file and delete it from there.
Colin
To "unlock" the background layer, double click on it from the layer palette (if you don’t the layer palette, click on Window / Layer). This will permit you to manipulate the background layer.
Note that an image cannot have no layer, so if you’re trying to delete the background layer without having any other layer in this image, you’re going to get yet another error message.
Ray
Today I decided to join this forum because although I have purchased four manuals, and spent nearly three weeks reading and experimenting, I have yet to comprehend and apply any of them to acheive what I consider to be a very modest requirement: IE I wish to superimpose one image on another in a manner that is pictorially acceptable. IE it doesn’t look as though it has been done by a real clot. I have been following the questions from the many other dummies such as I, who seem to have similar questions, and the replies received. The replies received, seem to suggest many different ways of skinning this particular cat, and I will be trying them in turn, but nevertheless My several questions are :-
Should I even be attempting to do this the hard way by using layers?, or should I just do a cut and paste? The problem I encounter when attempting to use layers,is that when I have selected the image I wish to superimpose on the other, and and move it, is that it retains its white background. How do I change the white to a transparency? I also get occasional rude messages telling me that the particular operation cannot be performed because I have not selected any pixels, even tho I have lassooed the subject matter: but no where in the manuals have I found an explanation of the significance of this message. Also when using the magnetic lasso it frequently disappears on me when only partially containing the subject matter. Is this a sympton of lack of memory, because I have 500Mb available ?
It would also be very useful to be able to access a list of error messages, with their significance.
Any assistance would be appreciated. Thank you.
Keith,
Magnetic Lasso … some people can use it and others (like me) have never mastered it. It runs off all over the place so I stick to the plain old lasso … its much easier. Its not a memory problem it is just a matter of getting used to how the magnetic lasso works.
Rude messages … now that usually happens when you are on a transparent section of a layer (and yes it still happens to me when I’m on the wrong layer) but if you have a large number in the feather option it can also happen.
List of error messages … sorry I don’t think that there is a list but the easiest thing to do is when you get an error message just ask here as usually someone can sort it out.
Superimposing Images … One point is that when you use cut & paste you are in fact using layers as the paste goes on to a new layer. Check out the layers palette and you will see a new layer appear.
Removing the white background … well one way to do that is use the lasso (plain ordinary one) and make a selection around the "object" you want to superimpose. Do Edit>cut and then Edit>Paste into your new image. This will give you an image without a background on a separate layer.
Try it out and let us know how you go on
Wendy
Thank you, I will have a go. Not tonight tho because dinner calls.
Keith
Thanks Ray n Colin, but when u want to save it n replace the original locked file, they will prompt u that u can’t replace a locked file. I know that when u double click the Background layer it becomes a moveable layer but when u flatten it, it becomes a locked layer again.
Alex
Alex,
When you flatten an image it always creates the background layer … if you want to make further changes to it then, as Ray said, you just need to double click it again.
Your other problem sounds as though the file itself maybe locked … maybe when you last saved it you did something else, I can’t help you on that one as I’m a Mac user but hopefully someone who uses Windows will be along soon.
Wendy
Thanks Wendy, me too is a Mac user. When I received the JPEG file from my client it was already a locked file. After I copied n resaved it as a tiff file, I wanted to thrash away the original as it is 200MB in size but I couldn’t as it is locked. That’s my problem of not being able to thrash the file n it will always remain in my folder. Sign!
Alex
Alex,
Come out of Elements and go to the folder the file is located in. SINGLE click on the file image and do Apple>I … check out "Ownership and permissions" it may be set to read only OR there could be a little lock symbol if so then click on it to unlock the file.
Fingers crossed but it should work
Wendy
Wendy E. Williams.
Re your assistance.
Yoicks!!. it worked ! Now I wonder why the authors of the four manuals I purchased couldn’t have explained it as simply. I suppose they are so obsessed with the fancy tricks they just can’t be bothered with the bread and butter moves.
