This article shows you
how to make a simple action sequence in Photoshop.
Others may have
slightly different methods or techniques, but
this is generally how I like to create them.
So the first thing you need
to begin is a series of photos. Now ideally these
photos should be taken with a consistent background
to make the job of removing your subject a lot
easier. Sometimes (like in this case) it's not
possible to shoot off a tripod or while standing
still. Just keep in mind, the more the camera
moves, the more difficult your job becomes putting
the photos back together later as a single image.
Step 1 – Lay Out Your Photos
What I like to do first is figure out the size
of my photos (image-->image size) - there's
usually a standard size for your camera. After
importing all my photos in the sequence I'll paste
them into a single document that's a bit larger
than the size of the photos. In this case there
are four photos at 3072 x 2048 pixels each. I've
created a new canvas that's about 4500 x 3000
- this lets you put each photo on a separate layer
without cropping the edges off. More importantly
it gives you some room to maneuver the pictures
a bit since they won’t line up perfectly
when they are first overlaid.
Photos are on a single canvas,
each on its own layer.
Step 2 – Line Those Suckers Up!
The next step is to line up your backgrounds so
that they all sit approximately on top of each
other. I like to try and pick a distinct point
as a reference. The photos won’t always
line up perfectly because of the motion and various
angles the photos may have been taken at, but
you can usually get it pretty close.
Working with two layers visible at a time, adjust
the opacity of the top layer to around 50% and
line up all the photos as closely as you can.
You can see below that initially the backgrounds
don't quite match.
I’ll use the boat wake
and the tree line in this case as reference points
to match the images.
Step 3 - The "Whole
Picture"
With a sequence like this, you only need the background
to span the area of the photo you're going to
use at the end when it's cropped. Overlapping
and matching four or more separate images perfectly
is a waste of time and just not necessary. In
this image I'm only using the top and bottom layers
for the background.
The example below I've lined up the house in the
background since it has sharp edges and details.
Those distinct features make it pretty obvious
when it's been matched up perfectly. You'll notice
that while the house is lined up nicely, the trees
on the far left of the top layer don't line up
at all. What you do to remedy this without much
work is simply cut the top photo in half at points
that don't need to be matched so precisely and
can be blended more easily. Good candidates here
would be the sky and water.
The background matches in
the middle, but the trees on the left are now
way off!
Almost always after you cut your background you’ll
notice that the photos still don’t blend
very well because of the different lighting in
each shot. Not to worry! Use the image adjustment
options such as levels, brightness/contrast, colour
balance, etc. Play with the values of these tools
on one of the layers to get it to match the colour
and contrast of the other. Once you're happy and
everything looks blended together like one image,
merge the two photos into a single layer (layer
--> merge visible).
The colour and contrast of
the two photos is noticeably different and needs
correction.
You will most likely have to stitch and blend
some areas together still where the photos meet.
The cloning tool will generally work best for
this. Tip: If you're cloning near sharp edges,
use the polygon lasso tool and clone inside your
selection area to avoid smudging other sharper
details.
Once you're done you should have a seamless image
of the first and last photos in the sequence.
The background and colours
have now been matched.
Step 4 - Tracing
The Subject
Now to add in the last two shots of the sequence.
Check to make sure that your second photo is lined
up with your new background layer. I've set the
second layer opacity to 50% and I’m using
the trees again as a positioning guideline.
Line up the backgrounds as
close as possible.
After they are lined up, set
the top layer back to 100% opacity and zoom in
on your subject. Next you’ll use the selection
tools to trace an outline of the area you want
to keep. You can use the magnetic selection to
get a rough outline, and then refine your selection
using the polygon lasso tool for precision.
Tip: When tracing your outline, zoom in closer
and hold down the spacebar while clicking and
dragging the left mouse button to pan around the
image.
Trace the outline of your
subject.
After selecting the area I want, I'll select the
inverse (Select --> Inverse) and also feather
my selection a couple pixels (Select --> Feather).
Then you can delete the inverse of your original
selection, which should be everything but your
subject. You should end up with something like
the photo below. Repeat this process for any other
photos left in the sequence.
The background has been deleted
from the second photo, leaving only the subject
in the frame.
Step 5 - The Finishing Touches
The next step will be to first
flatten the image (Layer --> Flatten Image)
and adjust the horizon so it’s level. Then
you can crop the image to remove the surrounding
whitespace and rough borders.
Use your selection tool and
crop the area of the photo you want to keep.
When you’re done you can make small colour
corrections and adjustments to the entire image
at once. Here is the finished result.
