Thank you so much for this video. I like how you break it down step by step with an index to the tutorial, so I can focus on what I need to do on each step. Keep up the great work.
Just here to help my friends out who had the same issue as I following this tutorial. Which is "Level Windows/Tab" in 1:50 that has not appears for some of us. To view this tab you should click on the sphere icon(looks like an Ying Yang symbol) below in the LAYER TAB, a menu will appears and you can select the tool you want to work. That's works fine for me to follow this tutorial. By the way...It is a great tutorial. Thank you! :)
O M G ! YOU SIR, ARE THE BEST TEACHER!!!! I really hope you have more videos on Affinity, because I am not able to learn from the guy who does the videos that come with the program. I wish YOU were Affinity's spokesperson, or whatever they would call you!!!! I call you, "THE BEST" Many thanks!!!!
When i click on levels [1:48] a box does not appear showing the sliders for adjustment, nothing happens. Can i even fix it, or is that software issue? Not sure how to continue now, im still very new to affinity photo, so i don't know if there is a way to bring it up elsewhere. Is there an easier way to cut the person out? The brush tools keeps cutting out part of the face, or won't cut certain parts. Its very finicky for me. i tried using different sizes, i kept brushing foreground then going back to matte to try to get it right. But it just keeps messing up.
Using the refine edge is the easiest way to remove a background using most graphics programs like Affinity Photo. Try making the brush size smaller. The success of this tool depends largely on the image, some images will not get good results no matter what you do. Another way to remove a background is to use an online took called remove.bg at www.remove.bg. It is an amazing tool that automatically removes the background using artificial intelligence and works quite well, worth a try
I was just curious how backgrounds are removed from pictures and so I pulled up this video. With no experience with photo editing I feel I could easily remove a background after watching this. Thanks!
Good explanation! I wish you would tell us what your choices mean, like, what is Gamma? And what is RAMP? What do they do? That would be nice to explain as you show how to use them. Thank you.
Hi Ellen, I didn't bother explaining those because you will probably never have to change them. I think I have only needed to use Gamma one time in the past 25 years and I have never needed to bother with Ramp
Hi Tim, I am working on one right now. Hopefully it will be available within a few weeks. These training courses take a LOT of time to put together. I usually end up with about 40 hours of video for one of these and then that has to get edited down to between 11-14 hours for the course. Plus of course I spend a few hours everyday on TH-cam projects. A typical TH-cam video may take me 3-4 hours to put together, longer for one of the Minecraft ones as those require more editing.
@@HTGGeorge Tremendous! Looking forward to it, if it's as good as the one I got from Amazon for Elements, it will be just what is needed to understand Affinity. Good luck with it!
It depends on the photo, sometimes that initial adjustment improves the photo so I leave it. Other times it is only useful for the background removal step, then I go with different settings.
I've used photoshop elements in the past. still have to re watch many how to videos to use it. recently got a new MacBook Air 2020. I will have to purchase it again..... do you recommend affinity or is elements easier? I just use it for fun. nothing serious but like messing with photos occasionally. great video!
Hi Debra, Elements is easier but Affinity Photo is more powerful, so it depends on your need level. If you use the program occasionally just for fun then I would probably go with Photoshop Elements. Very easy to use and their Quick and Guided Edits are great for fast effects and work that don't require a lot of thought. If on the other hand you are a serious amateur photographer then Affinity Photo is the way to go. Personally I like Affinity Photo for its Camera RAW editing, and Photoshop Elements for the creative stuff. If price is at all an issue then right now Affinity Photo is on sale at about $25, hard to beat that.
Hi, first make sure you are in the Photo Persona, that is the button on the left side above the tools that looks like the Affinity logo. Now when you click Adjustments the tab for layers will shrink and it may only say lyr, click on that and you will be back in the layers panel
Just leave the layers there, no reason to get rid of them. You can print directly from that file, or if you need a different file format just output to that format. That way you can always go back to the Affinity Photo file to do more work if you want to.