Keith
Keith,
Glad it was useful … π
Wendy
Keith,
Contrary to what others have said, the magnetic lasso is not some deep, mysterious, hard-to-use tool. It does not do a perfect job, but used correctly, it can get you very close, and you can then use the selection brush to fine-tune the selection.
If you are somewhat challenged in the fine motor skill area (and I am among the most challenged!), the regular lasso is basically useless, but the magnetic lasso can get the job done.
A couple of magnetic lasso tips:
– If the lasso won’t put an anchor point where there should be one, you can force a point by left-clicking at the appropriate spot.
– If the lasso places a point way out of line (or even slightly out of line), you can remove the point by pressing backspace. If there are several adjacent bad points, just keep pushing backspace until you are rid of all of them.
– I’ve found the following (from the PSE help file) to be very valuable advice: "On an image with well-defined edges, try higher Width and Edge Contrast settings, and trace the border roughly. On an image with softer edges, try lower Width and Edge Contrast settings, and trace the border more precisely."
STU
I have tried increasing he sharpness of the image to provide a higher contrast for the cursor to grab hold of but, and it is occasionally beneficial but invariably the trace runs out after about a third of the way around the perifery, and I have to start all over. After several goes like this, I give up and revert to the lassoo tool, but I find that one has to have quite a large mouse pad and a smooth running mouse to get a steady and accurate trace. One interuption and bingo you are back to the start again. At least with the magnetic tool each click saves the trace ( up to point where you lose the whole darn thing ).
STU
I should have explained in my last note, I have two computers and when I failed to get this forum to recognize my log in, I had to re-register so Kevin Smythe = Keith Oakes
Kevin,
Try the polygonal lasso tool, just click, move a short distance around the perimeter, click again, etc. Each click anchors the selection as you progress.
Kevin,
"I give up and revert to the lasso tool, but I find that one has to have quite a large mouse pad and a smooth running mouse to get a steady and accurate trace. One interuption and bingo you are back to the start again."
Click on the lasso tool then look at the top of the screen … run the mouse over the little gray squares (top left hand side) and you will see that the lasso has several options:
New Selection, Add to selection, Subtract from selection and Intersect with selection.
This means that you don’t have to do the whole selection in one go and don’t need a steady hand either. Just do part of it then click on "Add to selection" to continue outlining it or click on "Subtract from selection" to remove some of it. Using these two its easy to edit your selection and get a pretty good outline.
Wendy
Kevin, I haven’t gone back to look earlier in this thread (on a newsreader link to the forum), but if you’re using Elements 2, you can do a rough selection with one of the lasso tools, then use the Selection brush to fine-tune it. I, too, never mastered any of the lasso tools and had a similar problem with the tool running away. If you’re using Elements 1, the Selection Tool isn’t an option.
invariably the trace runs out after about a third of the way around the perifery, and I have to start all over
I’m not totally clear what you mean by this. If you mean that the tool goes haywire and put a point off in neverland, just hit backspace to delete that point. If it happens again, hit backspace again, put the cursor where the point SHOULD be, and click.
If you mean that you reach the edge of the window, you can hold down the space bar to temporarily change to the hand tool and use the mouse to scroll the window; when you release the space bar, you’re back in the magnetic lasso, with your trace intact.
The magnetic lasso rarely does a perfect job, and it’s not always the best tool for any part of the job. But I find that it often gets me close, and as I said earlier and Chuck confirmed, following up with the selection brush lets you get the selection "just right."
I fear that "Layers" is my nemesis. and that it has been sitting on my shoulder like the proverbial raven for several months.
I am a comparative newcomer to PE2, having used Photo DeLuxe Business Edition, for several years with a degree of adequacy, now owning my third digital camera in a space of nearly five years, and having moved from wet photography, wherein I have used Leicas and Rolleiflexes since 1944. I am therefore, hardly a newbie to photography.
