ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on some of the various masking and compositing techniques. Most serious composite work is usually carried out against a plain backdrop. For example, the Ultimatte Advantedge software requires that photographers shoot their subject against a blue or green backdrop. Professional studio photographers may be interested in looking at the Matchlight system where they can place a special disk in a location scene and the software will be able to interpret the camera angle and lighting they need to use in the studio to match the outdoor location. Retouched photographs won’t look right if they have ‘pixel-sharp’ edges. A mask that’s derived from a vector path will always be too crisp, even if it is antialiased. To create a more natural-looking result they should always use a soft-edged mask instead. Photoshop CS3 saw the introduction of the Refine Edge command, which allowed photographers to refine the selection edge before they converted it into a mask.
