How do I remove part of a pic?

RW
Posted By
Robin_Wyatt
Apr 9, 2007
Views
487
Replies
13
Status
Closed
This is not easy to figure out when you have never used this program. It’s not that I want to "crop" or "cut" the pic. I want to sort of "draw" around a certain area of the pic and then remove that area. I want to physically pick each curve around what I want to remove.

Sorry if this was posted before I checked FAQs and looked through the topics but none sounded as if it was talking about this specific action. I know people can cut around the people in pictures and remove the background I just can’t seem to figure it out.

Oh I have the PhotoShop CS 9.0 trial version.
Please explain your answer for someone totally new to using Photoshop. Thanks in advance!

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DR
Donald_Reese
Apr 10, 2007
Hit l for the lasso. draw around what you want to select. then you can move it, clear it,fill it whatever you want. thats just one tool and one way. you basically are looking for selection techniques.
B
Bernie
Apr 10, 2007
That’s ‘L’ for Lasso BTW <g>

And check this thread out for more info:

< http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?7@@.1de5f905.3bb80e5 d/6>
DR
Donald_Reese
Apr 10, 2007
I was hoping she knew it was an L. depending what she wants to remove,maybe the clone or healing tools would be useful. cant imagine just leaving an empty hole.
JZ
Joe_Zydeco
Apr 10, 2007
Robin, depending on what you need to select, you may find the Magnetic Lasso easier to use. In the toolbox, it is grouped with the regular Lasso tool.

Click at a starting point and guide the tool around the area you want to select. If it goes astray, tap Backspace as needed to delete errant anchor points. Then click to force anchors where you want them.

Your first effort is not likely to be perfect, so be prepared to practice for a while. You may find it helpful to zoom in (Ctrl-+) so you can better see the details as you work.

EDIT: When you complete the trip around the area you are selecting, look for a very tiny circle just below and to the right of the tool. When that appears, click to close the loop and finish the selection.

After you get the selection done, press Ctrl-J to put it on its own layer with a transparent background. In the Layers palette (F7 toggles it), click the "eye" to the left of the background layer in order to hide it and see only your selection.

What you do next depends on what you want to do with the selection. For example, if you want to make a collage, create a new image (Ctrl-N) with a plain white background and drag the selection over to that image. Open other images, select what you want, and drag those selections over to the destination image. Each will go onto its own layer and you can move them around independently.

Before using the Magnetic Lasso, check out the Options bar above the work area. You may want to feather the selection by a few pixels in order to soften the edges. Or maybe not. And you may want to tinker with the Width and Edge Contrast settings to optimize the tool for your image. The Frequency setting relates to how often it sets down an anchor point; you probably will not need to change that.

If you get hung up, post your image at www.pixentral.com and include its link in your next post here.
RW
Robin_Wyatt
Apr 10, 2007
Been trying the Lasso thing, it doesn’t give you much control unless you have experience with it, it seems. Here’s what I’m trying to accomplish with very little luck. I have 2 pic of 10 kids, in one half of them look good like they are taking a family photo in the other the other half of them look good. So I need to cut both pics in half and mesh them together. Think it’ll work??

For the moment they can be viewed here
<http://www.geocities.com/mermaid500/Family/family.html>
JZ
Joe_Zydeco
Apr 10, 2007
Sure, that can work, but it will take a lot of work if you want to keep the sign, the wooden fence and the chain link in place, too.

One approach would be to select all the people, or groups of them when possible, and move them where you want them (on a new layer with a transparent background). You can then select the background layer and use the Clone Stamp and Brush tools as necessary to copy any leftover arm and leg parts. Finally, move the people back on top of the background layer.

It’s not easy to lay out the details without actually going through the steps, but keep in mind that you can do whatever you want with each layer, without affecting the other layers.

Working your way through this will be a challenge, but also a very good way to learn the basics of Photoshop in a short period of time.
RW
Robin_Wyatt
Apr 10, 2007
Thanks! I will try but it sounds very hard. I know nothing about the clone stamp or brush tools.
DR
Donald_Reese
Apr 10, 2007
Take your one image and drag the other on top of it using the move tool. its the v-key. then go to the layers palette and change the opacity to 50 percent. you can now see through the top photo to the bottom photo. move it around till the people line up. set the opacity back to 100 percent and use a layer mask to brush in the correct version you want. i would post my quick attempt,but maybe you want them kept somewhat secret.
DR
Donald_Reese
Apr 10, 2007
Now that i look at it, it reminds me of my family reunion at thanksgiving. two of the teenagers did that same stupid hand sign the girl is doing and i never saw it when i took the picture. it pissed me off cause it has my grandma and everyone looking great except that part.
JZ
Joe_Zydeco
Apr 10, 2007
"I know nothing about the clone stamp or brush tools."

Neither did anyone here until we taught ourselves! Get a general idea of what the tools do by reading the help file for an hour or so. If you don’t like the help file, get a book such as Classroom In A Book. Then just play with those tools for a while, with no expectations of success. Clone a nose to another’s face, or a girl’s shirt to a guy. Explore how successive strokes work differently when you turn on the Aligned option.

A really big time saver is to know some keyboard shortcuts for tools that paint. Left & right brackets (to the right of the letter "P" on your keyboard) control the brush size. Shift-[ and Shift-] control its softness/hardness. If you want the Brush to paint with a color from your image, hold down an Alt key and click on the color you want. If the Brush seems too heavy-handed, reduce its Flow setting, maybe even down to 20%, or even 5%.
RW
Robin_Wyatt
Apr 10, 2007
OK created an email so I could see what you did. it’s so if I end up getting a whole bunch of SPAM it’s not going to matter I’m only going to check it until I can get this done.

Thanks Joe and Don you guys are great!
DR
Donald_Reese
Apr 10, 2007
You do not need to remove anyone from the shot. what you want to accomplish is literally putting the good version of one person over the bad version. you can achieve this because your two photos seem to be very close in perspective. my result is good, dragging the one version on top of the other. it will need cropped a touch,because you changed your angle slightly but the heads match with some alignment effort. you only need to try layer masks or cloning. it is not as complicated as you imagine. practice and ask questions if you need more help.
DR
Donald_Reese
Apr 10, 2007
Email was sent.

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