Merging 4 pictures of boy jumping from a wall?

Mel_P

Mel_P

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Hello,

I have 4 pictures of my grandson jumping:

- on top of wall
- 1/3 of way down in the air
- 2/3 of way down in the air
- just touching the ground.

I have tried photoshop (CS5) "merge to HDR" and this gives me 4 ghostly images :thumbsdown:. I am new to Photoshop and would like suggestions on how to merge the 4 RAW (CR2) images to get 1 image with the boy showing clearly in all 4 postions :) - Do I have a copy him from one and paste him into the first, etc?

Or is there a clever way please?

Thanks, Mel :thinking:
 
This would probably help - you can skip the first part as you already have the photos.
 
Put each image onto a new layer, then add a layer mask,then brush out the bits from each layer that you don't want, with the mask you can go back if you made a mistake by brush changing the colour from black to white :thumbs:
 
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Yeah, definitely want to use masking rather than the eraser... also lowering the opacity of the top most layers can help when trying to align the images initially.

Am sure I've seen a tutorial on how to do this very simply straight from adobe bridge if you have that installed, but a few google's haven't turned it up again - will let you know if I stumble across it again...
 
Had a quick go - not sure the revealed image is a clear as the one it is pasted into - seems to have a little transparency?

Also did it handheld and static part of images are not exactly aligned

Any hints on how to align the photos (and not by trial and error). I seem to have moved the camera by a few degrees across and down as I took each shot. Took last summer so I cannot repeat!

Thanks for any further help, Mel
 
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Start with your first layer - paste another one on top of it, then lower the opacity of the top layer until you can easily see the layer underneath but still see detail in the top layer. Press the V key to use the move tool (making sure the top layer is selected), and align the top layer how you want it using detail from both layers to align the images. You can use the arrow keys for precise movement.

Turn up the opacity and on your top layer, then drop in your next layer and do the same again....
 
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You could also try Hugin (google should find it) - it's free, and will align them for you if they're not already. You can then draw an "include" mask around him on each individual photo, and the rest will be blended seamlessly. Less chance of getting a visible join, to cover you if the alignment isn't pixel-perfect.

David
 
Thanks all for your help - I have achieved this now and now have had a great deal of help towards understanding the intricacies of Photoshop - it's going to take me a long time to understand it!
 
Will post tomorrow - just turned that PC off!
 
Mel_P said:
Thanks all for your help - I have achieved this now and now have had a great deal of help towards understanding the intricacies of Photoshop - it's going to take me a long time to understand it!
Click to expand...

Yeah, PS is an amazing tool, with so much functionality that it's only really the people who get to use it on a daily basis will only ever truly understand it... and unfortunately I'm not one of them, although after a few years of irregular use, I'm now at the stage where I know enough to do most of what I want or know how to find out what I don't. Some of the tutorials you see on youtube are just amazing but I guess it also helps when you're somewhat artistic (which I'm clearly not!) :D

Also keen to dee the finished article when you get chance to upload!! ;)
 
Well here it is - did it quickly last night - am pleased but am sure I could improve it if I took more time and if I used a tripod.

jumping_3.jpg
 
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Good effort - if you'd had just one frame in between the first and last it would have been great; it's a bit cluttered as it is....
 
Next time! I just clicked away on the EOS7D on "high speed continuous".
 
Why are his shoes 2 different colours? is that the fashion these days, As Dekhog says I'd be tempted to leave out the middle pics and see how it looks.
 
swanseamale47 said:
Why are his shoes 2 different colours?
Click to expand...

I came across several Naval officers in my career who wore one red and one green sock - so they didn't get Port and Starboard mixed up ! Quite useful if you are navigating an aircraft carrier - not that we will have any soon...............
 
Moonrakerz said:
I came across several Naval officers in my career who wore one red and one green sock - so they didn't get Port and Starboard mixed up !
Click to expand...
Only if you can remember which is which... and you put them on the correct foot in the first instance ;)
 
I think you've done a crackin' job considering the overlap you've had to deal with. It is a bit cluttered, but hey its an experiment, so its all good.

If the wee man's happy then thats all that matters!
 
Nice. :) usually there is more space between each person.

However, if you try this... might be interesting:
- merge the first and last to give a background with no boy.
- do what you did with the boy cut out mid jumps, but set transparency from 100% on the last to 50% on the first...

Like a ghost jumping to real, or a trail where he was...

No idea if it would work...

Congrats on the processing you did though :)
 
Thanks for the link Derek
 
ecniv said:
Nice. :) However, if you try this... might be interesting:
- merge the first and last to give a background with no boy.
- do what you did with the boy cut out mid jumps, but set transparency from 100% on the last to 50% on the first...

Like a ghost jumping to real, or a trail where he was...

No idea if it would work...
Click to expand...

When I have a few hours again!
 
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