Compositing Hair Challenge

[Frank Petronio]

So, using any Photoshop technique, plug-in, etc. could you take someone with long, wind-swept blonde hair shot against a busy dark background and composite them onto a lighter but equally complex background in such a way as to make a believable, high quality, full bleed magazine ad for a hair product ad?

How?

I know reshooting, even against white seamless, is the practical solution, but say you've gotta do it this way or it's curtains, zzzzilch.

[Kirk Gittings]

is it in color or b&w? if its in color and there is a good color difference between the hair and background you can go into channels find the one that has the best separation and make a mask from it.

[Donald Miller]

I own and use this plugin regularly. It works better than anything that I have tried to this point. http://www.topazlabs.com/tutorials/remask.html

Working in video the technique would involve chroma key. I imagine that chroma key would work on still images although I have not tried it. An example of what chroma key can do is found in the following video. Since it works very well in video it would seem to work well in still imagery as well. http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorial/demon_cam_inside_look/

[Sevo]

It is plain impossible unless you have a pixel accurate shot of the background by itself (which would have to be 100% static for the required accuracy). Up to a few years ago, this was not even a easy feat if you had a bluebox/greenbox background for chroma keying.

The best bet would be compositing it with another hair shot against a suitable background, ideally with the same model or a close match. Or render the hair with a identically posed digital mannequin (credibly rendered hair however needs a excellent animator working with a expensive software suite).

[Frank Petronio]

It is plain impossible unless you have a pixel accurate shot of the background by itself (which would have to be 100% static for the required accuracy). Up to a few years ago, this was not even a easy feat if you had a bluebox/greenbox background for chroma keying.

The best bet would be compositing it with another hair shot against a suitable background, ideally with the same model or a close match. Or render the hair with a identically posed digital mannequin (credibly rendered hair however needs a excellent animator working with a expensive software suite).


I agree.

I only asked to see what the answers might be, I think you can do a passable job for casual things but it would be a 40-hour job otherwise.

[D. Bryant]

I agree.

I only asked to see what the answers might be, I think you can do a passable job for casual things but it would be a 40-hour job otherwise.

You could complete that task in about an hour (or less) using the current version of PS. The new quick selection tool and refine edge tool in PS are very very good.

Matt Kloskowski's book (which can be purchased inexpensively as a Kindle edition) Photoshop Compositing Secrets makes this task very simple.

Of course there is the old school method as Kirk suggests that will work also but with more work.

[Frank Petronio]

Now I am getting tempted to dig in and try it. I used to retouch for a living in the early Photoshop days (competing against Scitex) and it paid great back then, but as more people started doing it the prices fell and I went to the web for the money.... But the techniques I used in the 90s were quite crude, I drew a lot of paths.

[jnantz]

i know someone who does armloads of product work and portraits and weddings
showed me something that does exactly what you are talking about ... i wish i knew what it was called
because you just clicked on the background, and the program/plug in &c was able to perfectly cut the person
and intricate hair out of the background, so you could drop in something else.
this was years ago that he showed me this ( maybe 10 or 12? ) and i have been trying to figure out what it was
ever since ... i lost touch with this guy, or i would just email him and ask ... and post the name ..
maybe it is kind of like the thing that donald uses ..

[Frank Petronio]

Hmm I remember if it was sharp hair you could get it OK but if it was soft-billowing-out of focus it was tough.

[Kirk Gittings]

I own and use this plugin regularly. It works better than anything that I have tried to this point. http://www.topazlabs.com/tutorials/remask.html

Working in video the technique would involve chroma key. I imagine that chroma key would work on still images although I have not tried it. An example of what chroma key can do is found in the following video. Since it works very well in video it would seem to work well in still imagery as well. http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorial/demon_cam_inside_look/

Wow that Topaz ReMask looks pretty incredible. Thanks for that. Watch this Frank: http://www.topazlabs.com/tutorials/remask.html

[mandoman7]

Incredible tool. But even with perfect masking she looks funny against that gray background.
John

[Daniel Moore]

jnanian, are you thinking of Ultimatte's AdvantEdge?

[Peter De Smidt]

I'm also a fan of Topaz Re-mask.

[jgunderson]

The defringe method has always worked great for me. Make the selection, Refine Edge, then Layer > Matting > Defringe.

If you're a NAPP member, there is an excellent tutorial here: http://members.photoshopuser.com/article/using-defringe-to-make-great-selections/

Here is a similar method: http://mos.futurenet.com/pdf/computerarts/ART141_tut_1.pdf

[Ben Hopson]

OnOne Software's Perfect Mask does a pretty good and quick job.