The problem for me is that with some images I want to use, they aren't professional, and have normal backgrounds like a room or something. In that case, this method doesn't seem to work very well.
Aaron: Of the many methods suggested by other experts to remove edge fringe in hair--refine edge, dematting, defringe etc--the method you have used is new for me, and gives the best results. My felicitations!
Agreed. This is fine if you have a clean backdrop for contrasting colors but a busy background then forget about it. I tried it just for kicks with no luck.
iPodiMaster For studio portraits, sure this is great. Works well, explained well. But out in the world, most of my work involves "herf can you take the woman in this busy office stock photo and put her in front of a sunset derf?"
iPodiMaster You can either do a variation on the method described in this video, only in small segments broken up with the background. Or you can use the pen tool to methodically draw around each clump of hair and the brush tool to draw individual strands with sampled color. Or you can use the Mask Edge > Refine Radius tool in CS5+. But even that takes a lot of trial and error and different settings for different segments of the hair depending on background. I've read good things about some masking paid plugins like Topaz but have never sprung for it myself
Please accept my thank you Phlearn team. You guys have helped me so much. I;ve watched this video and had liked it longgg time ago. Today I'm trying to cut out a dog from the background and when it came to the last part, where the fringing problem occurred this video popped into my mind I remembered watching this. What a life saver you guys are~ Thank you thank you.
+Phlearn Photoshop and Photography Tutorials Nice tutorial, What if the background was some buldings, mountains or a beach? will this technique still work?
Just want to tell u that your tutorial is really great. I struggled with pen tool for several days, only after watching your tutorial, I was able to get some understanding on that. Thank you, great man.
Don't wanna be stepping on any toes here.... but you kinda killed the shimmer out of her hair when you were doing the clonestamp work. There was a lot of tones that were covered up and just are not there anymore. Black hair, sure. One color.. no problem I guess. I did a job like this couple of weeks back and I used the paint brush and the color blend with the natural color from the middle of the hair strand to fill up the edges. (not sure if that made any sense with my english skills) It's a lot more work but the end result is much more natural looking and the hairdressers work who colored and highlighted the hair is not waisted. :) (or the lighting assistants, lol)
Nice Tutorial........... with due respect____ Sir,,, The end of the Tutorial you suggested to use Clone stamp tool to remove white fringes in clipping mask. I tried exactly what you said, and did frequent times. But it does not work with me. I don't know what kind of mistake I'm making? kindly help me..
his clone stanp tool is set differently, he forgot to mention it. when you select the clone stanp tool look at the top bar going across, you will see a list of options like opacity and flow, at the end it will be set to 'current layer' click on that and select 'current and below' that will make it work
Good tutorial, but this method is ineffective in a scenario where the model was not shot against a solid background. A lot of times the client will request a particular model be composited from a stock photo with a busy background. In those cases, using the pen tool/refine edge/radius is the only way (that I know of). It's not perfect and time consuming, so I would love to know of a better way.
my clone stamp isn't working at the cliping mask If i use a brush it paints normaly as the video shows ,only on top of my image but when I try to use the clone stamp nothing works ...
Well done, I have to say that I just tried to follow your tutorial, but when I start to Clone Stamp the edges of the hair, it won't do anything. Is there any other chance to over come this issue? Thank you
I came here from another video that showed the same, but didnt explain that grayish part outside hair, was so frustrated to solve it, but you fixed it for me in few seconds, big love!
how exactly do you invert the background, I currently have a dark hair with dark background image that I want to cut out. Any assistance would be appreciated
It depends on the image, but generally, you duplicate the image and then just play with the colors and contrast until you get an image with a clearer difference between the background and the subject you are cutting.
I've tried the clone stamp part and it didn't work. How am I supposed to clone "hair texture" from a transparent layer that's clipped to the image I am using? My layer mode was set to 'darken' while clone stamping and nothing was happening. The background 'fringing' color was still there. The cloning did nothing. Please help.
Katriona A M Thompson while the clone tool is selected, use the drop down option next to Aligned Sample at the top...on the horizontal option bar above your work area.By default it should read Current Layer
I enjoy phlearning from your videos. I got a little frustrated with this until I realized when cloning choosing current and below makes this happen. Maybe most people already knew that but I didn't. Makes me happy that o can use this technique now.
