Editing 1 – Cutouts

Original Image for 'The Apartment Your Apartment Could Smell Like'

'The Apartment Your Apartment Could Smell Like' Cutout — **The Apartment Your Apartment Could Smell Like**; January 8, 2012 3:26pm; Indoors, Rexburg, ID; f/5.0; 1/30; Canon T3i; No flash, ceiling light slightly behind camera

'A Bachelor Desk' — **A Bachelor Desk**; January 8, 2012 7:24pm; Indoors, Rexburg, ID; f/4.5; 1/60; Canon T3i; Flash fired, room light on

Both cutouts were done with a similar method. First I used selection tools, primarily the quick selection tool, to select the object to cut out. Then I used Photoshop’s “refine edge” tool to smooth and feather the edges, and to add a little contrast. For both images, I copied the selection to a new layer, and then added a white background to the layer directly underneath the new layer with the selected objects. For the first image, the white background is on the entire background layer. For the second one, the white background is on only part of the background layer, allowing the original image to show through.

On the first image I also rotated the object a little bit in the edited photo to compensate for a slight tilt in my original image. I shot it handheld, so there was a slight tilt I didn’t want.