Fill it with a strong colour which does not appear in the photos you are working with. Switching the layer visibility off and on again in the Layers panel will help you to see if there is more of the image you need to work on.Ĭreate a new layer or a separate layer in between your two existing layers. Working like this helps create a smoother transition around the area you are erasing. This will mean you are not erasing entirely with each brush stroke you make. As you get closer you may want to make the brush size of your eraser tool smaller and reduce the opacity. Start at the parts of the image furthest away from the parts you want to keep and move in towards them. If you make a mistake, a quick way to restore the image is to a switch the brush colour to white and painting over the same area. Begin painting over the areas you want to eliminate. Select the Brush tool and check the colour is set to black and at 100% opacity. This creates a mask you can use to erase the parts of the top image you do not want to see. With your top layer selected, click the Add Vector Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to add a layer mask. Once you are satisfied you have the top layer positioned well, press Enter.Ĭhange the blend mode of your top layer back to Normal. If your camera position or subject move even a little, you may find it impossible to match the two subjects perfectly. I have scaled down my top layer and rotated it slightly so her eyes on both layers are aligned. In my example I am mostly concerned with the way her eyes will look. You may need to use the resize handles to enlarge, shrink or rotate this layer so the two layers match properly.
Photomerge photoshop cc free#
This will allow you to position the subject in the two images to match correctly.Ĭlick Edit> Free Transform from the top menu, (or Ctrl + t on your keyboard.) With the Move tool selected position the top image so the parts of the top layer which you want to retain look good. Set the top image layer blend mode to Overlay so you can see the layer underneath as well. Step Three – Position Your Photos to Match If you do the clarity of the enlargement can be noticeably different. You will not want to enlarge either of the photos you are merging more than about 30 percent larger. © Kevin Landwer-Johanīringing the second image into Photoshop in this manner includes it as a Smart Object. This is important if you need to resize your photo, as I do in this example. There will be an overlaid X on the image and a box with transform handles around the edges. Then, from your computer’s filing system, click and drag the second photo on top of the first and align them. Sizing down will not result in noticeable quality loose whereas scaling up may do.Ĭlick the padlock icon on the right side of the layer in the Layers Menu to unlock the background layer. This way you can resize your second photo down, rather than upscaling it. If your main subject is a different size in each photo, open the image where your subject is smallest. If you are choosing two photos made at a different time and location you will need to ensure the white balance in each is as close as possible to the other.Pick photographs that are not too complicated.But different lighting can cause very unnatural looking results. Make sure the lighting in both photos is the same, or very similar.The difference in lens perspective will not allow you to merge the photos seamlessly. For example, don’t try combining one photo made with a 24mm lens and another made with a 50mm lens. Choose photos taken with the same focal length lens.Whatever your reason for merging two photos in Photoshop, some photos will merge more easily than others. Both were made with an 85mm prime lens set at f2. In the second photo her eyes are open, but I was standing closer to her. In one photo more of my subject is visible, but she blinked. The photos I am using as examples in this article were made within a few minutes of each other. If you still don’t get a single frame you are happy with, you have more options to combine and merge photos in Photoshop. You are more likely to get a pleasing image. This is especially important when there is movement in your composition.Ĭapturing more photos than you think you will need can help in two ways. Once you have your lighting and composition how you want it, take multiple images. Think carefully about what you’re photographing. Photographing wild amounts in rapid bursts is rarely going to produce stellar results. I don’t mean you need to set your camera to fire continuously at high speed all the time.
Why Take More Photos Than You Think You’ll Need