Very nice video. By the way, can I ask you something ? Personally I find not easy make perfect selections of trees especially in confused background (probably I do not use the correct tecnique). Could you please give suggestion in that ? Thanks in advance Cheers
Hi, trees are just about the hardest thing to properly select, especially on a confused background. The problem is that it is too confusing for the AI to figure out. If the background is clean you can sometimes get a nice selection by using the contrast difference. I haven't done a video on this yet for Affinity Photo but here is an older video I did for Photoshop Elements that shows the concept, this can be followed as a basic guide for Affinity. Of course Affinity Photo has access to channels which can also help in the selection. th-cam.com/video/UPxaSqvIJnY/w-d-xo.html
@@HTGGeorge HI, I watched the video you suggested.... Very good, I think I can use the same technique in Affinity (probably I need some practice to reach the same result... I am not so good in this kind of things). Thank-You very much
Hi Bob, reducing the Ramp in Refine basically makes the selection edge more contrasty and that can help around difficult areas like hair. I usually put it at about where it is in this video as a starting point. Works better for me than the default position.
Why copy a layer? Why adjust gamma (what is gamma). Why combine the layers? Why changing all the levels? Why does refine selection not select the hairs? Why a layer mask? Why change exposure and not brightness or contrast? Short : why do I not understand editing photos, I am trying for years to learn it but I don't get it.
Wow, lots of questions. I will answer them as best I can. The reason in this video to make a copy of the background layer is so that the background layer stays untouched. In case I mess up I can always delete the copy and try again. It is just a safety, but it is a good habit to be in. You usually combine layers so that you can easily apply a new effect to that combined layer. You could also put the layers into a group and apply the effect to the group. The combine just makes it easier. You change levels that need adjusting, depends on the image Refine Edge isn't perfect, also it works by finding an edge and then doing a little bit of softening of that edge, so fine details like hair often get lost in that softening part. It usually isn't noticeable though. Layer masks are better than using the eraser tool because you can delete the layer mask and try again, and you can clean up the layer mask with black and white paint on the layer mask. With the eraser tool, once it is erased it is gone. There are lots of ways to adjust values in an image, the one you choose is really a personal preference. But with exposure you can lighten or darken an image without changing the contrast. I just released my training course for Affinity Photo, the link is at the top of the description. Plus for the next few months I will be trying to do 1 new Affinity Photo video per week here on TH-cam, so just subscribe. I am sure that after you have followed along for a few videos things will begin to make sense.
@@HTGGeorge, I am following every step however how do fix what goes in areas that I don't want to remove I tried the subtract tab but it only makes it worse.
Hi Justin, I am working on that. So far I know that the music files need to be converted to the .ogg format but I am still trying to figure out the correct folder structure. I have found some info on the web but it isn't working for me yet. As soon as I get it working I will be doing that video.
Look below the video, you will see the first 3 lines of the description, then it says "SHOW MORE" under that. Click on the Show More to see the complete description that includes the link to the project files.
I guess we would have got a much better impression of the quality and neatness of that selection knocking the head and hair out if the new background's colour and lightness hadn't been so close to the colour and lightness of the hair. This way it's all so similar that you just don't see where it's probably getting difficult...
No refine edge masking is perfect and hair is the hardest thing to mask. So one of the best tricks to get a successful photo is to try and keep the background similar to the original in color.
@@HTGGeorge From a practical point of view - when you actually have the choice - you're absolutely tight. However, in professional everyday life, you sometimes HAVE to replace the original background with a more or less dissimilar one. So it would be interesting enough to know how efficiently Affinity Photo will let you do this.
@@moreorlesslikeso I have a nice example of changing a photo to a completely different background in this review video th-cam.com/video/ssSjYFEteZA/w-d-xo.html. But truth be told, replacing the background has more to do with the photo then with the program. I can get this same basic result with several other programs as well.
