Ugh, i hate not shooting in a studio. Also hate hair..

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eurotrash

Senior Member
I'm a lightroom kinda guy for my normal photography. I recently had a girl ask me to shoot some shots of her for a tattoo magazine, and I was working with sticks and rocks, literally as far as room/lighting/space/etc was concerned. I'm now trying to edit some of these photos and really just need to isolate the subject on a white background for further editing. I'm having a lot of trouble with the subject's hair. We used a fan to kind of blow it around, and now it's becoming impossible to select the hair and simply add white background around it. Can anyone point me in a direction that's easy and simple to follow? I've tried following some youtube vids but I just can't get things to work like they are for some reason. I'll get up to say, step 5, then step 5 won't work. I'm so puzzled..I don't understand why photoshop has to be so complicated. I've never liked it for that reason. I'm all for reading a book and learning something, but when it comes to PS, it's just a bible and really, I just don't have the time for that. Hence, LR4 lol.:dejection:

Alternatively if someone wants me to send them the images and do it for me, hey...that'd be rad too :rolleyes:
 
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Ruidoso Bill

Senior Member
eurotrash said:
I'm a lightroom kinda guy for my normal photography. I recently had a girl ask me to shoot some shots of her for a tattoo magazine, and I was working with sticks and rocks, literally as far as room/lighting/space/etc was concerned. I'm now trying to edit some of these photos and really just need to isolate the subject on a white background for further editing. I'm having a lot of trouble with the subject's hair. We used a fan to kind of blow it around, and now it's becoming impossible to select the hair and simply add white background around it. Can anyone point me in a direction that's easy and simple to follow? I've tried following some youtube vids but I just can't get things to work like they are for some reason. I'll get up to say, step 5, then step 5 won't work. I'm so puzzled..I don't understand why photoshop has to be so complicated. I've never liked it for that reason. I'm all for reading a book and learning something, but when it comes to PS, it's just a bible and really, I just don't have the time for that. Hence, LR4 lol.:dejection:

Alternatively if someone wants me to send them the images and do it for me, hey...that'd be rad too :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I do my image cutout stuff in Photoshop, I also use LR4 but it doesn't have that capability. Just one of the ways Adobe keeps us buying both.
 
Fred Kingston

Fred Kingston

Senior Member
You might want to look at Topaz Labs' ReMask add-in product. Although LR doesn't do layers, Topaz's ReMask will ue their own internals to effect the same, and let you assemble the different pieces.. Their big claim to fame is their Smart Brush, which does an excellent job of separating stuff like hair and tree leaves from their backgrounds.
 
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eurotrash

Senior Member
Let me be BLUNT:

I don't know hardly anything about pchop. Like, literally, I just follow tutorials from 12 year olds on youtube and use presets. LR is where I excel. I need help! :ambivalence:
 
Fred Kingston

Fred Kingston

Senior Member
They have video learning courses... $20-$30 That use videos to walk you through all aspects of the program. Think of a video tutorial that replaces the documentation for software... Once installed on your computer, you can go back and forth at your own speed... Holler if you'd like me to post some links...
 
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TedG954

Senior Member
Hmmmmmmm....... I wonder how she'd look bald? :suspicion:

images
 
Fred Kingston

Fred Kingston

Senior Member
eurotrash said:
Let me be BLUNT:

I don't know hardly anything about pchop. Like, literally, I just follow tutorials from 12 year olds on youtube and use presets. LR is where I excel. I need help! :ambivalence:
Click to expand...


What you want to do is called "layers"... Think of "layers" as stacking components of images to achieve a specific composite image... In your case, you want to cut the model from your photos and then place her on a different background... You really don't want a white background if you're going to place her on a different/colored background. You want just the model with NO background.

If you in fact, do want a white background, and make it appear that the model is floating in space.. then you still want just the model, superimposed on the background... in your case a white background.

LR, unfortunately, does NOT do "layers". That is a feature of PS... Using PS, you can cut the model from the existing background, and save her on layer 1, and then you'd create layer 2 (either a straight white layer, or a different scene without the model)...

Layer 1 gets superimposed on your background layer 2...
 
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