Replace Background

[Jacki]

I'm trying to help a friend with a snapshot from her wedding 11 yrs ago. This is her favorite picture, but of course she would prefer it without other people in it. I could crop it square but there is still a man behind. Is there any hope for this one? It seems especially tricky with white behind her and multiple colors behind him and his hair. 

I don't have a preference for the background, Whatever would be easiest. I could take a wall or window from other images that day but none are the right size, so I would have to enlarge the background substantially.

The image is only 1504x999px so maybe it's already a lost cause? I'd like to help her have something from her wedding day to hang up though.

[Damien Symonds]

Hi Jacki,

Is it a scan of a print?  Or is it a digital file?

[Jacki]

digital

 

[Damien Symonds]

Even by the standards of eleven years ago, 1.5 megapixels was oddly small.  Are you sure you have the exact file that came out of the camera?  Not a copy that's been shrunk by an email program, perhaps?

[Jacki]

Sadly, I have exactly what she has. I went to her house to double check. It must've gotten resized years ago but we can't get the full size now.

[Damien Symonds]

Bummer.

How's the focus?  If it's razor sharp, it might still be big enough for a small canvas.

[Jacki]

Here's a 700px crop

[Damien Symonds]

That's not too bad.  You might get a passable 8x8 inch canvas out of it.  Do you think she would be happy with that?  (Assuming we can remove the guy, of course).

[Jacki]

She was hoping for bigger but she knows they are small so she will be thrilled with 8x8.

[Damien Symonds]

Ok, so I'd start by opening it in your raw program and fixing the white balance.

Then in PS, draw guides where you think your square crop will go, and add a clone layer to clone out the bits of people on either side.

Then choose a light-coloured "Solid Color" layer, and mask it onto the background, over the guy.

[Jacki]

Here's a screenshot of my start.

I added a layer on top with black sides to hide the clutter... I can remove it.

I think I am done masking on the right and left sides until I get to their hair and between their faces. Is there a tip for hair... or just the awesome shift-click?

[Damien Symonds]

Not even Shift.  Just zoom way in and use a very small brush, very patiently.

[Jacki]

I decided to go BW and here it is with the color fill layer masked in. What's the next step?

[Damien Symonds]

Does it need a next step?  It think it's looking good.

[Jacki]

So leave the background flat?

Does it need noise to print well?

[Damien Symonds]

Well, if you leave it flat, then no, no noise needed.

But if you add some gradation to it, yes, you'll also need to add noise.