Cloning out unwanted objects

[RintelnGirl]

Hi All,

I would appreciate some help with pp'ing images please. I am getting better at this, however, if the area is large then I struggle. I took the attached in Scotland but the fence ruins it. Could anyone please show me what is the best that can be done with it and explain what to do?

Thanks

[racort]

I think that trying to clone out the fence would be very difficult due to amount of it in the picture.  I believe the easiest way to fix it is to swap out the background. I erased all of the picture except for the owl and the area it was sitting on in photoshop. I then added a new layer with a landscape image, then merged the owl layer forward. Added a little out of focus blur to the background and used the healing tool to blend the background. The image I used was a spring image, it didn't really match your fall shot, but this is just one idea to on how to deal with your background. This was just a ten minute quickie. Hope this helps.

[Rupert]

I used the magnetic lasso to capture the background with the fencing and then used Filters/Noise/Dust to blur the background just enough to remove the fence from being clear. Then I used the Smudge tool to blend in the meeting of the focused and unfocused area and the Blur tool afterwards. Looked pretty good on my screen, but there are many ways to skin a cat, others may have better methods. Cloning out a little at a time is possible but would take a long time!
Regards
Rupert

[spyglass]

There is nothing that time and money can not solve....... In this case "time" being the operative word. I really have to agree with Racort on this one. Cloning out an object is one thing, complete recreation of a background is another. Swapping the background is the fastest and easiest route. It also offers solid results and 99% of the people will not be able to tell (you being the 1%).


Spyglass

[tcom]

I tried out a few methods, but most are really time consuming.

I do have to agree with RaCort and Spyglass, swapping the background being the easiest method.

[RintelnGirl]

Hi All,

Thanks for all the advise. I haven't got to grips with layers yet so that might take a bit of doing  but I guess I need to start sometime. I did try to focus out the fence but the owl was just too far away from it or me  I'll go away and try and figure out layers and see what I can achieve. Doubt it will be as good as Racort's though.

Thanks again.

[spyglass]

RintelnGirl - do not fear or dread layers. Learn them as fast as you can. Layers to photo editing are like supersonic jet planes to transportation.

Just think of layers as sheets of glass that you can stack on top of each other. You get to decide what is on each sheet and how transparent it will be (opacity & fill adjustment). Then you get to choose the manner in which it reacts to the layers below (blend mode). Remember that you have to be on the layer that you are working on. As a final process you can then flatten the layers, or Merge visible to end up with a singular entity.

Once you get this basic operation you can go to the next level and start using adjustment layers, layer masks, etc.

Go on Youtube and type in "Photoshop Layer tutorial" or "Photoshop layers", "layer tutorial". I have read several books on Photoshop and still find new tricks or ideas from watching what other people come up with. I probably watch over 5 hours of videos per week just on Photoshop and Photoshop related features. What ever you want to accomplish...... somebody has a video showing you the step by step. Some are lost, but the majority are spot on and vary in degrees of difficulty. Just watch 3 or 4 for each trick and you will get a broad view and may even combine several aspects to suit your style of application.

So go out there a kick some Layer Butt 


Spyglass