Since it is important for every editor to go beyond retouching and manipulation, he needs to know how to mask images with unruly hair. Is there a perfect technique for it? Find out for yourself.
You cannot stop women from styling their hair. They do all sorts of experiments and then love to be photographed with new styles. Now this impressive style may not be ideal for the perfect photo frame, as it happens often. It is a problem for the photographer to get the hair stylist to keep combing the hair. It is a waste of time. So what is the next best thing to do? To comb it neatly during the edit! There is software for it and plenty of professionals who can actually do it with aplomb.
Learning how to mask hair images is one of the lessons every editor goes through in his career. Masking is a versatile technique for many areas of editing. A life saving tool is the channel mask. It gives excellent results when there are contrasts. With experience the editor will be able to decide if he needs to use the red, green or blue channel for the mask. Along with the channel, the image tone is also set. For that levels and curves are used and form a part of the advanced features of imaging software. These help to make clear-cut selections. Models that have been shot inside the studios and have hair styled in different ways can be the ideal images to edit under this process. Not only for hair but also even for clothes it is useful. This is just one of the ways to create the ‘final cut’.
When the masking of hair is difficult it is best to just cover it up! There is no point in wasting time. For example take a picture of a couple sitting in their white wedding finery on the fresh green blades of grass. But when it is a wedding there are other props also around it. The setting could have a music system popping out or a few used flute glasses of champagne and cocktail tumblers. These objects mar the otherwise pretty picture. And between the blades of grass, which look like a hair scare how, can they be removed? The only way to treat this dilemma is to use the hair masking techniques. They can simply be covered up only to reveal the bridal couple.
The healing tool can get rid of the objects. But while it may work on some objects it may prove fruitless for some. If a part of the music system cannot be removed like this then use the usual classical style by making a selection of the object. You can use content aware and press ok. While this may remove the object but the residue is not so nice. If this does not work use another tool and another technique to do the same. A new layer is created. With the help of the clone stamp tool and lighten it with a large brush. If there are uneven tones, zoom in to remove the same. With this the pixels around the area are lightened. And then make one eve tone with another new layer checking the RCB, red and blue. And voila except for the green grass, blue sky and the bridal couple all-else fades out of memory!
You cannot stop women from styling their hair. They do all sorts of experiments and then love to be photographed with new styles. Now this impressive style may not be ideal for the perfect photo frame, as it happens often. It is a problem for the photographer to get the hair stylist to keep combing the hair. It is a waste of time. So what is the next best thing to do? To comb it neatly during the edit! There is software for it and plenty of professionals who can actually do it with aplomb.
Learning how to mask hair images is one of the lessons every editor goes through in his career. Masking is a versatile technique for many areas of editing. A life saving tool is the channel mask. It gives excellent results when there are contrasts. With experience the editor will be able to decide if he needs to use the red, green or blue channel for the mask. Along with the channel, the image tone is also set. For that levels and curves are used and form a part of the advanced features of imaging software. These help to make clear-cut selections. Models that have been shot inside the studios and have hair styled in different ways can be the ideal images to edit under this process. Not only for hair but also even for clothes it is useful. This is just one of the ways to create the ‘final cut’.
When the masking of hair is difficult it is best to just cover it up! There is no point in wasting time. For example take a picture of a couple sitting in their white wedding finery on the fresh green blades of grass. But when it is a wedding there are other props also around it. The setting could have a music system popping out or a few used flute glasses of champagne and cocktail tumblers. These objects mar the otherwise pretty picture. And between the blades of grass, which look like a hair scare how, can they be removed? The only way to treat this dilemma is to use the hair masking techniques. They can simply be covered up only to reveal the bridal couple.
The healing tool can get rid of the objects. But while it may work on some objects it may prove fruitless for some. If a part of the music system cannot be removed like this then use the usual classical style by making a selection of the object. You can use content aware and press ok. While this may remove the object but the residue is not so nice. If this does not work use another tool and another technique to do the same. A new layer is created. With the help of the clone stamp tool and lighten it with a large brush. If there are uneven tones, zoom in to remove the same. With this the pixels around the area are lightened. And then make one eve tone with another new layer checking the RCB, red and blue. And voila except for the green grass, blue sky and the bridal couple all-else fades out of memory!