Welcome everyone! Sandbox365 here....a small group of volunteers looking to help 365ers with their post editing skills! We're just getting going and our first intro to layers was well attended and we're growing with followers!
You can find more about Sandbox365 by visiting our 365 Profile
The focus of these challenges/sessions is NOT to instruct about basic toning and raw image adjustments. The intent is to offer a learning experience for enhancing post-editing skills in a fashion that fits the 365 model of taking photos daily and posting them to your albums. There will be no discussion on the merits of post editing versus SOOC photography. Join in and participate in any session you like, ask questions, and Sandbox365 will do its best to answer your questions. Sessions will generally last for 7 to 14 days depending on the Sandbox365 topic and the host for that session.
This learning session, Multiplicity (or Cloning), builds on your layers knowledge and introduces masking. The best way to think of masking is to think about using masking tape when you're painting - you can cover or expose paint layers on your walls depending on your preference.
This is basic learning exercise since the background for all of your "clones" is the same! Once you get the hang of layers and masking, you'll be on your way to extracting an object from one setting and putting it into another, changing the "blending" of a layer when placed on top of another layer, and many other skills!
Here is a simple example using two shots I did last year for the 5+2 Group:
In order to combine different exposures into one, you need to carefully plan and take the individual pictures. REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING
1. Mount your Camera on a Solid Tripod
2. Focus on your scene and shift to manual focus, you do not want your camera refocusing on every shot - if your camera re-focuses every time you will have slightly misaligned pictures
3. Put your camera in Manual mode and dial in the exposure manually:- this is critical so as to get consistent exposures throughout.
4. Use a Narrow Aperture: - you will need your subject to be reasonably sharp in every instance so it is recommended to use a narrow aperture, f/11 or greater should work just fine.
5. Shoot through the sequence quickly:- lighting conditions could change significantly when you are shooting outdoors and might cause problems, so it is always better to pre-plan your poses and go through the sequence in as little time as possible.
I used Photoshop CC for this example. Here you can see the two stacked layers. As you watch the videos and read through the example, I added masking layers to expose my clone images.
Here is a version of a final blending. The final image can then be embellished with any additional effects you like such as for the image "What Conflict" image for the 5+2 Group posting.
If you have any questions along the way in posting your own Multiplicity or Clone image let us know!
PLEASE TAG YOUR EXAMPLES AS: Sandbox365-Multiplicity
Thank you for the tutorial. On a slightly less happy note, given the numerous beheadings by Islamic State "fighters" of late I find the subject matter distasteful in the extreme.
@creampuff Hi Eve, thankyou for your feedback, we have updated the final tutorial image. The work was created quite some time ago and no offence intended.
@creampuff Sorry to offend, but this is a photoshop edit, not the AP Press or anything related to a religious matter. Association with anything Islamic or newsworthy is your own, not Sandbox365.
Oh, this is cool. I've always wanted to do some multiplicity, I've already got a triptych (but then in one) in my head. Don't have much time at the moment but will definitely have a go at this somewhere next week. Thanks for the links to tutorials.
⏰ Hi everyone - The upcoming FREE Creative Live tutorial broadcasts that you might find interesting are -
Photoshop 101 with Ben Willmore (beginner-level) - Jan 19-21
Fundamentals of Photography 2015 with John Greengo Jan 13-17
Thanks for the new assignment... I will try to get to it this week, sometime. I appreciate the prompt, the links and the suggested tutorials. Many thanks!
@tigerdreamer You're right, not over overlapping clone parts, but other objects, shadows and sunlight can begin to play tricks on you. Another final post editing skill once your all done with layers, clones, extractions, color balancing, etc, is to add atmosphere to the final composition (air, gases, fog, overlapping lighting, grunge, etc) in order to "tie" everything together and more believable.
Thanks so much for putting together these tips, @sandbox365 . Unfortunately, work pressures have prevented me from trying these techniques. I will surely get to it one of these days! Please continue on, really appreciate it!
I have never tried multiplicity and apart from trying to work on the wrong layer a few times (oops), I also found shadows the most time consuming to work on. I used a soft feathered brush at 15% opacity to blend outwards from the edge of the model and had to think about which 'model' was closest to the camera, and exactly which direction the light was coming from. I renamed the layers to help identify closest to farthest layer. I also moved one layer below another (click & drag) to get them into the correct order of overlap too.
I didn't see this when it came out. I have used layers a lot in my work because I am also a digital scrapbooker. But I haven't tried something exactly like this so going to give it a try this weekend. Love some of the results I have seen.
I am in awe of those of you who achieved more than 2 people in your work. I created this collage and told the 'behind the scenes' story of my trials and tribulations in trying to get the original capture.
This is my not very good first attempt. I really struggled with this. Partly because i to learn even the most basic steps in order to progress in LR and PS and partly because I transferred the pictures from LR to PS and just couldn't get beyond adding the mask. Nothing seemed to work. In desperation I deleted the images and added them again. This time from my folder on finder and it worked. Don't know what I was doing wrong.
Anyway in spite of struggling for ages and not getting a very satisfactory result I have learnt a huge amount and enjoyed it. Thank you all.
OK... some lessons learned on this trial. First, don't rush with 15 minutes left until sunset, on a work day. Second, don't get cute with intersecting images. Still, it was fun and very instructive. Thank you!
