How to refine edges of an object?

[zBernie]

How do you refine the edges on an object like the one ? This is a photo of my kid that I removed from one photo and placed into another photo. You can see how jagged the lines around the coat and pants are.

-Thanks

[Greyfox]

How do you refine the edges on an object like the one ? This is a photo of my kid that I removed from one photo and placed into another photo. You can see how jagged the lines around the coat and pants are.

-Thanks

There are a number of ways to cut out or mask something from one photo, and add it onto another. The factors involved in making the end result believable are beyond a simple forum post answer, but there are lots of on line videos you can watch on the subject.

There are also dedicated software programs available to do just that task, either freestanding or as plugins that will work with ACDSee, but to stick with what can be done solely in ACDSee, obviously the first step is to select the object that is to be taken from the first photo. How you make that selection depends on your choice of the tools you have at your disposal. You might for instance use the selection brush, pixel targeting, the lasso tool, the magic wand etc.

Having made the initial selection as accurately as possible, if you are using U2021 then one of the new features in it is selection refinement (Select->Refine). As refinement functions go, it's pretty basic, at this stage offering just edge shifting and feathering.

I suggest making a mask from the selection, so that only the selection is visible. Putting a temporary solid color background on another layer behind the selection can facilitate cleaning up or refining the edges of the mask. The mask properties in ACDSee also has a feathering adjustment, but note that feathering can result in a halo around the object.

If the object has reasonably well defined edges, then with lots of time and patience it is possible to get quite good results. If the object has poorly defined edges, color bleed from the original background which doesn't match the new background, or complications like flyaway hair the task gets much harder.

[zBernie]

There are a number of ways to cut out or mask something from one photo, and add it onto another. The factors involved in making the end result believable are beyond a simple forum post answer, but there are lots of on line videos you can watch on the subject.

There are also dedicated software programs available to do just that task, either freestanding or as plugins that will work with ACDSee, but to stick with what can be done solely in ACDSee, obviously the first step is to select the object that is to be taken from the first photo. How you make that selection depends on your choice of the tools you have at your disposal. You might for instance use the selection brush, pixel targeting, the lasso tool, the magic wand etc.

Having made the initial selection as accurately as possible, if you are using U2021 then one of the new features in it is selection refinement (Select->Refine). As refinement functions go, it's pretty basic, at this stage offering just edge shifting and feathering.

I suggest making a mask from the selection, so that only the selection is visible. Putting a temporary solid color background on another layer behind the selection can facilitate cleaning up or refining the edges of the mask. The mask properties in ACDSee also has a feathering adjustment, but note that feathering can result in a halo around the object.

If the object has reasonably well defined edges, then with lots of time and patience it is possible to get quite good results. If the object has poorly defined edges, color bleed from the original background which doesn't match the new background, or complications like flyaway hair the task gets much harder.

"There are also dedicated software programs available to do just that task, either freestanding or as plugins that will work with ACDSee"

Can you tell me the names of some of these programs/plugins that you are referring to?

-Thanks

[Greyfox]

"There are also dedicated software programs available to do just that task, either freestanding or as plugins that will work with ACDSee"

Can you tell me the names of some of these programs/plugins that you are referring to?

-Thanks

The one I used most until recently was Topaz Remask 5, which has now been superceded. I've more recently purchased its replacement, Mask AI. Both of these work as plugins with ACDSee U2021. Both use a "Trimap" arrangement to indicate "areas to definitely keep", areas to definitely cut" and areas for the computer to resolve.

I would strongly recommend making use of a free trial period before purchasing, and don't expect miracles. This type of software can reduce the time it takes to get an acceptable result considerably, but not always, it depends on the individual image, and because it isn't cheap software it's a matter of determining whether you can justify the cost for the amount of use you would make of it. Also note that like other "AI" software, Mask AI pushes the hardware, so make sure to check that your PC is able to handle it.

Affinity Photo has a "selection refine" option that has more capability than the current selection refine option in U2021. It can be used as an external editor from ACDSee.

[zBernie]

The one I used most until recently was Topaz Remask 5, which has now been superceded. I've more recently purchased its replacement, Mask AI. Both of these work as plugins with ACDSee U2021. Both use a "Trimap" arrangement to indicate "areas to definitely keep", areas to definitely cut" and areas for the computer to resolve.

I would strongly recommend making use of a free trial period before purchasing, and don't expect miracles. This type of software can reduce the time it takes to get an acceptable result considerably, but not always, it depends on the individual image, and because it isn't cheap software it's a matter of determining whether you can justify the cost for the amount of use you would make of it. Also note that like other "AI" software, Mask AI pushes the hardware, so make sure to check that your PC is able to handle it.

Affinity Photo has a "selection refine" option that has more capability than the current selection refine option in U2021. It can be used as an external editor from ACDSee.

Thanks, I used the Affinity Photo selection refinement tools with excellent results!