@@HTGGeorge Thank you - basically you are right, of course. But it's still a question of how well the "Refine" feature of the individual programs actually work - or if you even have to resort to more elementary (or "oldstyle") techniques like making selections using channels etc.. Having used Photoshop for decades I haven't actually tried AP for this special task so far - so I was curious about experiences of people like you who have given it a try. Generally I think Affinity Photo is great value for money and for new project I'm definitely making the jump from PS to AP...
@@moreorlesslikeso Which technique you use to separate out the subject from the background really depends on photo. If the image allows it the best technique is using color channels but that does require a color difference between subject and background. If you can't use channels then a Refine Edge type tool is the next best option. Of all the software tools i Have tried I like the results from the Photoshop Elements version the best. For whatever odd reason it is better than the Adobe Photoshop version which I really don't like that much. There are of course several other programs which also have that capability and they all work fairly well depending on the image. One to keep an eye on is www.remove.bg/ This is an online tool that uses the best AI I have seen yet for removing backgrounds. They have a low res free version and inexpensive high res images as well. I have had great results with this one and it gets better with each new update.
JUST ONE - TIME , I would Like to See Someone Include the KEYSTROKES for Exporting a CUT-OUT as a PNG FiLe. It is a common thing to do that, but EVERYONE PRESUMES that they Want to Immediately replace the BACKGROUND. SOMEHOW Everyone Leaves out he Key Commands to Export the Portion of the Photo IsoLated . Contacting AFFINITY PHOTO is Impossible, there's No One there, Like a Ghost Ship. Extremely Frustrating. I used to know how to do that in PS ELements but don't have that App any more. ; (
Just Export the image as a png file with transparency (that is the default so it should be fne). To open the export dialog box ctrl+alt+shift+s, or just go to the File menu and click Export. I normally don't show keyboard shortcuts in my videos because they make understanding what I am doing more difficult for beginners, I prefer to show the menu option instead.
![เปิดคำทำนาย นอสตราดามุส - บาบา วานก้า ปี 2025 คนทั่วโลกต้องเจออะไรบ้าง? | แฉ 11 ธ.ค. 67 [2/3] |GMM25](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/xmTIKWJUMPM/mqdefault.jpg)
🔴 Check out my complete training course for Affinity Photo howtogurus.com/ap2
Great Concept on separating foreground and background.
Thanks!
Thank you so much for this video. I like how you break it down step by step with an index to the tutorial, so I can focus on what I need to do on each step. Keep up the great work.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great tutorial. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Absolutely fantastic I've looked at so many videos but this one made the difference. Excited to try this now. Thanks!!!
Glad it was helpful!
Just here to help my friends out who had the same issue as I following this tutorial. Which is "Level Windows/Tab" in 1:50 that has not appears for some of us. To view this tab you should click on the sphere icon(looks like an Ying Yang symbol) below in the LAYER TAB, a menu will appears and you can select the tool you want to work. That's works fine for me to follow this tutorial.
By the way...It is a great tutorial. Thank you! :)
Great Tip! Thanks
O M G ! YOU SIR, ARE THE BEST TEACHER!!!! I really hope you have more videos on Affinity, because I am not able to learn from the guy who does the videos that come with the program. I wish YOU were Affinity's spokesperson, or whatever they would call you!!!! I call you, "THE BEST" Many thanks!!!!
Wow, thanks!
Thanks I was banging my head against the wall trying to get my logo transparent, this helped. Liked and subbed
Thanks for the sub!
Excellent tutorial, thank you
You are welcome!
Thank you so much for sharing this technique...
You are so welcome!
Subcribed and Liked---you're my kind of instructor. Thanks for this Video. Perfect production. Can't wait to see what else you're gonna teach me.
Awesome, thank you!
When i click on levels [1:48] a box does not appear showing the sliders for adjustment, nothing happens. Can i even fix it, or is that software issue? Not sure how to continue now, im still very new to affinity photo, so i don't know if there is a way to bring it up elsewhere.