My first digital camera ( which cost over $1600 in 1998 ) came with software that I didn’t bother to use initially, since its convenience and means of producing adequate prints, was self evident.
However PE2 changed all that. What was once a simple operation, has now developed into a tortuous operation with complication and confusion, wherein I find that there is always the other shoe to drop, and the next obstacle ( drop down menu ) to deal with. Digital manipulation is providing an fertile market for its exponents, and that "Layers" is advocated as being simple, is mis representation.
I guess most people like to get confirmation of their own good judgment, and I am no exception,. However I am impressed by the fact that of my colleagues, none use "Layers", — and for reasons of difficulty, similar to those I experience.
The help I have obtained during these two days or so I have been a member of this forum, is appreciated , but I find that there are advantages to the simple route. In spite of the claims that life now a days follows a complicated route in order to make it simple, I am reverting to the Business Edition, on the basis that results obtained, should be proportional to the effort, — and I have modest ambitions..
I note in this section that a couple of ex Aerospace Engineers have submitted problems. I too am one of that breed, so perhaps Altzeimers is related to aluminum after all.!
Keith, if your goal is minor touch-up of your digital images, then layers may be unnecessary in most cases. Elements does have a lot of "quick fix" capabilities that don’t require layers – you may want to look into those tools some more. With respect to Photo Deluxe, I believe it is no longer being supported, and if you move up to a newer version of the operating system (like Windows XP) it may not work for you.
Thank you so much Wendy, it works. It always that 1 step that I just overlooked. Thanks again is a relieve.
Alex
Keith….
If you can try and master layers, it’s well worth it in the long run. You’ve probably heard or read this all before but Layers are just like foils in an overhead projector. So you can keep your main image at the bottom and all the changes you want to make on the other layers. The beauty being that if you don’t like what you’ve done you can either turn of the layer or discard it or just change the one layer. It hasn’t irreversibly changed the original.
But in the end it’s all about what works best for you.
Good Luck
Colin
Alex,
Glad it worked π
Wendy
Keith-
I understand exactly what you are saying as but a few months ago I obtained PE2 and was dumbfounded by how unintuitive the interface is. Having used a myriad of windows based programs (among others, going back through UNIX to VAX and before!) I can pretty much figure things out without reading the manual on virtually any application. Adobe, it seems, has a different way of doing things, a different look and feel. Thankfully, I’ve adapted.
Layers is actually a very simple and powerful tool for image making. Fundamentally, there are two types of layers: adjustment layers and content layers. Adjustment layers affect how the content layers appear. If you don’t understand how to manipulate layers it really complicates everything else in Elements. They are really quite straightforward to deal with. The first rule of dealing with layers is to ALWAYS keep the layers palette visible. This tells you the active layer, the layer which is affected by whatever tool or filter you are using. The active layer is highlighted dark blue. Whenever something seems to be misbehaving, like a tool that isn’t doing what you expect, check to make sure that the active layer is the one you are trying to work on. For me, at least, this is half the battle.
Adjustment layers are very powerful, as they provide a means to affect how the content layers appear without actually changing the content layer itself. This provides a significant advantage over actually changing the content layer in that subsequent changes or discarding of changes is facilitated; you can always abandon an adjustment layer that has gone wrong, but even more powerful is the ability to toggle between the adjustment being on or off simply by toggling the visibility of the adjustment layer. (Again, this is done using the layers palette.)
I am sure that you are smart enough to "get it"; it’s really not that difficult once someone explains it (the manual falls far short of adequate in many ways, IMO) and you really are hamstringing yourself by avoiding the use of layers.
Make the commitment to figuring it out, it really will open up a whole new dimension for you, and this forum will come through with all the help you could possibly need.
