Help me learn to remove objects in PSCC

I've been struggling with the "content aware tool in PS . I can remove simple objects that are kind of standing by themselves without much problems, but objects that overlap other objects are a real pain. There has to be another way besides spending hours doing it.

What I usually do, is use the Lasso tool to select the object I want to remove, then just go to "edit" then "fill" with content aware and let it do it's magic.
This works fine with simple standalone objects. Before now this was not much of a problem. If I couldn't remove something, then I would just either leave it or not use the image at all.

Until now! Today I have taken the best BIF shot of my life. IMO that is. The problem is this plastic whtcamacallit that the bird is landing on. It's ugly and it doesn't look natural.

If someone could point me towards a direction to what I need to learn about removing stuff would surely be appreciated. I don't need someone to do it for me, just tell me where I need to look for guidance.
Thank you.

BTW, here is the shot I'm talking about.

I don't know any other way than content-aware fill and then the clone tool. I'd first remove the tubes agains the blue sky with content aware fill. This should be simple.

Then I'd use the same tool to get rid of the bits in front of the osprey. This is going to be only an approximation and far from perfect. After that I'd zoom down to the pixel level and used the clone tool to copy and paste feathers and legs to blend the filled gaps in. It is a big job, perhaps an hour or so of rather tedious and painstaking clicking. But might be worth the effort.

Felisek said:

I don't know any other way than content-aware fill and then the clone tool. I'd first remove the tubes agains the blue sky with content aware fill. This should be simple.

Then I'd use the same tool to get rid of the bits in front of the osprey. This is going to be only an approximation and far from perfect. After that I'd zoom down to the pixel level and used the clone tool to copy and paste feathers and legs to blend the filled gaps in. It is a big job, perhaps an hour or so of rather tedious and painstaking clicking. But might be worth the effort.

Click to expand...

Thanks Marek! I have never used the "clone" tool before. Looks like I have some Youtube watching to do.

I'd do about the same.

Simply erase the whole plastic tubes, fill all with the blue background and then rebuild the bird by using other portions to fill the gaps. Just create new layers, masks and then erase using different opacity brushing.

It's going to take some time and effort but you luckily have all the information you need in the other parts.

There are no shortcuts in doing this. Content-aware fill and then the clone tool like Felisek said is the only way. The shot is worth the time and effort to get right. Also learning how to do it on this complex shot will benefit you later.

I used to create collages with PS many moons ago and found it easiest to just copy parts, paste them as a separate layer and then manipulate those. If you do the same with the feathers, you can cut one out, move it over the gaps and then rotate/scale until it fits. Then you can work it in.

It's best to use enough layers and only when completely finished merge them all. That way you can always correct a portion if needed without affecting anything else.

Don Kuykendall said:

There are no shortcuts in doing this. Content-aware fill and then the clone tool like Felisek said is the only way. The shot is worth the time and effort to get right. Also learning how to do it on this complex shot will benefit you later.

Click to expand...

Well, I have a week off next week, so that might be enough time.

Blacktop said:

Well, I have a week off next week, so that might be enough time.

Click to expand...

A few years ago when I was just getting back into Photography and Photoshop there was a shot that I just loved. An old bridge on a river with a old church on the far bank. There were power lines across the river and power poles and lights in front of the church and other buildings that could be seen under the bridge. I spend weeks working of removing all the junk from the shot including getting another shot of the roof of the church from a totally different angle so I would have a good reference for replacing the roof. All the work payed off by me having the shot I saw in my head. But in the long run it has payed off in me learning how to do all this. Skills I use all the time now.

Work on the shot a little at the time being sure to save with all the layers as a PSD file so you can pick back up on it when you have time to play.

Well, I removed all the stuff in LR. Now to put it back together. LOL! I was always good at taking things apart.:very_drunk:

I'm gonna go post a flower shot in the post your flower shots section.