Is there an easier way to cut the person out? The brush tools keeps cutting out part of the face, or won't cut certain parts. Its very finicky for me. i tried using different sizes, i kept brushing foreground then going back to matte to try to get it right. But it just keeps messing up.
Using the refine edge is the easiest way to remove a background using most graphics programs like Affinity Photo. Try making the brush size smaller. The success of this tool depends largely on the image, some images will not get good results no matter what you do. Another way to remove a background is to use an online took called remove.bg at www.remove.bg. It is an amazing tool that automatically removes the background using artificial intelligence and works quite well, worth a try
I really love the way you explain. I hope you can make more Affinity tutorial.
More to come!
Thanks alot 😄
You're welcome!
I was just curious how backgrounds are removed from pictures and so I pulled up this video. With no experience with photo editing I feel I could easily remove a background after watching this. Thanks!
You're welcome James!
Thank you very much, this was very helpful
You're welcome!
Good explanation! I wish you would tell us what your choices mean, like, what is Gamma? And what is RAMP? What do they do? That would be nice to explain as you show how to use them. Thank you.
Hi Ellen, I didn't bother explaining those because you will probably never have to change them. I think I have only needed to use Gamma one time in the past 25 years and I have never needed to bother with Ramp
Perfect George! Are you going to have a training class available for Affinity? Can't wait!
Hi Tim, I am working on one right now. Hopefully it will be available within a few weeks. These training courses take a LOT of time to put together. I usually end up with about 40 hours of video for one of these and then that has to get edited down to between 11-14 hours for the course. Plus of course I spend a few hours everyday on TH-cam projects. A typical TH-cam video may take me 3-4 hours to put together, longer for one of the Minecraft ones as those require more editing.
@@HTGGeorge Tremendous! Looking forward to it, if it's as good as the one I got from Amazon for Elements, it will be just what is needed to understand Affinity. Good luck with it!
@@TimFenwick Hi Tim, I have some new ideas and hopefully this new title will be even better than the one for Elements.
Thank you, very helpful.
You're welcome!
Thank u george...
You're welcome!
I understand you adjusted the head with exposure etc to separate initially, but did you readjust the heads settings after?
It depends on the photo, sometimes that initial adjustment improves the photo so I leave it. Other times it is only useful for the background removal step, then I go with different settings.
How do I get the wooden background, that yo used in this video?
Hi Sandy, you will find a download link in the description.
I've used photoshop elements in the past. still have to re watch many how to videos to use it. recently got a new MacBook Air 2020. I will have to purchase it again..... do you recommend affinity or is elements easier? I just use it for fun. nothing serious but like messing with photos occasionally. great video!
Hi Debra, Elements is easier but Affinity Photo is more powerful, so it depends on your need level. If you use the program occasionally just for fun then I would probably go with Photoshop Elements. Very easy to use and their Quick and Guided Edits are great for fast effects and work that don't require a lot of thought. If on the other hand you are a serious amateur photographer then Affinity Photo is the way to go. Personally I like Affinity Photo for its Camera RAW editing, and Photoshop Elements for the creative stuff. If price is at all an issue then right now Affinity Photo is on sale at about $25, hard to beat that.
Thank you this is going to allow me to finally cut the cord with Adobe!!!!!!!
Also check out ACDSee
Great- your tutorials are excellent
Can you please also post tutorials on Affinity Photo for iPad ( The layout of tools is different)
Thanks
Hi, I would if I had an iPad, but I don't. Maybe someone nice will send me one.
Awesome, Thank you.
You're welcome!
When I click on levels I dont get the layers tab like you do in the tutorial. :(
Hi, first make sure you are in the Photo Persona, that is the button on the left side above the tools that looks like the Affinity logo. Now when you click Adjustments the tab for layers will shrink and it may only say lyr, click on that and you will be back in the layers panel
Shows what can be done with Afinity. But at the end there were so many layers. What doyou do with them all?