Could you give us some advice on getting published? I've been practicing my beauty photography and I'm wondering if you could give us some pointers. Thanks, I love all the videos. I've Phlearned so much!
Ok, THIS IS AWESOME!. I've used Photoshop for years, and cutting out hair has been tricky to say the least. I used to use the lasso tool, with the clone stamper, along with a few other tricks to cut hair out. It was always difficult. When I went back to school to advance my degree, they taught a way to make it easier and the was the Refine Mask command in the layer palette. That wasn't always viable, because it created problems still with feathering and more. BUT THIS! Is simple, direct and easy. I love. You have taught an old dog a new trick. And now I can get projects done quicker, and better. Thanks!
Believe me I've googled and learned so many tutorials about cutting out hair.....so much similarities and weak with white edge. This white edge deleting method of your's is unique !
if you selected curent layer and you use the clonestamp on a empty layer there is nothing to clone from, therefore you must select curent en below layer in the top menu of PS so you can clone from the layer below the new layer
Had the same problem, but fixed it by selecting "Current & Below" at the very top bar when you select the clone stamp tool, mine was set only to "Current" and then it did not work :-)
I've been doing this hair cutting for ages until i saw this video of yours is very simple! Thank you for sharing. This way of cropping details will surely help me finish my editing in a snap.
All other videos were so bad and difficult, especially for a beginner like me. But this video literally saved my life! Thank you so much for this I love your videos
After making the third layer and creating a clipping mask for it, when I try to use the clone stamp tool it doesn't want to clone anything from the layer under with the person/hair. What is wrong?
When masking for compositing, I nearly always apply a slight gaussian blur to the mask. I then apply a levels adjustment to the mask, playing with the mid tones slider to shift the edge of the mask. This usually results in a quick, fairly natural looking composite in combination with color balancing. It is also important to be mindful of light sources in all images used. Thanks for all of your wonderful tips and tricks. Please keep them coming!
Thanks Aaron .. It's awesome ... its working .. am very satisfied with the result .. you have given me a whole bunch of freedom in cutting the knotty hair and placing it in a different background... Thanks again ... !!
when i saw the title i thought this was gonna be how to shorten hair etc but I've been looking for a way to do this for a while so it turned out to be way more useful! thanks :D
Really, really really helpful! I have three pages of handwritten notes from this tutorial and it has been a massive help to improving the quality of my work and my workflow. Thanks Aaron, really appreciate it, best wishes from Washington in the U.K.
... just another day, another awesome episode! Thanks for your time Aaron.I'm a big fan! Request: another Pro-tutorial on food photography composit color work and everything else you always bring to the table on those Pro Vids!
Photoshop, no matter WHAT METHOD you choose, is NEVER going to create a perfect (difficult) selection like Hair tips or tree tips....but you can get close, and this is about as close as you'll ever get .... (with this method as opposed to Color Range only) or even Channels only. Concentrate on what he said about clipping the clipping mask or empty (new) layers. Some people use "Bevel and Emboss" or just continue to darken one channel ( like Aaron did as a STEP or a means to an end) Most guys on here just stop right there in their tutorials and say "Oh, you'll never make a perfect selection"....what Aaron did was just PART of the final process, not the end product.I love the logic you use when faced with a difficult task... or one you've never attempted before. PHLEARN (Aaron) ... you guys are the BEST with Photoshop video tutorials BY FAR! As far as I'm concerned, you have ABSOLUTELY ZERO competition here on TH-cam. Great, great video. Thank You!
Awesome! I've been using other methods to do this and this is by far the best method, most natural looking. Your tutorials are awesome, fun and very educational, easy to understand, thank you.
Thank you so much, I actually put this to use on a job I did for a client and they loved it. You are a wealth of information. Keep those vids coming. We'll be watching :-)
Thanks for this tutorial, it's really good. Just maybe for us beginners you could mention that for the clone brush tool, first we need to press alt in order to copy from the image below and then just click were you want to "paint" with the clone. Also, it's important to change the "sample" on the top menu to "current and below" (you can see many people were getting confused with that in the comments) It's basic, but we beginners need to learn everything from zero hehe. Thanks a lot for teaching us!