Mark
For the attention of Mark Levesque
Thank you for your comments and advice re Layers. At least it doesn’t provide the usual over simplistic explanation of Layers. The principle of Layers is not unknown to me because when I started in the drawing office way back in 1942, it was a system already well established. It was called "Overlays", so it is not the principle I find problems with, it is its application in PE2, with the various instruction manuals providing little or no assistance — notably the one that comes with the software, which I have found particularly useful in propping up a wobbly table.
From several messages I have seen, the use of the "We" and "Us" suggests that you are members of perhaps an Adobe Support Group or a group of volunteer enthusiasts devoted to providing humanitarian assistance to PE2 users. What ever, it is a noble cause, and we the victims, appreciate it. PE2 is both complex and cantankerous, and to complete the "C" trinity, full of Catch22s, and I have spent the best part of a month now, starting after breakfast and lasting to the late afternoon attempting to figure out the bread and butter moves. I have loaded the programme into both my desk and laptops, so I can attempt to read the online help while using the programme. However by the time I have found the help ( if ever ), my interest in the problem has often evaporated. I even take a manual to read in bed, and the worst of horrors is that I am now frequently dreaming about layers, so it cannot be said that I have given the subject insufficient attention.
So what started out for me as a joke project, has now developed into the use of a month of my life with little to show for it, and since I am now 77 years of age, I can make better use of my time. Eventually even the most conscientious student has to ask if the effort is worth the candle, and I am fast coming to that state of mind, with the conclusion that the most practical way of dealing with layers, is to avoid the situations that require its use.
I do note that at the last count, there are over 2300 sections as part of PE2 forums, layers being but one, and the numbers of messages toing and froing, assuming a mean of say 10, suggests that I an not the only clutz on the block, particularly when I see from others, the identical problems I frequently encounter.
One piece of your advice I find impossible to apply, that is "Always keep the layers palette open. I find that there is one palette to one image. Change image and you change palettes. Willo the wisp like.
I have noted the recommendation in the forum, of yet another treatise IE "Create", and have ordered it. It may help, but my optimism is restrained. Time will tell
I have also found and downloaded the excellent article by Arraich, but have yet to succeed in downloading the samples of his excellent roses for use with the exercises.
Thank you all the same for your advice.
Keith
Hi Allen
Assuming you have 2 photos (8×10) which you want to appear as one photo.
1) Open the Adobe Photoshop Elements program
2) File, new (change name to Background, width to 16" and height to 10") and click on OK
3) Click on File, Open,locate photo 1, and click on open
4) Click on File, Open,locate photo 2, and click on open
5) Click on Select, All
6) Click on Edit, Copy
7) Click on Windows, Images, Background
8) Click on Edit, Paste (Photo 1 appears on background)
9) Click on the move tool and then drag the image to upper right-hand corner 10) Click on Windows, Images, Photo 2
11) Click on Select, All
12) Click on Edit, Copy
13) Click on Windows, Images, Background
14) Click on Edit, Paste (Photo 2 appears on background) 15) Click on the move tool and then drag last image to upper left-hand corner 16) Click on Layer, Flatten
17) Click on File, Save and save the new photo
What you should have is a new photo of the two images on one layer. Let us know how this worked out for you.
Keith,
You have an entertaining and engaging writing style, delightful to read. I hope you pop into this forum from time to time.
Your comparison of Layers to Overlays is perfect, I never associated the two. I apologize for my overly simplistic explanation of layers, as I’m sure to be the referenced offender.
"…you are members of perhaps an Adobe Support Group or a group of volunteer enthusiasts devoted to providing humanitarian assistance to PE2 users."
I love this!
Patti
Patti,
Me too π … Keith really has a great sense of humour.
Keith stick with it … we need people like you to brighten up miserable days.
Wendy
From several messages I have seen, the use of the "We" and "Us" suggests that you are members of perhaps an Adobe Support Group or a group of volunteer enthusiasts devoted to providing humanitarian assistance to PE2 users.
Actually it’s a secret cabal which acts in concert to prevent users from becoming so disgruntled with Adobe products that they look elsewhere. π
One piece of your advice I find impossible to apply, that is "Always keep the layers palette open. I find that there is one palette to one image.
