Tidy up background in PSP X

  • Thread starter Thread starter Oz
  • Start date Start date
Oz

Oz

Suspended / Banned
Messages
395
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi guys.

It's been a long time since I last posted and this time I need some help with PSP X. I've got a indoor portrait shot, and I want to try and blur the background (or perhaps even greyscale it?) so it's not so imposing - it was a surprise shot of someone who hates having their photo taken and they have refused to pose properly for me :(

I managed to tightly crop round the person using a mask layer, was able to blur the edges of the mask okay but then after I really didn't know what to do next. It didn't seem to want to switch between layers, which is what I think I needed to do to blur. I'm guessing from there I then needed to bring the crop back to the front and then merge it back?

Has anyone done this sort of thing, and can they explain in layman's terms what I need to do to get this sorted?

Thanks

Oz
 
Try using the magic wand. You'll need to play with the tolerance settings a little first. Then left click on the background. It will probaby just select areas of a given colour and shade depending on the tool tolerance, but that's OK. Now hold down the SHIFT key, and click elsewhere in the image. Each time you do this a little more of the background will be selected. Keep clicking on the unselected areas until the whole of the background is selected. There's no limit on how many times you can do this as long as you keep the SHIFT key depressed throughout.

If at any time the selection overlaps into your foreground figure you can just undo that last selection step, alter the tool tolerance, and carry on.
 
Hi CT

I did try that and got very odd results cos the hair and background are very similar (according to it!), and it was either getting too much or not enough, and it was damn fiddly.

I got it sorted in the end using Marianne's method... I had to reboot my PC and then immediately do the task in PSP. :shrug:
 
Yep - a lot depends on the contrasts in the image. Thanks goodness there's always another way.... or few. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top