Hair Masking

8/8/2019 Hair Masking

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Selecting & Extracting Hair - Masking Tutorial - Extraction TipsAdapted from " Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 Maximum Performance " by Mark Galer

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One of the most challenging montage or masking jobs in the profession of post-production editing is the hairlift. When the model has long flowing hair and the subject needs to change location many post-productionartists call in sick. Get it wrong and, just like a bad wig, it shows. Extract filters, Magic Erasers and TragicExtractors don¶t even get us close.

Portrait image by Dan Stainsby

The first secret step must be completed before you even press the shutter on the camera. Your number oneessential step for success is to first shoot your model against a white backdrop, sufficiently illuminated sothat it is captured as white rather than gray. This important aspect of the initial image capture ensures thatthe resulting hair transplant is seamless and undetectable.

The post-production is the easy bit - simply apply the correct sequence of editing steps and the magic is allyours. This is not brain surgery but follow these simple steps and you will join the elite ranks of Photoshopgurus around the world. Celebrity status is just a few clicks away.



Step 1The initial steps of this tutorial are concerned with creating a mask that can be used in the final montage.Start by dragging the background layer to the New Layer icon to duplicate it. Choose µRemove Color¶ fromthe Adjust Color submenu found in the Enhance menu (Enhance > Adjust Color > Remove Color).

Drag this desaturated/monochrome layer to the New Layer icon in the Layers palette to duplicate it. Set theblend mode of this new layer (now on top of the layers stack) to µOverlay¶ mode.

Step 2From the Layer menu choose µMerge Down¶ to create a single high-contrast monochrome layer. Select

µBlack¶ as the foreground color and the µBrush tool¶ from the Tools palette. Choose a large hard edged brushand 100% opacity from the Options bar and set the mode to µOverlay¶ (also in the Options bar).

Painting in Overlay mode will preserve the white background and darken the rest of the pixels. Accuracywhilst painting in Overlay mode is not a concern when the background is white or is significantly lighter thanthe subject. Avoid going anywhere near the tips of the hair at this stage.

Step 3Even the bright tones of the white shirt can be rendered black by repeatedly clicking the mouse whilst usinga large brush in Overlay mode. Again it is important to avoid going anywhere near the hair.



Step 4 Darken the body of the hair near the scalp but avoid the locks of hair that have white background showingthrough. Painting these individual strands of hair will thicken the hair and may lead to subsequent halosappearing later in the montage process.

Performance TipSwitch the blend mode of the brush in the Options bar to µNormal¶ mode when painting away from the edgeof the subject. This will ensure a speedy conclusion to the mask making process. The mask is now ready touse in the montage.

Note > If any of the background has been darkened in the process of creating a black and white maskswitch the foreground color to µWhite¶ and choose µOverlay¶ in the Options bar. Paint to render any areas of gray background white. It is again important to avoid painting near the edges containing delicate hair detail.

Step 5 With the Remove Color layer selected add a Levels adjustment layer. Without making any adjustment simplyselect OK. This Levels adjustment layer has a layer mask that we can use to house the mask that we have



created in the previous step.

Step 6 The next step relocates the mask you have just created into the layer mask of the adjustment layer. Fromthe Select menu choose µAll¶ and from the Edit menu choose µCopy Merged¶. Hold down the Alt key and clickon the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers palette. The image window will momentarily appear white as youview the empty contents of the layer mask.

From the Edit menu choose µPaste¶ to transfer the contents of the clipboard to this layer mask. Click on thelayer below to select it and then click on the Visibility icon of this layer to switch it off. This mask layerserves no purpose now that it has been successfully transferred to the adjustment layer mask.

Step 7 The new background is placed on its own layer above the figure and mask layers. Drag the thumbnail of thisnew file into the image window of your project file from either the Photo Bin or the layer thumbnail in the

Layers palette. Group this new background layer with the adjustment layer beneath (Layer > Group withPrevious). Alternatively you can hold down the Alt key and click on the dividing line between the two layersto group them.



Step 8 Grouping the new background with the adjustment layer will mask the background in the region of thefigure but the quality will not yet be acceptable. Setting the blend mode of the adjustment layer to µMultiply¶ will bring back all of the fine detail in the hair. The background will be not darkened by applying the

µMultiply¶ blend mode as white is a neutral color. The subtle detail in the fine strands of hair will however bepreserved in all their glory.

Step 9 The accuracy and quality of the edge of the mask will usually require some attention in order for the subjectto achieve a seamless quality with the new background. Make a selection of all of the edges that do notinclude any hair detail using the Lasso tool with a small amount of feather set in the Options bar. With theadjustment layer mask selected choose the µGaussian Blur filter¶ (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur) and apply a1- to 2-pixel Radius Blur to the mask.

Click OK and then from the Enhance menu choose a Levels adjustment from the Adjust lighting submenu.Move the central Gamma slider underneath the histogram to realign the edge of the mask with the subjectedge (no dark or light halo should be visible).



Performance TipIf the mask is too soft the edges can be sharpened by moving the black and white sliders in towards thecentral Gamma slider a little. Select OK when perfect alignment has been achieved.

Zoom in to 100% Actual pixels whilst working to accurately assess the quality of your mask.

Step 10 In most instances the hair is already looking pretty fabulous but to modify and perfect the hair even furtheryou will need to inverse the selection (Select > Inverse). Choose µLevels¶ once again and move the centralGamma slider to the left to increase the density of the hair and eliminate any white halos that may bepresent. Moving the White slider to the left a little may help the process of achieving a perfect blendbetween subject and background. Select OK and choose µDeselect¶ from the Select menu.

Performance TipAny localized refinement of the mask can be achieved manually by painting with a small soft edged brushdirectly into the layer mask. Paint with white at a reduced opacity (10-20%) to remove any fine halospresent in localized areas. Several brush strokes will slowly erase the halo from the image.



Step 11 The true test of an accurate mask for a subject that was photographed against a white background is whenyou place the subject against a very dark background. Grouping a Levels adjustment layer with the newbackground layer can darken the background image used in this project.

Hold down the Alt key when you select a Levels adjustment layer from the Layers palette. Click on the

Group with Previous box in the New Layer dialog box and then select OK to open the Levels dialog box.Move the Gamma slider to the right in order to preview your subject against a darker background in theimage window.

This is an Extract from Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 Maximum Performance . Learn more tips and tricksfrom Photoshop expert Mark Galer .

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Hair Masking