So good! Thanks so much mate! The issue I'm having at the moment is on a kids shoot, his hair is very fair/blonde and my background is white. I'm trying to make the entire background a more uniform and brighter white (my 2 backdrop-facing strobes weren't bright enough to iron out the wrinkles in my backdrop sheet). Will see how it goes. His hair has a lot of gaps in it which I need to make sure I don't miss out on!
And here I was, zooming in to 500% and using the lasso tool XD Thanks for the tut!
+Jorge Luque lol u made my day :D
remember "if something is hard you're doing it wrong" :P
3D bear
My philosophy is "if something is too easy, you're not trying hard enough!" haha
The problem for me is that with some images I want to use, they aren't professional, and have normal backgrounds like a room or something. In that case, this method doesn't seem to work very well.
Yes this is the "Laberatorium method" because it only works with a crisp and clean bg.... A bit of colour differation and it all goes to sh*t XD
Oh thank you for posting this comment ahahaha
Aaron: Of the many methods suggested by other experts to remove edge fringe in hair--refine edge, dematting, defringe etc--the method you have used is new for me, and gives the best results. My felicitations!
I never get bored of watching Phlearn!
Aaron fills my favorites up way more than anyone else
I would love to se how you make a hair selection on a more bussy background :)
+1
*****
You know what she meant to say.
Agreed. This is fine if you have a clean backdrop for contrasting colors but a busy background then forget about it. I tried it just for kicks with no luck.
***** English isn't my native language and that word is one tricky one for me how the hell to spell, it's a weird word..
***** YEAH.. :) but what I meant was perhaps a messy background..
I can not tell how much I've learned from your site .. you from discerning in TH-cam .. many people owe you thanks and whom I
What if the background isnt plain white?
+iPodiMaster Exactly. This tutorial is utterly useless for 90% of real-world work
City Unseen
Yes. I mean cmon. Who takes pictures in front of a one color wall?
iPodiMaster For studio portraits, sure this is great. Works well, explained well. But out in the world, most of my work involves "herf can you take the woman in this busy office stock photo and put her in front of a sunset derf?"
Hahaha man, must be annoying. So how do you cut the hair in that case?
iPodiMaster You can either do a variation on the method described in this video, only in small segments broken up with the background. Or you can use the pen tool to methodically draw around each clump of hair and the brush tool to draw individual strands with sampled color. Or you can use the Mask Edge > Refine Radius tool in CS5+. But even that takes a lot of trial and error and different settings for different segments of the hair depending on background. I've read good things about some masking paid plugins like Topaz but have never sprung for it myself
Really great Aaron! Love this technique.
Forgot to mention, I like the new intro!
Please accept my thank you Phlearn team. You guys have helped me so much. I;ve watched this video and had liked it longgg time ago. Today I'm trying to cut out a dog from the background and when it came to the last part, where the fringing problem occurred this video popped into my mind I remembered watching this. What a life saver you guys are~ Thank you thank you.
THAT Tip with the Cloning in a clipping mask... Wouldn't have thought of that - fantastic. Great stuff sir.
নাইস
You're a lifesaver for easy to follow photoshop tutorials, very detailed, paced and beginner friendly. Thanks so much!
Nice tutorial. Always steered clear of channels. Now I'm not so scared of them. Knowledge is power!
Finally Found someone who really gives an excellent tutorials on Photoshop ,please keep doing that!!!!!
Thanx dude, this saved my ass!
+Phlearn Photoshop and Photography Tutorials Im sure you are.
+Phlearn Photoshop and Photography Tutorials Nice tutorial, What if the background was some buldings, mountains or a beach? will this technique still work?
+zolumns i was going to say the same >
I recommend you go here if you want the best photo editing tutorial online: HootPhoto. info
Here's a great photo editing tutorial that you can check out: HootPhoto.info
Just want to tell u that your tutorial is really great. I struggled with pen tool for several days, only after watching your tutorial, I was able to get some understanding on that. Thank you, great man.
Don't wanna be stepping on any toes here.... but you kinda killed the shimmer out of her hair when you were doing the clonestamp work. There was a lot of tones that were covered up and just are not there anymore. Black hair, sure. One color.. no problem I guess. I did a job like this couple of weeks back and I used the paint brush and the color blend with the natural color from the middle of the hair strand to fill up the edges. (not sure if that made any sense with my english skills) It's a lot more work but the end result is much more natural looking and the hairdressers work who colored and highlighted the hair is not waisted. :) (or the lighting assistants, lol)
thanks for the hint fam
Here's a great photo editing tutorial that you can check out: HootPhoto.info
403 Forbidden
Can you recommend a tutorial that shows your method of cutting out hair? Or can anyone else recommend a tutorial?
