How to extend a background

[Ben6]

Hi all.
My little boy has his first birthday coming up and my wife wants me to have a go at a cake smash shoot (very marmite I know). I'm confident enough with the shoot and getting the results I need, the thing I need help with is the paper backdrop I have/want to use is only 1.3m wide.

I can fit my shoot in/around that but will want to edit some shots so they they are landscape width and a lot wider than I actually take them. (Does that make sense?!)

So i'll need to extend the image and duplicate the background...? This is where I need the help as ive not manipulated an image like this before. i'll be editing in elements and Lightroom and any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hopefully I've explained it well enough but feel free to ask more questions.

 

[sunnyside_up]

This is a 1.35m paper background that I recently did a cake smash on...

https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/t...and-some-questions.605339/page-3#post-7103552

Post #84 in case that link just takes you to the thread...

This had a small canvas extension. I actually shot it horizontally... I work the photo in LR to where I want it with WB, exposure etc.. (your basic elements), edit it in PS to extend the canvas. If it's only a small amount to get rid of, sometimes you can get away with the content aware tool, but usually I'll select a large portion of the background from top to bottom with the rectangular marquee tool, ctrl T, and literally stretch the selection. I'll then create another layer and tidy it up using a very soft brush and low opacity on selections of the coloured background and blend it all in. If you're making a new canvas extension from the Image / Canvas size menu, it works pretty much the same way, grabbing a good selection and stretching it across your new canvas that you've made. Then, I'll take it back into LR and finish off my processing.

1st Birthday by Beth Botterill, on Flickr

Here's a tutorial that sort of describes how I do it, although her method of the initial canvas extension is different to mine, still works.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVHlzFZ0Xk8


Hope that helps!

 

[Kodiak Qc]

•
If the child is sitting…
• and if the paper is longer than 1.3 wide, then you might use the paper horizontally
• in the middle of the 1.3 m and close enough to the background, using a longer lens
may help keeping the background in FF
• ultimately, a pixel editor could take care of the "holes" in PP.

 

[Ben6]

This is a 1.35m paper background that I recently did a cake smash on...

https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/t...and-some-questions.605339/page-3#post-7103552

Post #84 in case that link just takes you to the thread...

This had a small canvas extension. I actually shot it horizontally... I work the photo in LR to where I want it with WB, exposure etc.. (your basic elements), edit it in PS to extend the canvas. If it's only a small amount to get rid of, sometimes you can get away with the content aware tool, but usually I'll select a large portion of the background from top to bottom with the rectangular marquee tool, ctrl T, and literally stretch the selection. I'll then create another layer and tidy it up using a very soft brush and low opacity on selections of the coloured background and blend it all in. If you're making a new canvas extension from the Image / Canvas size menu, it works pretty much the same way, grabbing a good selection and stretching it across your new canvas that you've made. Then, I'll take it back into LR and finish off my processing.

1st Birthday by Beth Botterill, on Flickr

Here's a tutorial that sort of describes how I do it, although her method of the initial canvas extension is different to mine, still works.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVHlzFZ0Xk8


Hope that helps!

That's perfect thank you. I'll have a better read of your post tonight so it all sinks in and watch the vid too.

I actually saw your post of these pictures the other day and thought they looked great, think my boys will have to be blue though! Haha.

 

[Ben6]

•
If the child is sitting…
• and if the paper is longer than 1.3 wide, then you might use the paper horizontally
• in the middle of the 1.3 m and close enough to the background, using a longer lens
may help keeping the background in FF
• ultimately, a pixel editor could take care of the "holes" in PP.

I wanted it to be the 1.3m width so I got the prefect curve on the background to try and save some editing although I don't suppose it would to be difficult to edit that to someone in the know...
Thanks for the suggestion though.