It is true that if you change the active image the layers palette updates to be relevant to the active image, but this is hardly problematic; indeed I’d be peeved if it worked any other way. The important thing is to have the layers palette undocked, open so you can see precisely what the layer content of the active image is.
It occurs to me, Keith, that we might be more effective in providing assistance if you ask specific questions about particular tasks that you are trying to do. There’s really no reason to spend an inordinate time plowing through the opaque prose which masquerades as a user guide; ask and ye shall receive. If you know what you are trying to do (in whatever level of abstraction you’d like to describe it) and the software is capable of doing it, there’s someone here who is able and willing to write down a recipe/explanation for the series of steps necessary to get it done. Go ahead and try. You will get expert advice.
For the attention of Mark Levesque
Many thanks for your observations. Offers of help should never to be dismissed lightly.
I note your devotion to PE2, and sense that there is more than an iota of well intentioned evangelic gospellizing with your offer. I however, am obsessed with solutions more than methods, but having said that, I would be less than pragmatic if I was to press ahead without regard to the cost.
Nevertheless, since you asked me to re state the problem that begat my difficulty. Here it is:-
I wanted to superimpose one image on another, — how more modest an operation could one ask for ? and to do this, the second image has to be freed from its background.( Background here, meaning that area of the layer that is not occupied by the image contained in it.), and this is where my problem originates.
It would appear that there are several methods of doing this, one being to create a new transparent layer onto which one pastes the image after lassoing it, selecting , feathering, and then moving it to the transparent layer. The next step being to make a new layer from this composite.
The other being lassoing it, and removing its background by using the background eraser, finally doing an edit, and cutting and pasting it onto its intended target, making it a new layer.
In the process of doing this, one has two images on the screen but only one the palette, which is for the active layer. For the cursor to even threaten the other image, it takes off with the speed of a newly elected politician and only condescends to reappear when the coast is clear.
It is the process of rendering the background invisible that brings the problem. Since this is a problem that has been long been solved by many a politician, it would perhaps be appropriate to get them in on the act, but that is an aside, suggested flippantly by a jaundiced personality developed on a road to antiquity.
The problems encountered during either or both of these operations, have brought forth a shower of "on- screen" reprimands, none of which are addressed by explanation, hence my question earlier if there was a list of these error messages, with explanations to be found somewhere, since one is often able to learn more from being told why you failed, rather than groping ones way thro a less than adequate index..To have to submit my "Whys" to this forum is time consuming, and I am an impatient person. ( Hint here for a new author to make his or her mark.!! )
It was these on-screen messages and which I noted were being received by others, than prompted me to suspect that my lack of success was due, not solely to my own shortcomings, which I readily acknowledge are many, but perhaps the dearth of simplistic information for nerds such as I.
As I have already said, my reaction to all this is to tread carefully thro the numerous minefields of PE2, and avoid any situations which are likely to be hazardous to my health.
Should the book entitled ΒCreate" which I have now ordered after its recommendation by one of your colleagues, prove helpful, I may gingerly put my toe into PE2 waters once gain, but until then I intend to sit in the shade with a cool one and congratulate myself for being smart enough to vacate the hot kitchen of layers..
Keith,
I should like to order any books YOU have written!
Keith, I have to admit that I’m having difficulty following what you’re saying….but I’ll offer one suggested path.
1. On the image from which you want to extract the object, carefully select the object using one of the lasso tools and/or the selection brush.
2. When you’re happy with the selection, do a Layer>New Layer via Copy and
hit OK. The selected object will now be on its own layer above the image from which it was copied.
3. On the layers palette, note that you now have two layers. Turn off the visibility of the lower layer and see how well you did on your selection. If you have some stray pixels that you want to get rid of, use the Eraser tool – but make sure you’ve got the new layer active when you start erasing! If you missed some of the image with your original selection, you will probably need to do the selection again. Better to select too much than too little.
