DIGITAL DIRECTIONS

Photo Maskingfor the'

Original mask Selection of mask with magic wand

Fine tuning the mask edit Final mask edit

Jack & Sue Drafahl

Hard to believe, but masking can be fun! Especially

when it's done right on your computer screen. No

more "registration" nightmares.

As

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TRADITIONALLY trained pho-tographers, we remember the painstakingprocedures required to accomplish specialeffects. Photographers had to take theextra time necessary to complete studioshoots because trying to fix problems inthe darkroom took hours. When we want-ed to change backgrounds on an image,

PHOTO LAB MANAGEMENT • JUNE 1997

Red channel Green channel

Blue channel Red, green, blue and alpha masking channels

Pasting image with alpha channel

we had to battle with Kodalith masks.These had to be sandwiched with the orig-inal, then there were the reverse masksthat all had to be pin-registered together.

Of course, there was always the possi-bility of having to start the whole processover if things were slightly out of register.Trying to bid these jobs for clients was

Final composite image

tough to estimate—and more often thannot, you guessed wrong.

Fortunately, digital photography hasmade the photo-masking process fasterand more accurate. The problem lies in thefact that it takes a while to get the hang ofit and learn all the tricks that make it easy.Software manufacturers, in an effort to

maximize editing tools, have added dozensof features and effects available with mask-ing tools. When you look at the instructionchapter on masking, the amount of materi-al on the subject is frightening. But takethe time to go through the chapter andstudy all about alpha channels, layers andselection tools. It will definitely be worth

PHOTO LAB MANAGEMENT • JUNE 1997

THE FIRST STEP in performingmiracles is to determine if you

can use your magic wand!the time you invest.

In our operation we use Photoshop 4.0,Picture Publisher 7.0, and Bryce 2. Photo-shop has better control over the individualchannels, but Picture Publisher has a bet-ter manual select tool. Bryce accepts alpha-channel files from both programs andplaces them on exciting 3D backgrounds.

The main application for digital mask-ing allows you to change the backgroundbehind a subject. This is accomplished byeither changing the background in a spe-cific image, or by selecting the subject andpasting it onto a new background. Theremay be several reasons why you wouldneed to use masking:

1. The client wants the product pho-tographed on an background that isimpossible to photograph.

2. The subject cannot be moved and thebackground is cluttered.

3. The product is being readied for ship-ment and has to be photographed on theassembly line.

4. The photographer has not pho-tographed the subject properly.

So, the photographer does the best jobpossible—lighting the subject and keepingit separated from the background. Hethen brings the image to your lab andexpects you to perform miracles!

The first step in performing miracles isto determine if you can use your magicwand! If you cannot use your automaticselection tool, or magic wand, you willhave to manually select the area to bemasked out. Look at the subject and fol-low the outer edge of it and see if it sepa-rates away from the background. If itdoes, select the magic wand and begin se-lecting the background. Magic wandshave adjustments so if the first selectionpicks the background and also part of thesubject, it is set too high. Reset the selec-tion to "none" and try it again.

The best scenario is if the magic wandpicks about half the background. Thenusing the add selection, grab a sectionnear the edge of your first selection. Thiswill expand your selection. If it againselects part of the subject, redo the set-ting, clear your selection and repeat the

process. If you select the entire back-ground and only a small piece of the sub-ject, use the subtract selection, and manu-ally remove the part that encroaches intothe subject area.

If the magic wand just doesn't work, oryou become frustrated with it, don't worrybecause you have a more reliable backup.Photoshop's "lasso" and Picture Publisher's"freehand select" tools allow you to tracearound the subject using the mouse point-er. Be sure to zoom in on a small edge ofthe subject before you start the process toensure the highest quality edit. Before youuse any of the selection tools, take a look atthe setting for that specific tool to see if ithas an anti-alias control. This function willremove the jaggies in the selection processand give a smoother blend of image tobackground.

You have the option of selecting eitherthe background or the subject. If you endup selecting the subject because it was eas-ier, you can change to the backgroundusing the inverse selection function. Beforeyou paste in the new background, youshould feather the selection. This will fur-ther blend the area where the two imagesmeet and will result in less editing afterthe background paste is accomplished.

Once the selection is made, you shouldsave your work as a TIFF format or theformat designed for your specific software.For example, Photoshop uses PSD format.The selection is stored in an area calledan alpha channel. Somewhere in yoursoftware, you will find a function that willdisplay the channels. Normally it will dis-play the red, green and blue colors togeth-er as a channel, each color as a separatechannel, and the alpha channels.

In the channels menu you can makeindividual channels invisible, so you canedit one specific channel. This is handy ifyou want to edit the alpha-masking chan-nel after it is created. You can add color,graduate it, add patterns, or just aboutany effect possible in your editing soft-ware. When you return to the full RGBchannel, the effect will only affect theselected area. If you preview the RGBchannel and the masking channel at thesame time, the area protected by themask will be overlayed with a rubylith

color. Using a magnifier, you can thenlook at your edit and make minor correc-tions to the mask using the clone tool.

When you're ready to add the new back-ground, you can use the "paste into" com-mand and the background will be addedinto your image. If the background is larg-er than the whole image area, you canmove it around to achieve the best posi-tion. If you want to paste the subject intoa new background image, you will have tohave the subject selected. If the back-ground is selected, inverse select and copyit to the clipboard, or drag the selectioninto a new image.

If this was a perfect world you wouldsimply save the file and be done. Unfor-tunately, human error may cause you toneed the second application of the mask-ing tools. Most problems will occur wherethe subject joins the background. Theblend may not be perfect, or you may findthat your selection wandered into the sub-ject or background. Whatever the prob-lem, you may find minor blemishes alongthe blend line.

Let's say that the problem is that someof the old background carried into the newbackground. If you try to remove this areausing the clone tool, odds are that you willmake matters worse.

The solution is easy. By using the man-ual select tool and choosing a small areanear the subject, you have created a pro-tection mask. When you edit with theclone tool, it will only work inside theselected area. This means that you can se-lect and edit very small areas without theworry of accidentally spilling into the sub-ject area. If the problem area is in the sub-ject itself, select an area just larger thanthe area that needs repair, making surethat the selection does not venture intothe background. If you do make mistakes,or are unhappy with your edit, use theUndo function and try again.

From what we have seen, there is noclear winner when it comes to selectingthe perfect editing software. Each soft-ware program has its good points alongwith some bad. We recommend workingwith at least two editing programs, usingthe one that fits the task best.

Once you get past reading the softwaremanuals and master some of the maskingtechniques, you're not going to believe thepotential you have with your editing sys-tem. Get busy and wave your magic wandto create some miracle masks!

Jack and Sue Drafahl own and operate a customlab in Portland, OR. They are also professionalphotographers, specializing in underwater pho-tography.

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