Head Swaps

I thought I'd throw out a tutorial on how I do my head swaps, because they are actually pretty easy to do. There are probably a million ways to do this, and there may be a better way out there. But through trial and error this is what I came up with and it's fast, easy and works for me. These are a couple photos my brother sent to me today needing a head swap. So check it out. I did this in under 2 minutes.
My rules I try to go by before doing head swaps:
1.As long as the camera is at the same angle in both the shots, and the lighting hasn't changed drastically, it can be pulled off pretty simply. These are the 2 shots I'm working with.

So I'll pick a base shot. I'm using the one where everyone is smilling but Miss Chilly there.

On the other image, I'm going to select the polygon lasso tool and cut out the good section of the photo I want to insert. Can you see the "marching ants"? The little white lines outlining part of the image. That is our selection. I will then copy and paste that selection on to my base. (I could have completely cut her out by herself with the polygon lasso tool, but to make it even easier, since Miss Peachy to the right of her looks great in both shots, I'm going to cut this out in one giant chunk, which will require much less blending, and make this really easy and fast.)
Which brings me to another rule that I go by.
#2 Cut in as big of chunks as you can. This works for me. Obviously it's a case by case basis, but overall I've had the best luck going this route.

This is to show you just how large a chunk I am pasting onto the base image. Another rule I follow is:
#3. In using the polygon lasso tool to cut out your image, try to follow lines that are in your image or any implied line. This makes blending really easy. I followed the line down the center of the window. Again, if I had to just cut her out alone, and leave Miss Peachy on the end out of it, you can look above her and see exactly which lines I would include while cutting her out. There is a perfect line to the right of her head that goes right on up to the top. I would have chunked it out exactly that way.

After I have copied and pasted the selection onto the base image I carefully match up the pieces. (copy and paste keyboard shortcut, command c and commad v) Now I'm working with 2 layers. In the layers palette, I adjust the opacity to around 50% or so. This allows our selected piece to be transparent. Notice that we can now see through it. This allows me to line the piece up to the image underneath. I want my image to line up in the center. Her blouse, and the hand on her shoulder. If the outside doesn't line up perfectly, I can easily crop that tiny bit off. Once I have lined it up, I turn the opacity back to 100%.

Next, in the tool palette, you want to select the eraser tool. Make sure it's a medium sized feather brush. With this one I started at 65% opacity and I adjusted it up as I went. Usually I end up at 95% or higher depending on what area you're blending. The shirt I blended at a lower opacity. (Also, when blending greenery you can get away with a lower opacity.) Next tip: Before you flatten it, look really close for stupid mistakes. I ocassionally forget to do this. Sometimes I turn off the bottom layer so I can see where I have erased. That's a good way to discover glaring errors that were totally overlooked. Okay we have none, so next step...

If it looks good, I just flatten it, rename it and done. Next I email the file to whichever friend asked for the photoshop favor. Now my brother can finally post this photo on his photo blog of his internet friends who he met in real life. He even, married one of them. (Miss Peachy on the far right.)
If these tips helped..yay! But if you are now dumber, than before you entered this blog, I apologize. They're not all winners.

Textures

I have finally learned textures and I love it. I did some samples on just some of my own pictures to learn how. This first sample is the evolution of the shot. I was doing some experimenting with blending modes and came up with something that to Jonathan looked like a similar effect to the bleach bypass effect in film. (I liked it so I did a few more like that.) The next image is the texture I used. Water dancing on the side of the boat. The next shot is the two images combined using that texture. I backed it off on our skin tones but kept the color by using a gaussian blur to blur out any texture that would be too distracting on us.



So then I played with texture on a few more shots. And One of them is me in a swim suit!

See..technically I'm in a swim suit. But that's as racy as it gets.

With these two I just used them as backgrounds. I need to find more shots and different textures that I can apply to the entire image. Anyway it was fun to learn work on this new photoshop trick today!

Alyssa

There are a few beliefs that I have adopted in the last 8 months. One is that there is no competition, it's just something we create in our minds. This is a truth that has been so freeing to me as a photographer. The other truth is this. What you give out, you get back multiplied. I've had amazing photographers share knowledge with me, and I've done my best to share everything I can with others who seek guidance. I took a new photographer shooting with me and also did some photoshop workshops and I feel like I got so much out of the experience. It was amazing how together, with each of our strengths, we created something bigger than the both of us. I came home that evening beaming, I had so much fun, and can't wait to do it again.

Here is the quote from the Law of attraction. Something I live by now.
"Since every request is granted there is no competition.
Each point of view matters. Every request is granted and as this amazing universe unerringly expands, there is no end to the universal resources that fulfull these requests. And there is no end to the answers to the never ending stream of questions. And for that reason, there is no competition.
It is not possible for someone else to receive the resources that were meant for you, and you cannot selfishly squander resources that were intended for someone else. All desires are answered, all requests are granted and no one is left unanswered, unloved or unfulfilled. When you stay aligned with your energy stream, you always win, and somebody else doesn't have to lose for you to win. There is always enough.
If someone is not receiving what they're asking for, it's not because there is a shortage of resources. It can only be that the person holding the desire is out of alignment with their own request. There is no shortage, there is no lack, there is no competition for reources, there is only allowing or disallowing of that which you are asking for."

And now some shots of the Lovely Miss Alyssa


I call this the Blue Bayou shot. She was nice and humored me and jumped her way into the tiny island in the middle of the creek. And I did some photoshop doctoring. I should really write down what I do because I couldn't quite duplicte it a second time. I got close, but not exact. I played with the blending modes on several versions, and tweaked the hue and did a crazy hybrid. I probably should use adjustment layers, but they slow me down and make me crazy.


A sort of teal version. These may or may not work, but hey, it's fun to play!


She wasn't looking, so I fired away.


Downtown Brentwood using my 80-200, which I am trying to use more. Cropped sensors just make that lens a little tricky sometimes.


The grass really was that green.


I always try to get a close up eye shot. The mom's love this one.


This was my first experience with photshop CS4's black and white. You can adjust every color for black and white individually. Ah-Mazing!


She was so shy, so any candid relaxed shot I could slip in there, I went for it.


I learned that with the 80-200, it doesn't even matter what your background is. This background happens to be a cottage behind an Italian restaurant. For the record.


And that is the Italian restaurant, but not the 80-200.


Slipping in more candid. She wasn't a fan of the hat, but her mom was. So argument over. I think she looks amazing. She was a gorgeous subject and very sweet.