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Layering Images in Photoshop

Lesson 3 from: Getting Started with Composite Images

Tim Grey

Layering Images in Photoshop

Lesson 3 from: Getting Started with Composite Images

Tim Grey

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Lesson Info

3. Layering Images in Photoshop

Next Lesson: Layer Mask Basics

Lesson Info

Layering Images in Photoshop

We're gonna go back to our squirrel oh isn't it cute? Oh it's only a squirrel, right? Not a chipmunk might be a chipmunk and you know I can only tell by the tail killings have a tiny little tail squirrels have a big fluffy tails I'm pretty sure it's a squirrel and we have an expert in the audience who just informed us that yes, it is indeed a squirrel and she's going to tell us exactly which variety of squirrel of it later. So with the composite image that we're right with the composite that's a brand it's ah upright standing squirrel with stripey eyes it's a cute squirrel he exactly so when we started off, I showed you this image as an example this squirrel image with this sky image how do I get those images assembled in photo shop? I let photoshopped do all the work for me that's how if the images of the same size the same pixel dimensions it's super easy because they're just gonna match together perfectly but what I'm going to do once again starting in bridge I can do this and photo...

shop I'll show you the manual approach to photo shop because sometimes you already have an existing image open and you're already working on things and you just want to bring in yet another image and so it's little easier to just work directly and photo shop, so I'll show you both approaches, but usually being really, really lazy. I prefer to let bridge do the hard work for me, and so I will select both of the images, in this case, the squirrel and the sky, and then I'll just go up to the tools menu once again and go to photo shop, and in this case, I'm simply I could theoretically use photo emergency. In fact, we'll see another example of photo emerged a little bit later, but in this case, I'm just going to load those files into photo shop layers, and so I'll go ahead and use that command, execute that command in both of those images, boom finished see how easy that was, and so once again, we're back to essentially what our starting point was for that initial image where I had assembled beforehand by turn off the squirrel there, we can see the sky down below notice that the layers themselves are named based on the file names that I used to assemble the composite result in this case, so obviously I could then start assembling the final image, as as I sort of did with the really rough version anyway, with the opening image today, I'm just going to close that, though, and let's, go ahead and open those individual images and directly within photo shops, I'll just open the two images. So they are two completely separate photos that are open at the same time in photo shop. Now we have these tabs by default. You can still float your images in the little windows if you prefer, but I do find it convenient to be able to work in these tabs. I can switch back and forth between the several images that are open, but to actually combine them together. It's a little bit easier. At least I find it's a little bit easier if we can see both images at the same time. And so, while I could drag from tab, the tablet I generally do is go up to the window menu and then choose a range and I usually will tile all in this case, it's only two. So I could also use the two up version, but tile all either vertically or horizontally. Either ways, perfectly fine. I generally go vertically because I just find that that works for me. Visually, I find little bit easier, but either way is perfectly fine. So now the images have been tiled in this case side by side. I've got both images available at the same time. And I could merge them together. Well, part of the reason that I like having both images visible before I assemble a composite in this way is I can think about it it's more clear to me that I'm able to think about how I want to assemble them. Do I want to put the sky onto the squirrel or the squirrel onto the sky? It doesn't really matter. I could do it either way, I could put the sky on top and then blocked part of the sky to reveal the squirrel or I could put the squirrel on top and blocked the background to reveal the sky either way is fine. I have this well, this I have many weird issues, and among those weird issues is this preference tto have what I think of as the foreground being the four around, it just makes it a lot easier for me to think about how I'm approaching the image. So for me personally, I would tend to always put the foreground object as it were as the top level image, so in this case, I would drag the squirrel to the sky just one of my many idiosyncrasies, so I'll use the move to I'm gonna grab the move tool, and I can click directly on the image itself. I do want to make sure that this image is active first that it's, the image it's currently actives that I could just drag, and I'll do that just by clicking with the move tool on the image itself, I could drag from the layers panel I could just grab the thumbnail. I usually work directly on the images, though, and I'm going to click on the squirrel image and start dragging over to the sky image. But along the way, I'm going to add the shift key to the equation, so I've already started dragging. I'm still holding my mouse button down, and then I will hold the shift key with my other hand, and then I'll make sure that my mouse actually gets over the sky image, in this case, the destination image and then still holding the shift key, I will now release the mouse. The reason I was holding the shift key is that causes the source image the squirrel, in this case to be centered in the destination image. Since these images happened to be thank goodness, the exact same pixel dimensions, that means they line up perfectly. But it's, usually just convenient toe have the image centered in some way, even if it's not a perfect fit so you can actually see all that versus having it dragged out to some corner edge of the image, for example, so not a critical thing in most situations. But something that I find helpful. And so now, once again, we're back to that initial starting point of the two images layered together, ready to be assembled into the most believable composite image I have ever created.

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

Tim Grey - Getting Started with Composite Images - Reference Guide.pdf

Ratings and Reviews

alexbreugelmans
 

This is a beginners course, with some very handy tips for advanced users also. I am considering myself an intermediate one :), but enjoyed this course a lot! Tim's style is very relaxing, entertaining, and you can learn a lot! I want to see more of this teacher, in advanced setting. Worthwhile buying this course!!!!!

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