Best way to cut out a baby from a background

[shirly526]

What would be the best tool to use to cut out this baby from this background to paste it on another background? I want nice edge and for it to look natural....

 

Thank you!

[Christina Keddie]

Show us the other background, please.

[shirly526]

it wont let me upload... its only less than 2MB

[Damien Symonds]

37 minutes ago, shirly526 said:

it wont let me upload... its only less than 2MB

Is it a jpeg?

46 minutes ago, shirly526 said:

What would be the best tool to use to cut out this baby from this background to paste it on another background?

NEVER do this.  Put the new background on the baby photo, not the other way around.

http://www.damiensymonds.net/2010/09/extract-then-copy-vs-copy-then-extract.html

[shirly526]

yes... now its letting me.... this is the background, its a screen shot... I started playing with it with a different baby and I will post in the next comment. I think my issue now is making it look less cut and pasted it on the new drop...

[shirly526]

here is the one I am working on... I feel like I managed to place her there pretty good bu now she looks pasted on. How would I go about adding some shadows? What I did was open the background layer, dropped the baby in the background, created a mask for the baby and erased around it. So now I have a layer with the baby with a mask and the background layer of the swing.

[Damien Symonds]

Just now, shirly526 said:

dropped the baby in the background, created a mask for the baby and erased around it. So now I have a layer with the baby with a mask and the background layer of the swing.

Yep, that's good.  That's the right way to do it.

[Damien Symonds]

1 minute ago, shirly526 said:

here is the one I am working on... I feel like I managed to place her there pretty good bu now she looks pasted on.

Principally, the problem is the lighting.  Your baby photo is so dimly lit, but the ornament is so brightly lit.

You need to go back to your raw processing of the baby photo, and make it brighter.

[shirly526]

would I be able to do it the other way around and dim the ornament?

[Damien Symonds]

2 minutes ago, shirly526 said:

would I be able to do it the other way around and dim the ornament?

Yes, that might work.

[shirly526]

Should I just play with the highlights and shadows of the ornament?

Once I do that, what would be the best way to add shadows tot he baby so she doesn't look pasted on?

 

btw...loving this new "forum"!

[Damien Symonds]

8 minutes ago, shirly526 said:

Once I do that, what would be the best way to add shadows tot he baby so she doesn't look pasted on?

Yes, that will be the trickiest part for sure.  Around the feet will need some artificial shadowing.

8 minutes ago, shirly526 said:

Should I just play with the highlights and shadows of the ornament?

Yep, do this first, then show me.

[shirly526]

1 minute ago, Damien Symonds said:

Yes, that will be the trickiest part for sure.  Around the feet will need some artificial shadowing.

Yep, do this first, then show me.

ok, will do. I will post back tomorrow!