One of the clearest and concise vids I've watched on this subject. Well worth watching. This guy knows exactly what he's doing!
With Halloween just around the corner, I was wondering if you could do an episode on "zombiefying" a person.
MASTER OF TEACHING SMOOTHLY
Nice Tutorial...........
with due respect____ Sir,,, The end of the Tutorial you suggested to use Clone stamp tool to remove white fringes in clipping mask. I tried exactly what you said, and did frequent times. But it does not work with me. I don't know what kind of mistake I'm making? kindly help me..
his clone stanp tool is set differently, he forgot to mention it. when you select the clone stanp tool look at the top bar going across, you will see a list of options like opacity and flow, at the end it will be set to 'current layer' click on that and select 'current and below' that will make it work
still doesnt work
thanks so much its work
Can show hair selection in complex background
what if the background is kind of noisy,and not like the plain white (that was in your example)?? please make a tutorial of those
This is the only site I’ve seen that show all the different ways to cut out a subject in one video. Good job
Good tutorial, but this method is ineffective in a scenario where the model was not shot against a solid background. A lot of times the client will request a particular model be composited from a stock photo with a busy background. In those cases, using the pen tool/refine edge/radius is the only way (that I know of). It's not perfect and time consuming, so I would love to know of a better way.
After years of viewing tips on this topic, this is by far the quickest and easiest I've seen! Thank you for posting!
i don't understand nothing... but you save my life!!!!!
PHenomenal! This is the best tutorial on how to do this I've seen!!! And I've watch a lot of them.
Using clone stamp tool on new layer is not effecting image at all in CS5?
Select the clone stamp tool and in the top bar change the sample option from 'Current' to 'Current & Below' (forums.adobe.com/thread/1081574)
This is a great tutorial. You explain each step simply and in a way that's easy for even the most novice Photoshop user to understand.
my clone stamp isn't working at the cliping mask If i use a brush it paints normaly as the video shows ,only on top of my image but when I try to use the clone stamp nothing works ...
***** Thank you a lot !! :)
And how to make it work?
I've watched a million tutorials and you're by far the best at making it easy to [ph]learn. Keep up the good work!
Well done, I have to say that I just tried to follow your tutorial, but when I start to Clone Stamp the edges of the hair, it won't do anything. Is there any other chance to over come this issue? Thank you
the same here, by using Clone stamp nothing is changed..looks weird ..
Pretty sure everyone having issues with the clone stamp step missed making the new blank layer a clipping mask? Works beautifully in cs3
Right under the menu is a series of options for the clone tool. Be sure to set the Sample as "Current and Below". You can see it from 9:00 onwards
@@sealand000 YES THANK YOU!
I came here from another video that showed the same, but didnt explain that grayish part outside hair, was so frustrated to solve it, but you fixed it for me in few seconds, big love!
Can this be done if the hair is dark and the background is darkish as well? If so, how?
Jason Marck You can invert the background and then cut it out
how exactly do you invert the background, I currently have a dark hair with dark background image that I want to cut out. Any assistance would be appreciated
It depends on the image, but generally, you duplicate the image and then just play with the colors and contrast until you get an image with a clearer difference between the background and the subject you are cutting.
I've been looking through all youtube for a solution, your video is shorter, simpler and more effective! Well done sir! Thanks for this.
I've tried the clone stamp part and it didn't work. How am I supposed to clone "hair texture" from a transparent layer that's clipped to the image I am using? My layer mode was set to 'darken' while clone stamping and nothing was happening. The background 'fringing' color was still there. The cloning did nothing. Please help.
+Mike Tapia Found it. You need to change the Sample option from Current to Current and Below.
+joe tury Thanks!
+joe tury How do I change my sample option?
Katriona A M Thompson while the clone tool is selected, use the drop down option next to Aligned Sample at the top...on the horizontal option bar above your work area.By default it should read Current Layer
+joe tury Ah! Thank you!! :)
I enjoy phlearning from your videos. I got a little frustrated with this until I realized when cloning choosing current and below makes this happen. Maybe most people already knew that but I didn't. Makes me happy that o can use this technique now.