Just leave the layers there, no reason to get rid of them. You can print directly from that file, or if you need a different file format just output to that format. That way you can always go back to the Affinity Photo file to do more work if you want to.
Hi George I want to buy your Affinity course but I have changed my email address. Can I do this on your website before I purchase
Hi, the email address doesn't matter. Each training course is separate so you can use different email addresses, passwords, usernames if you like.
Very nice video.
By the way, can I ask you something ? Personally I find not easy make perfect selections of trees especially in confused background (probably I do not use the correct tecnique).
Could you please give suggestion in that ?
Thanks in advance
Cheers
Hi, trees are just about the hardest thing to properly select, especially on a confused background. The problem is that it is too confusing for the AI to figure out. If the background is clean you can sometimes get a nice selection by using the contrast difference. I haven't done a video on this yet for Affinity Photo but here is an older video I did for Photoshop Elements that shows the concept, this can be followed as a basic guide for Affinity. Of course Affinity Photo has access to channels which can also help in the selection. th-cam.com/video/UPxaSqvIJnY/w-d-xo.html
@@HTGGeorge Great... I will take a look ASAP... again many thanks 😃
: )
@@HTGGeorge HI, I watched the video you suggested.... Very good, I think I can use the same technique in Affinity (probably I need some practice to reach the same result... I am not so good in this kind of things).
Thank-You very much
You reduced the Ramp in Refine Selection. Why? What does it do?
Hi Bob, reducing the Ramp in Refine basically makes the selection edge more contrasty and that can help around difficult areas like hair. I usually put it at about where it is in this video as a starting point. Works better for me than the default position.
Here are more fun Affinity Photo videos th-cam.com/play/PLfp-NJt_DpgH5vBMCdDFMpBN8Nx_3oHZG.html
Also check out my channel!
Love your videos. However, I have never been able to find the pictures you tell us to download.
Click on Show More in the description and look for the link for Free Downloads
Why copy a layer? Why adjust gamma (what is gamma). Why combine the layers? Why changing all the levels? Why does refine selection not select the hairs? Why a layer mask? Why change exposure and not brightness or contrast? Short : why do I not understand editing photos, I am trying for years to learn it but I don't get it.
Wow, lots of questions. I will answer them as best I can.
The reason in this video to make a copy of the background layer is so that the background layer stays untouched. In case I mess up I can always delete the copy and try again. It is just a safety, but it is a good habit to be in.
You usually combine layers so that you can easily apply a new effect to that combined layer. You could also put the layers into a group and apply the effect to the group. The combine just makes it easier.
You change levels that need adjusting, depends on the image
Refine Edge isn't perfect, also it works by finding an edge and then doing a little bit of softening of that edge, so fine details like hair often get lost in that softening part. It usually isn't noticeable though.
Layer masks are better than using the eraser tool because you can delete the layer mask and try again, and you can clean up the layer mask with black and white paint on the layer mask. With the eraser tool, once it is erased it is gone.
There are lots of ways to adjust values in an image, the one you choose is really a personal preference. But with exposure you can lighten or darken an image without changing the contrast.
I just released my training course for Affinity Photo, the link is at the top of the description. Plus for the next few months I will be trying to do 1 new Affinity Photo video per week here on TH-cam, so just subscribe. I am sure that after you have followed along for a few videos things will begin to make sense.
did you use a JPG file?
Yes, this is a jpg, but the file format doesn't matter for this technique.
@@HTGGeorge, I am following every step however how do fix what goes in areas that I don't want to remove I tried the subtract tab but it only makes it worse.
No download link for the picture.
Hi, the link is fixed. In the description click on Show More, then you will find the link right below the time stamp section
Get my Affinity Photo Course here: georgepeirson.com/affinityphoto/
And don't forget to subscribe th-cam.com/users/howtogurusfeatured?sub_confirmation=1
Thanks for this tutorial, but unfortunately the link does not point to the correct pictures
Hi Stef, the link is now fixed
Can you do a tutorial on how to change the music on discs for minecraft windows 10 edition?
