Masking technique for portraits?

[DR M]

After many years of using real fabric backdrops for (my) family portraits, I kind of got bored of the three that I have (and not willing to invest more in this) and decided to use virtual backdrops. I have been using Photoshop Elements for many years, although I am not an expert. I had a recent photo session where I took photos of my son against a yellow-green wall with the idea of using various virtual backdrops. I tried various methods, and they do a good job, but not perfect. Sometimes I can still see hints of the real background around the edges.

I tried the following methods:
- embedded "Replace Background",
- select the subject manually, invert selection and delete
- select the background and delete.

Still, I am not 100% happy with the results.

Any suggestions are much appreciated.

 

[Deleted member 34016]

Photoshop CC would suit your needs a little better than elements, in my opinion

easy to select subjects and replace BG's like this - select Background option and make a mask, then insert any BG you like

original

Photoshop

Les

 

[DR M]

Thank you for your response. Honestly, I don’t like the idea of subscription software. Plus, I cannot justify it. I mostly take family photos. It’ actually easy to do this in PSE, just not sure what settings to use.

 

[Dave Canon]

The Auto selection tool is probably what you want in Elements but it will requires lost of help and corrections. The Select>Subject in PS is now very effective but you cannot expect to get advanced facilities like this without paying. Do you pay a subscription for your Phone/ broadband? However, if you do want advanced capabilities for a one-off payment they try Topaz Mask AI. I have Mask AI myself and find it excellent. I was using the Topaz product before Adobe produced the enhanced Select>Subject. While I have tested Adobe's version and it works well, I am well used to Topaz AI so tend to make this a first choice.

Dave