Could you give us some advice on getting published? I've been practicing my beauty photography and I'm wondering if you could give us some pointers.
Thanks, I love all the videos. I've Phlearned so much!
***** Thanks for responding. I just sent you guys an email!
Ok, THIS IS AWESOME!. I've used Photoshop for years, and cutting out hair has been tricky to say the least. I used to use the lasso tool, with the clone stamper, along with a few other tricks to cut hair out. It was always difficult. When I went back to school to advance my degree, they taught a way to make it easier and the was the Refine Mask command in the layer palette. That wasn't always viable, because it created problems still with feathering and more. BUT THIS! Is simple, direct and easy. I love. You have taught an old dog a new trick. And now I can get projects done quicker, and better. Thanks!
I'm trying to cut out a very fluffy *Tiger*, it's not going well...
+Digital Flix im cutting out a lion lmfao
+Jade Hytzii try cutting out chewbacca
+★ Digital Squad ★ Same issue. I need to cut my long-haired cat out. The background is a patterned rug. . . ugh.
try using "Refine Mask"
+John Leo Taberdo I feel like it used to work well. Lately, however, it often gives me semitransparrent stuff that I don't want to be semitransparent.
Believe me I've googled and learned so many tutorials about cutting out hair.....so much similarities and weak with white edge. This white edge deleting method of your's is unique !
I can't do the last thing with the
Clone Stamp tool. Help me :'(
set curent layer and below, not just curent layer
What?
if you selected curent layer and you use the clonestamp on a empty layer there is nothing to clone from, therefore you must select curent en below layer in the top menu of PS so you can clone from the layer below the new layer
Had the same problem, but fixed it by selecting "Current & Below" at the very top bar when you select the clone stamp tool, mine was set only to "Current" and then it did not work :-)
Thanks a lot 👍
One of best video ever seen about cut hair. Thanks a lot
Easy to understand and follow. Thanks for the excellent guide. I've been having trouble with hair but this just made life so much easier.
I've been doing this hair cutting for ages until i saw this video of yours is very simple! Thank you for sharing. This way of cropping details will surely help me finish my editing in a snap.
All other videos were so bad and difficult, especially for a beginner like me. But this video literally saved my life! Thank you so much for this I love your videos
After making the third layer and creating a clipping mask for it, when I try to use the clone stamp tool it doesn't want to clone anything from the layer under with the person/hair. What is wrong?
Well spoken, comprehensive, and not boring. Great video!
When masking for compositing, I nearly always apply a slight gaussian blur to the mask. I then apply a levels adjustment to the mask, playing with the mid tones slider to shift the edge of the mask. This usually results in a quick, fairly natural looking composite in combination with color balancing. It is also important to be mindful of light sources in all images used. Thanks for all of your wonderful tips and tricks. Please keep them coming!
Aaron you are beautiful! A breath of fresh air! You have the 'gift of the gab' - great tutorial...thanks xx
The best tutorial I have seen of many teaching how to mask out backgrounds for such detailed images... Thx heaps
The best tutorial in using chanels for selecting something with Photoshop, thank you Aaron.
Thanks Aaron .. It's awesome ... its working .. am very satisfied with the result .. you have given me a whole bunch of freedom in cutting the knotty hair and placing it in a different background... Thanks again ... !!
really a helpful tutorial. never thought cutting out hair would be this easy. thank you
This is the best tutorial for cutting out hair - the best of the best!!! Thanks Aaron!
The tip you gave to set the clipping mask layer blend mode to darken really worked well. Thanks.
I will have to rewatch this several times but I love this and learned new stuff thank you bunches
Aaron is the man, another great tutorial...
Thank you a 1000000 times for making it simple and quick .
You're a life saver Aaron ! Your tutorials have helped me so much with my business. So Grateful !
Excellento Aaron ! watching you has made my Photoshop knowledge grow.
Awesome way to cut out hair you have just added 3 years to my life 😊
Thanks! The technique you showed here helped me with restoration work on old WWII documents! There are many applications for skills you teach!
when i saw the title i thought this was gonna be how to shorten hair etc but I've been looking for a way to do this for a while so it turned out to be way more useful! thanks :D
great tutorial..... I learn techniques in photoshop BIT BY BIT watching your tutorials.thanks!