4. While still having the new layer active, do a Select>All and an Edit>Copy.
5. Open up the image you want to use for your background.
6. Do an Edit>Paste. Your selected object from the first image will appear
as a layer over the new image. On the image view, you should be able to see the background except for where your object hovers.
7. You can move the object, shrink it, enlarge it, etc. – whatever you need to get the desired effect.
Hope that helps….
Chuck
Keith,
I’d like to add that if your selection wasn’t quite all you intended… * ctrl/click on the layer with the selection on it (or on menu go Select>All) * the Marching Ants (selection outline) is active
* activate the layer below (this is the entire image layer) by clicking on that layer in the Layers Palette, in the blue colored area
* choose the polygonal lasso tool from the Tool Box
* might want to set feather to 1 or 2 pixels
* set option on top left of screen for lasso tool to Additive (2nd icon out of four) * click inside of existing selection near area you want to add. Move mouse a little along outline, click to anchor line, move mouse etc. When perimeter is completed, double click to close the selection line.
* Do an edit>copy/paste onto a new layer.
* delete the incomplete selection layer
Keith-
It doesn’t sound like you are trying to do anything particularly difficult, so we should be able to easily walk you through the steps to bring you to success. And after all, that’s really what it’s all about.
There are, of course, a myriad of ways to get from point A to point B; I’ll offer one that I’ve found successful.
Open the two images that you wish to merge, arranging their respective windows in such a manner as to be able to see at least part of both images. Bring the image from which you wish to pluck the subject for merging to the front. Using the lasso tool, perform a rough selection of the portion you wish to add to the other image. Do edit->copy (or ctrl-c) to copy the selected area. Now bring the other image to the front. Do edit->paste (or ctrl-v) to paste the selected area into its new background image. Turn off the visibility of the background of the new composite image, and clean up the newly pasted subject using the erase tool or other method. When it is to your satisfaction, use the move tool to position it to where you want it. You can also scale this picture if necessary using this tool; just grab one of the vertices and move it, being sure to hold the shift key down if you want it to be scaled proportionately. And that should do it. Once you get this down, you can work on more advanced ways of compositing. Let me know if there is any additional detail you’d like explained.
It is perhaps a bit more difficult to follow someone’s explanation than to watch someone show you how live, but this is the next best thing.
The time has come for me to bid you all farewell, since I have more important things to do than persist with a such a complex and frustrating programme.
I have re-examined the programme that came with my digital camera some years ago, and its simplicity appeals to me, since it would seem to be in keeping with my modest requirements than PE2.
A retreat is not necessarily a defeat, but unlike MacArthur, I will not be returning.
However thank you all for your help and good intentions.
The time has come for me to bid you all farewell, since I have more important things to do than persist with a such a complex and frustrating programme.
I have re-examined the programme that came with my digital camera some years ago, and its simplicity appeals to me, since it would seem to be more in keeping with my modest requirements than PE2.
A retreat is not necessarily a defeat, but unlike MacArthur, I will not be returning.
However thank you all for your help and good intentions.
K.eith,
When you change your mind, we’ll still be here. Until then…
Byron
Keith, Oh say it isn’t so ! The purpose of Adobe is not to let the user feel slain by the dragon ! Elements is a program meant to give you power and control ! Please do not give up. Baby steps….
I am trying to cut out a picture and paste it onto another picture. I was reading this post and saw the trick with the Lasso Tool worked great. Then I cut it, put it onto the other picture.. but it was TOO big, is there a way for me to make that cut picture smaller, before or while it is on the new picture?
This is one of the hardest programs to figure out how to use. I am hoping the finished product will be well worth all of the headaches..LOL
Thank you for anyones assistance..
Tori
Sure. Select the move tool. Grab one of the handles, press the shift key, and drag the handle towards the center of the image. You may need to move it if there’s serious resizing to do.
