EXTRACTIONS How to do it without going near your dentist

HOW TO MAKE CUT OUTS IN PHOTOSHOP is one of most frequent requests at teaching seminars. The fact that there are a number of standalone products for doing the job and several ways of accomplishing the task semi-automatically in Photoshop is indicative of the frequent need. The problem is that even with a bit of help it is still a minefield if safe passage is to be achieved to the goal of a convincing result, which nobody can detect.

Prevention is Better than Cure

If you can, avoid making life more difficult. If you know that you are going to cut out a product, shoot the photograph on a plain, colour-contrasting background. However, be alert to the fact the any colour reflected into the product will still be there when you cut the product out. If you shoot a slightly shiny camera on a red backdrop then move it digitally to a green background, the invading red around the rim of the product will look really out of place. A neutral backdrop would be a better choice even if the colour contrast made cut-out selection slightly more difficult.

Don't Forget Paths

In the Photoshop user's progression to power-user, paths appear quite late in the agenda. However for cutting around regular, man-made objects such as cars paths are unbeatable. You have to persevere though; it's like riding a bike. Once mastered you don't forget but you may fall off a few times on the way to learning!

Look for the Easy Option

Remember that the Magic Wand is usually the easiest way when it works. Always check out an individual channel to see if one has a greater contrast. If it does then make your selection there ahead of re-activating the composite channel to do your cut out. If the RGB channels don't quite cut it (pardon the pun) duplicate the image then convert the duplicate to CMYK or even Lab mode and try those channels. If they work convert your precious selection to an Alpha Channel to save it then drag the Alpha Channel back to the original file while holding down the shift key. This will drop your channel exactly in place in the original file ready for use. To activate the alpha channel as a selection hold down the Ctrl key and click your mouse in the channel within the Channels Palette.

If a channel is there but not quite you can duplicate it then open Curves and increase the contrast just for the purpose of making the mask.

When Easy Fails

If the simple techniques or combinations of them let you down you can go for the Extract Tool on Photoshop.

1. The Force Foreground option lets you make intricate selections when an object lacks a clear interior.

2. Choose File > Open, and open the file.

3. Choose Image > Extract.

4. In the Extract dialog box, select the Force Foreground option. You'll start by selecting the colour on which to base your selection. The Force Foreground technique works best with objects that are monochromatic or fairly uniform in colour.

5. Select the eyedropper tool in the Extract dialog box, and then click a light area of the girl's hair to sample the colour to be treated as the foreground.

6. Select the edge highlighter tool in the Extract dialog box.

7. For Brush Size, use the slider or enter a value to select a fairly large brush (we used 20 or 30).

8. Drag to begin highlighting the wispy ends of the hair where they overlap the background.

9. When you've gone around the hair continue down the white blouse. Keep close to the edge of the blouse as you will find it easy to remove material on the inside. This is one of the problems with the Extract Tool, it is not very clever! The highlight should be solid.

10. Choose Gray Matte from the Display menu in the Extract dialog box. A grey matte provides good contrast for a light-coloured selection. For a dark selection, try the Gray or White Matte option. None previews a selection against a transparent background.

11. Click the Preview button to preview the extracted object.

12. To view and refine the extraction, use one of the following techniques: o Use the Show menu to switch between previews of the original and extracted images. o Select the Show Highlight or Show Fill option to display the object's extraction boundaries. When you have finished editing, click Preview to view the edited extraction. You can edit and preview the extraction repeatedly until you achieve the desired result.

13. When you are satisfied with the selection, click OK to apply the final extraction. All pixels on the layer outside the extracted object are erased to transparency.

Left: In the
Extract dialogue
box you
highlight the
area that is to be
used to generate
the cut out. Then
you fill the
interior and
perform a
Preview to see
the effect of your
work.

Left: You should
make a duplicate
file or duplicate
the Background
layer so that you
can make repairs
using the Clone
Tool for any areas
that are
incorrectly
removed by the
Extract Tool. Ears
in particular are
sometimes
nibbled away!

Photo Quote: Anything more than 500 yds from the car just isn't photogenic. - Edward Weston