What’s an easier way to extract a person from a green screen, especially around hair?
Asked 2/21/2012
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I’m looking for a more reliable and convenient way to remove a green-screen background in Photoshop. My biggest problem is fine detail like hair. I’ve been using the free Easy Green Screen Photoshop action, but I’d like to know if there’s a better workflow or tool that handles hair, transparency, and edge cleanup more effectively. I’m also interested in options that work beyond simple chroma-key backgrounds.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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My suggestion is to go for something more versatile than chromakey software if you can. If you're using Photoshop, then a plugin like Topaz Labs Remask 3.2 or OnOne Perfect Mask will both fill the chromakey bill perfectly (both will let you deal with transparency/translucency and small details perfectly) AND will allow you to do extraction/replacement in images that weren't shot on a green or blue screen with only a little more difficulty.
They're not entirely automatic (nor are they free after the trial has elapsed) but with a chromakey image, it only takes a few seconds (with a bit of practice) to do a perfect extraction with the green removed from hair, transparent fabrics, and so on -- and without having to worry about your subject having key-out colours somewhere. I've had little difficulty extracting a subject or subject grouping out of any image using a good masking package (I currently use the Topaz product) unless there's a sort of camouflage effect going on (where everything in the picture is almost the same colour and texture). If you have to spend money on software, it might as well be spent on something that can do more than one trick.
Originally by user2719. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user2719
14y ago
0
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For difficult edges like hair, semi-transparent fabric, or color spill, a dedicated masking/extraction tool is usually better than a basic chroma-key action. From the answers, Photoshop plugins such as Topaz ReMask or OnOne Perfect Mask were recommended because they can handle fine detail and transparency more accurately, and they’re also useful for non-green-screen extractions.
They aren’t fully automatic, but with a clean green-screen shot they can be much faster than manual masking once you learn the workflow. A good tool should also help reduce green spill in hair and along edges.
In general, the easiest results come from combining a well-lit green screen with a stronger masking tool rather than relying on one-click freeware actions. The backdrop-image part of your question is too broad to answer specifically here, but for the extraction itself, a dedicated masking plugin or Photoshop’s advanced masking/refine-edge tools is the right direction.
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