Totally loving your tutorials. I'm a relatively novice Photoshopper but I'm Phlearning fast thanks to your easy-to-follow guides. Great job!
love your attitude and teaching personality
Thanks, this is the best tutorial I have found to show how to get a great clip out of a difficult subject.
currently i am a student of multimedia system so your tutorial is very very helpful for me
I enjoyed watching your tutorial. Very clear briefing. Thanking you.
Wonderful!! Especially the crone stamp part!!
Aaron and the team at phlearn are life savers. Thank you so very much, this tutorial has solved most of my hair selection probs.
You deserve a medal!
This has just changed my photoshop experience!!! Thank you soo much for this INCREDIBLE tutorial!!
Great video on hair. I love your ending with the beautiful model that gets transported.
Thanks a lot man!!! This helped me so much! i always got frustrated when selecting hair because of the fringe afterwards. Appreciate the help!
What a brilliant tutorial!...Well done and thanks for this.
this is the BEST tutorial I have ever seen for this! Thank you!
Really, really really helpful! I have three pages of handwritten notes from this tutorial and it has been a massive help to improving the quality of my work and my workflow. Thanks Aaron, really appreciate it, best wishes from Washington in the U.K.
I am so glad i find you, you are making my life 50% easier . thank you
... just another day, another awesome episode! Thanks for your time Aaron.I'm a big fan! Request: another Pro-tutorial on food photography composit color work and everything else you always bring to the table on those Pro Vids!
Photoshop, no matter WHAT METHOD you choose, is NEVER going to create a perfect (difficult) selection like Hair tips or tree tips....but you can get close, and this is about as close as you'll ever get .... (with this method as opposed to Color Range only) or even Channels only. Concentrate on what he said about clipping the clipping mask or empty (new) layers. Some people use "Bevel and Emboss" or just continue to darken one channel ( like Aaron did as a STEP or a means to an end) Most guys on here just stop right there in their tutorials and say "Oh, you'll never make a perfect selection"....what Aaron did was just PART of the final process, not the end product.I love the logic you use when faced with a difficult task... or one you've never attempted before. PHLEARN (Aaron) ... you guys are the BEST with Photoshop video tutorials BY FAR! As far as I'm concerned, you have ABSOLUTELY ZERO competition here on TH-cam. Great, great video. Thank You!
Awesome! I've been using other methods to do this and this is by far the best method, most natural looking. Your tutorials are awesome, fun and very educational, easy to understand, thank you.
Woooo, something I already knew how to do in Photoshop that Phlearn didnt teach me! Yay me.
Thanks Aaron for this killer tutorial!
Excellent way to cut it out. Thanks for sharing, your a beast in your own right!
Thank you so much, I actually put this to use on a job I did for a client and they loved it. You are a wealth of information. Keep those vids coming. We'll be watching :-)
Thanks for this tutorial, it's really good. Just maybe for us beginners you could mention that for the clone brush tool, first we need to press alt in order to copy from the image below and then just click were you want to "paint" with the clone. Also, it's important to change the "sample" on the top menu to "current and below" (you can see many people were getting confused with that in the comments) It's basic, but we beginners need to learn everything from zero hehe. Thanks a lot for teaching us!
Really like this tutorial... I keep coming back to it since I only occasionally need these techniques.... Thank you again, and again!
You are amassing, I loved your tutorial very much, May god bless you
Great tutorial sir! It sure beats hand-trimming a path that will never be as organic!
Very very good explained! Thanks so much!
An absolutely awesome tutorial!
So awesome and way more simple than the way I knew how...going to try this out right now. Thanks a million!!!
clone stamp darken layer is AWESOME technique! Thank you!! Great, professional tutorial!
You absolutely saved my life, man. Thanks so much! I have about 45 head shots to edit, and this cuts my usual time in less than half!
i'm not scared of photoshop anymore. thank you so much!
So good! Thanks so much mate! The issue I'm having at the moment is on a kids shoot, his hair is very fair/blonde and my background is white. I'm trying to make the entire background a more uniform and brighter white (my 2 backdrop-facing strobes weren't bright enough to iron out the wrinkles in my backdrop sheet). Will see how it goes. His hair has a lot of gaps in it which I need to make sure I don't miss out on!
someone is having a LOT of fun with those ending clips.