How to replace clouds in background

[downersdad]

Hi,
I would like to know , how do I replace the clouds in a background with some new ones ? I am using Photo shop Pro 9.
Tim

 

[Eyespi20]

Promote the background to raster(if you have not already done so).

Select the part of the image you want to keep using your lasso (selection tool). Go to selections/invert and press delete -- this will remove the old background. Go to selections/select none.

Add a layer and go to layers/arrange/send to bottom. Now choose the cloud image you want as background and put it in your pattern box of your background, then choose flood fill and left click in the empty layer you just added.

If you don't like it, click redo and play around with the settings in the pattern box until you do have something you like.

Merge layers/flatten and save as a jpg.

Margaret

 

[lexus]

Wow! That sounds pretty easy..

**Quiquid latine dictum sit altum viditur.**

 

[ChrisHunt]

The critical step, and the most time-consuming, is

Select the part of the image you want to keep

Experiment with the Magic Wand tool for this step, instead of/as well as the lasso.

Sometimes it's easier to select the background than the foreground. For example, if the sky is basically plain blue, and the foreground subject isn't blue, a magic wand selection of the background based on "hue" with a reasonable tolerance could do the trick. You can invert the selection to get what you want.

The other thing to think about is, if you just make a raw selection as suggested by Margaret, you can get some jagged edges around your selection. Counteract this by "feathering" the selection, picking Selections > Modify > Feather from the menu. It makes for a softer edge, though it only works really well if the new background is similar in colour to the old.

-- Chris Hunt
Webmaster & Tragedian
Extra Connections Ltd