Lessons
Lesson Info
Class Introduction
Today we are in this segment talking about composite workflow. Compositing and masking. All that good stuff, the stuff that I used to hate, I would say because sometimes it's not really easy to do based on different circumstance. And I think the problem that I used to have when I used to start doing commercial work is that, I didn't really have a lot of luck finding good information out there. Because there's so many way to mask, there's so many ways to composite images and sometimes you want a really quick and simple way to start doing it. And this is compositing basics and the reason why it's called that is because I want to show you basic ways to to mask things and to composite things. Now, when it comes to compositing, my background for those of you who weren't here for the first segment, is I'm a commercial and editorial retoucher. So I do a lot of stuff with skin, clothing, fashion, beauty. But I also do a lot of commercial work. So, things for like McDonald's, the Army, all kind...
s of different brands. I've done a whole range of things. We just finished some stuff for David Beckham as well. Just a whole range of stuff that requires compositing. And sometimes it's not just compositing in the traditional sense where you're taking an image and putting it on something else. But compositing, I also think of it like, if you want to highlight certain elements in a photo and change the properties of that elements specifically, isolating it. Because the steps are still the same whether you try to extract it out, or isolate it. So, think of this class as like a masking class because not only will we be talking about masking in the sense of how to mask things out completely, but also how to use that mask for everything else. How, what tools can we use to expedite that process and we'll analyze a few different tools. That's kinda my, my game plan for today. So, what I want to begin with is the fact that there's not a wrong or right way to mask. And I say this because I've asked a lot of artists out there and I say, how do you prefer masking? That's what I basically ask. How do you prefer masking? Some people say I use channels, I use minasi masks, I use hand masking. All kinds of things, like refine edge. And there's all these different tools and features and Photoshop keeps changing as well and you want to make sure that you have a good quick overview of how this works. And how to make it as seamless as possible. So, with that being said, I want to start with one of my friend's, his pictures, and this is Alexis Cuarezma. He is amazing because he does a lot of stuff like this where aside from taking really beautiful portraits, he does a lot of commercial work. And like I mentioned with commercial work, it's really key to be able to change things on the fly for clients because clients will sometimes say, let's bring the saturation of the background down about 10 points. Or, let's change the white balance of this to this. Or, let's change out the backdrop and it just goes on forever sometimes. It's really important to be able to master those techniques. It could even be stuff like, can you please bring out just the shadows and make them brighter. So how can you mask out just the shadows? Right, making some intricate masks real easily.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
Madelaine Enochs
This was an excellent course. I learned a lot. I am going to rewatch it and do some work along with Pratik's guidance. He is an excellent teacher. If there is more to learn, I hope he creates some more classes like this. Very informative and precise. Thank-you Pratik!