what is the best photoshop extraction plugin?

[dgs]

I am looking at Mask Pro, is it the best? Is it worth the money?

thanks,
Danny

[Mr. Pickles]

I have heard a few good things about Mask Pro. Those that don't like a "tool" to do it, do it manually because it is better than some "action" making decisions. You have a lot of control doing it yourself, but it is more work but could be an educational experience in learning how.

Most of those people that go manual recommend Katrin Eismanns books and DVD's on the subject. You can learn more about the "Photoshop Diva" here:
Photoshop Diva - Katrin Eismann

[dgs]

Thanks, I will check it out.

thanks,
Danny

[Mark McCall]

Danny,
I do ALOT of masking out of backgrounds for my competition and fine art images...daily as a matter of fact. Hopefully I can shed some light on this for ya.

Masking programs and plug-ins work by asking you to "define" the background, ie: what you want masked out.
This is easy if your background is a solid tone, mild gradient, or background with not much detail.

If your going to be masking out a background or separating the subject from a busy or multicolored background, no plug in or masking program will make the job easier. There's just too many tones the program is dealing with to speed up the job.

We gave up after years of trying several programs and PS's background eraser tool.

Now, we use PS's Polygonal lasso tool with a slight feather to select the subject, then separate it from the background.
Does it take awhile? Sure does. But not as long as it does trying to mask using a plug in.

[Mr. Pickles]

Good notes Mark. Masking, cutting, pasting in PhotoShop is a very tough thing to get right, but once you know all the tools (and masks) that can do it (not just the lasso or eraser), and how each is a bit different, and you actually do it a few times, you're golden.

Katrin's Photoshop Masking & Compositing book is a wealth of information about this very thing. Pricey? Yes. Needed if you need it? YES.

[dgs]

Thanks, Mark, and Mr Pickles, I am ordering that book.

thanks,
Danny

[zero rc]

im kin dof with mark on this one. i have tried some of the extraction tools and found the best way is just good old fasion brush work. i start out by roughing out the selections with selection tools (often using chanels) but it almost always comes down to brushes and masks by hand to ge teh edges i want. you can definately make the job easier by shooting on chroma key backgrounds.
ive never read this particular book but ive seen her other work and tutorials on the web. she knows her stuff and has been around for ever!

[JeRon]

I think,if you can master the use of Pen Tool, it can help greatly in knocking out the background, aside from the Lasso Tools.

The Built In Extraction of PS works fine in some cases, too.

[Jason Hermann]

I totally agree with Mark! I've tried several plugins including Mask Pro and they all stink on busy backgrounds. Especially with hair!

Best,
Jay

[gallen11]

I have tried them all and Fluid Mask 3 works best for me especially if I am trying to cut the background away from hair or other small items when the background and the item to be saved are close to the same color. None are perfect.
Gallen11

[jfrancho]

I use TLR's masking scripts to create a selection of edges. This makes is easier to "color" in the subject and remove the background, or the subject, or just to protect the subject or background from a filter effect. Like Mark said, it isn't easy, but it isn't really that time consuming. For really delicate extractions, the pen tool is very helpful at creating a path which can be used to extract an item.

[dgs]

Thanks, jfrancho, I will take a look at those scripts. I do think learning the theory and some practice would be well worth the time.

thanks,
Danny

[jfrancho]

You can see how I used the script to create a "color in the lines" mask in this tutorial: Mixed Lighting Issues Solved By Using RAW Format!!!

[pellepiano]

Best is to shoot the model with extraction in mind. Using an evenly lit background really helps. Using a color that is not present on the model, you can get good starting results with Color Range or Extract Tool. Using a channel as the base for a layermask is probably the best method with most control.

Extraction is mostly only half of the work. When adding a new background image the light has to be about the same, color temperature, angle and lens also.

Even with dedicated extraction software there is always need for some manual touchups.

Heres an example where things seem to fit, but a closer look will certainly reveal that additional lightsources was used ( its probably ok as that is what normally is done when taking fashion photos outside ).

[dgs]

Wow, your work always impresses me. I rarely can tell that your images are not with the original backgrounds. I just hope to gain your skill...

thanks,
Danny