@rosiekerr hahahaha! oh yes... getting cute with intersecting images... definitely a risk... i find it isn't too difficult to cheat by using a really soft brush when working on the mask... have to go back and forth a few times, but i've been able to make it work (within reason) without too much time and effort... brave you for doing this outside :)
@thistle i'm trying to understand what went wrong? did you highlight both images in LR and then click on the "open in PS as layers" option? this should have made it pretty easy to just apply a mask to the top image and use black to bring out the part of the bottom image with your canine friend... clearly you got it to work in the end tho... nicely done!
@ethelperry i love your little photobomber ;p nicely done... and yeah... working with people and animals can definitely be a challenge... seems like you got this to work nicely!
@northy I think you might have solved it. As I am so new to LR and PS i hadn't even realised there was 'an open in PS as layers' option i had just followed the 'edit in PS' link. If I had a brain it would help! I will try again later this morning and let you know how it goes. Thanks for your help.
Here's my attempt. Came across a problem with overlapping parts and haven't figured out yet how to solve that. While erasing number 2, I also erased part of the hand of number 3. How can I restore the missing hand?
@northy Thanks for your help I tried again using the 'edit in PS as layers' option and it worked quickly and easily. Thank you for your advice and time.
Sorry to be so dim!!
@stiggle hi Anja... I'm not sure I'm going to be able to explain this properly, but I'll try...
First, I assume you are using a mask, and painting on the mask with black to reveal what's in the layer below. If so, then press X and your paint colour will turn to white, and you can then use your brush to "unerase" the hand.
If you press the command key (or control key on a PC) and the "+" button at the same time, you'll be able to zoom in so you can see better to carefully paint in where the hand is overlapping the dress.
I really want the clones next time I'm sitting on the couch with a book (or the computer)! This technique is a whole lot more straightforward than I had imagined... except for the overlap. I was surprised at the size difference in the different me's.
@francoise yeah... I'd love a clone or two ;p. The perspective thing is crazy, isn't it? You really don't notice it until you try something like this! Nicely done multiplicity shot! But yes... It's good to avoid overlap when you're first trying it out... Dealing with overlap takes it to a whole 'nuther level!
So this was not multiplicity shot but because what I have learned in this lesson I was able to do this shot and apply the same thing. I am excited about the possibilities.
Oh when will it stop???! Now I'm addicted - thank you for teaching this. There was no sky today when I went downtown Milwaukee so using the same technique as in this lesson I was able to add the clouds! :)
Thank you so much - I am excited to learn this software instead of paying for it and not doing much with it.
I have tried this before but with no overlaps. In this one I had one overlap but it posed no problem at all! Working with layers is really not as difficult as it first seems!
@salza great execution! Glad it was not as hard as you initially thought it might be. @pixelchix terrific composition & atmosphere - the receeding lines of the underpass and the overhead lighting give a great 3D effect.
Here is mine....I had so much fun with it!! Great exercise, and something I have always wanted to try! Thank you for organizing this....it's a great way to learn photoshop by applying it to these exercises.
Thanks everyone for participating! Hopefully you learned a new skill or improved on your existing skills! Learning about overlapping layers, perspectives, shadows and background colors is just the beginning. As you get more involved you'll want to extract an image from a picture and place it into another picture. You'll also want to learn about blending and how that impacts your layers and masking - all great stuff! Layers and masking is the foundation for many lessons and post editing tricks to come! Stay tuned for more exciting post editing tricks and treats from Sandbox365 !
Hope I'm not too late. Here's mine. I had one little fluke - the lights on the truck were on when I took the first photo and when he got out of the truck, they were off. Was able to "paint" them off in the final product.
@northy Thank you. It was fun for me, and I think he had fun, too. Thank you, also, for making the time to help with this instruction. So far (3) I've found it entertaining, somewhat challenging and very helpful.
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Photoshop 101 with Ben Willmore (beginner-level) - Jan 19-21
Fundamentals of Photography 2015 with John Greengo Jan 13-17
https://www.creativelive.com/calendar
@ethelperry that looks terrific ( I love that wry little smile!!)
I hope it's alright to add this link but it solved one of my problems and I only came across it by accident. I thought it might be a help to others.
Anyway in spite of struggling for ages and not getting a very satisfactory result I have learnt a huge amount and enjoyed it. Thank you all.
For Selective colouring I used this link: http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Selective-Coloring-in-Photoshop
Sorry to be so dim!!
First, I assume you are using a mask, and painting on the mask with black to reveal what's in the layer below. If so, then press X and your paint colour will turn to white, and you can then use your brush to "unerase" the hand.
If you press the command key (or control key on a PC) and the "+" button at the same time, you'll be able to zoom in so you can see better to carefully paint in where the hand is overlapping the dress.
Hope that helps!
Thank you so much - I am excited to learn this software instead of paying for it and not doing much with it.
@pixelchix terrific composition & atmosphere - the receeding lines of the underpass and the overhead lighting give a great 3D effect.
Thanks everyone for participating! Hopefully you learned a new skill or improved on your existing skills! Learning about overlapping layers, perspectives, shadows and background colors is just the beginning. As you get more involved you'll want to extract an image from a picture and place it into another picture. You'll also want to learn about blending and how that impacts your layers and masking - all great stuff! Layers and masking is the foundation for many lessons and post editing tricks to come! Stay tuned for more exciting post editing tricks and treats from Sandbox365 !
@northy @ltodd @tianarutledge @aprilmilani @roseolivia @mikegifford