change background color of feathered image

[myatia]

Hi,

In Photoshop 5.5, I want to change the background of the following image from white to green:

What's the best way to do this?

Thanks,

Misty

 

[jimoblak]

Put on green-colored glasses.

The other option is to access the original layered document. You can attempt to finesse the feathered/faded edges but the background of a flattened image like this is not capable of being edited.

 

[myatia]

Heh. I figured as much. Thanks,

Misty

 

[artdirectoreric]

The simplest way I can think of is to fill a new layer with the color you want, select the main body of the underlying image, use that selection as a layer mask on the new green layer and soften the edges in the layer mask. Change the blending mode to Color or Multiply and see what that gets you.

 

[blueark]

Double-click the image (to make it a layer), create a green layer underneath it, then double-click the image again. Adjust the 'Blend If' sliders (the right hand one) until the green shows through. Option/Alt click the same slider and drag it to provide a smoother edge. You may need to create another layer in between the two that you can paint white in areas that should still be white.

 

[myatia]

Thanks, everyone! This turned out to be a lot easier than I expected. First, I added a new background layer with the green. Then I changed the blend mode of the main image to Multiply, which did just about all the work for me. Next, I made a new layer and filled in white under the rectangular pictures and the map. Finally, I put two white circles under the main image. The outer one was feathered by about 100 pixels and the opacity is at 35%. I put the second smaller one on top of the other circle with opacity 100% and feathered edges of about 25 pixels.

Thanks!

Misty