Hi Justin, I am working on that. So far I know that the music files need to be converted to the .ogg format but I am still trying to figure out the correct folder structure. I have found some info on the web but it isn't working for me yet. As soon as I get it working I will be doing that video.
Hi Justin, here is the video on how to make custom music discs in Windows 10 Minecraft Bedrock th-cam.com/video/m1nrQ5Bj7L4/w-d-xo.html
I do not see show more. I am looking for your pictures...Thanks.
Look below the video, you will see the first 3 lines of the description, then it says "SHOW MORE" under that. Click on the Show More to see the complete description that includes the link to the project files.
I guess we would have got a much better impression of the quality and neatness of that selection knocking the head and hair out if the new background's colour and lightness hadn't been so close to the colour and lightness of the hair. This way it's all so similar that you just don't see where it's probably getting difficult...
No refine edge masking is perfect and hair is the hardest thing to mask. So one of the best tricks to get a successful photo is to try and keep the background similar to the original in color.
@@HTGGeorge From a practical point of view - when you actually have the choice - you're absolutely tight. However, in professional everyday life, you sometimes HAVE to replace the original background with a more or less dissimilar one. So it would be interesting enough to know how efficiently Affinity Photo will let you do this.
@@moreorlesslikeso I have a nice example of changing a photo to a completely different background in this review video th-cam.com/video/ssSjYFEteZA/w-d-xo.html. But truth be told, replacing the background has more to do with the photo then with the program. I can get this same basic result with several other programs as well.
@@HTGGeorge Thank you - basically you are right, of course. But it's still a question of how well the "Refine" feature of the individual programs actually work - or if you even have to resort to more elementary (or "oldstyle") techniques like making selections using channels etc.. Having used Photoshop for decades I haven't actually tried AP for this special task so far - so I was curious about experiences of people like you who have given it a try. Generally I think Affinity Photo is great value for money and for new project I'm definitely making the jump from PS to AP...
@@moreorlesslikeso Which technique you use to separate out the subject from the background really depends on photo. If the image allows it the best technique is using color channels but that does require a color difference between subject and background. If you can't use channels then a Refine Edge type tool is the next best option. Of all the software tools i Have tried I like the results from the Photoshop Elements version the best. For whatever odd reason it is better than the Adobe Photoshop version which I really don't like that much. There are of course several other programs which also have that capability and they all work fairly well depending on the image. One to keep an eye on is www.remove.bg/ This is an online tool that uses the best AI I have seen yet for removing backgrounds. They have a low res free version and inexpensive high res images as well. I have had great results with this one and it gets better with each new update.
I think this was helpful and clear even if there was no voice explaining. Thank you :)
Check your TH-cam settings, the video has narration
So sorry about that. I posted on the wrong video (had 2 different up). Didn’t manage to delete the comment.
@@brittbirgersson4980 No problem, you can still delete the comment if you want to
JUST ONE - TIME , I would Like to See Someone Include the KEYSTROKES for Exporting a CUT-OUT as a PNG FiLe. It is a common thing to do that, but EVERYONE PRESUMES that they Want to Immediately replace the BACKGROUND. SOMEHOW Everyone Leaves out he Key Commands to Export the Portion of the Photo IsoLated . Contacting AFFINITY PHOTO is Impossible, there's No One there, Like a Ghost Ship. Extremely Frustrating. I used to know how to do that in PS ELements but don't have that App any more. ; (
Just Export the image as a png file with transparency (that is the default so it should be fne). To open the export dialog box ctrl+alt+shift+s, or just go to the File menu and click Export. I normally don't show keyboard shortcuts in my videos because they make understanding what I am doing more difficult for beginners, I prefer to show the menu option instead.
Sorry, too much messing about.
If you want the easiest way to remove a background try this www.remove.bg/