Photoshop Tips
Photoshop Photo Tip 01 Photoshop Photo Tip 12
Vector Mask Photo
By: Donna Chapman
When you hear the word photoshop, one usually thinks of either
image manipulation or a combination of several different photos.
What we are learning today is a little bit of both. With a Vector
Mask you can combine two or more images in a realistic and
clean looking manner.
Step 1. Open the two images you wish to combine. For this
to work best you need some neutral space around your main
subject.
Step 2. Using the Marquee Tool (Arrow A) outline the
section in the second photo (Arrow B) that you want to add
to the main photo.
Step 3. Switching to the pointer tool (Arrow A) drag the
outlined section you just created in the second photo
(Arrow B) and place it on the main photo (Arrow C). Be
careful of placement here. I know for example that I will
be taking out the sky in the second image, but I don't want
to block out the face of the main subject.
Step 4. Once the copy of the second image is in place on the
main subject, you can close the second image. Then go over
to the Layers Dialog box and click on the icon that looks like
a small rectangle with a circle inside (Arrow A). This will add
a mask to your first layer. Click on the white box (Arrow B)
to make sure the mask is active.
Step 5. On the other side of the screen open your brush tool
and adjust the size (Arrow A) and the style of brush (Arrow B).
You want a brush with a sharp crisp edge. Then make sure
that the Opacity setting is at 100% (Arrow C).
Step 6: Using the brush tool (Arrow A) start painting away
the background (Arrow B). Make sure that the Foreground/
Background tool is set to black and white with Black on the
top. NOTE: If you make a mistake and erase too much, you
can put white on top and this will let you to paint back the
section you messed up on.
Step 7. There may be times where you need the zoom tool
(Arrow A) so that you can enlarge a section (Arrow B) to get
the fine detail. Don't be afraid to change your brush size several
times if needed. (Arrow C).
Step 8. As you get closer to the end, there may be details you
want to get rid of that remain in the visible layer. Remember,
up to this point you were working on the mask. In order to
paint or copy over something, you will need to click on the
layer image (Arrow A) not the mask. Once you do that, you
can then paint or copy away those annoying detail (Arrow B).
Step 9. In this particular case, I did not want the flags to be
as dominant as the main dancer. I took care of that by going
to the Opacity tool (Arrow A) and adjusting how solid or
transparent this secondary image is. (Arrow B)
Step 10. Before you
save, don't forget to go
to Layer across the top
menu, scroll down to
"Flatten Image".
Then, when it's time to
save, use the "Save As"
function so that you
can give your new
creation a new name.
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