This Photoshop tutorial is designed to instruct in the use of Photoshop's Selection Tool to copy and paste, or drag and drop a selection into a new layer to retouch out an object in your photograph, then blend it into the surrounding area.
Photo Retouching & Clone Objects with Photoshop's Selection Tool
Rather that use the clumsy Photoshop Clone Stamp Tool which can have a noticeably obvious stepping-effect, a more effective way is to "clone" an object by selecting, pasting, and blending the object on its own layer. This will have a significantly more realistic result than with the clone tool, and it is infinitely adjustable, editable, and reversable.
Cloning with the Selection Tool
In this tutorial we will retouch or remove all of the people from the original photograph's background. To accomplish this task we will need a photograph of the grass area taken from another angle. If that photo also contains unwanted elements, we will use the Selection Tool to remove them.
To retouch out the unwanted objects we you would draw a selection of a small area of grass, making the selection as random and rough as possible. The jagged edge of the selection will disguise any obvious cloned edge. Use the 'Feather' command (Select>Feather) to soften the selection by 1 pixel. Now drag the selected area while holding the Option and Command keys simultaneously (this will create a double cursor). Continue the process, making selections from a variety of areas so that there is not too much repetition.
Once our lawn area is totally free of any unwanted objects, we will make any necessary color corrections so that the new background matches the old one. To do this we will use Photoshop's Curves, and Color Balance tools.
Tracing with the Selection Tool
The first step in assembling our final image is to 'Command>Shift' click the Background layer in the Photoshop Layers Pallet, or use 'Command>A' to "select all." Copy the Background layer, and past to a new layer.
The second step will be to copy and past your separate lawn photo into a new layer, and place that layer underneath the copy of the Background layer you created in step 1 above. Now you will use the 'Polygonal Lasso Tool (L)' to carefully draw around the foreground motorcycle.
Zooming with the Selection Tool
You can zoom in a couple of hundred percent to make an accurate tracing. To zoom in while in the Polygonal Lasso Tool mode, simply press the Command and Shift keys. This will change the cursor into a 'plus' magnifying glass. To zoom out while in the Polygonal Lasso Tool mode you would simultaneously press the Option, Command, and Shift keys which will change the cursor into a 'minus' magnifying glass.
Technical Note: You can use the standard Lasso Tool (L) in the same way as the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) by simply holding the Option key while you are clicking point-to-point. At any time during your first past you can drag your pen in the same way as you would for the Lasso Tool. Once you release the selection the tool function reverts to the Lasso Tool, and does not have Polygonal Lasso Tool functions. The zoom function does not work while you are in the standard Lasso Tool mode.
When you are finished with the selection you can use the Selection Tool's 'Smooth' function (Select>Modify>Smooth) to smooth out any rough edges. Now comes the most important step - using the 'Feather' command (Select>Feather) to soften the selection by 1 pixel. Now use the Select>Inverse command in the menu-bar to reverse the selection. Everything but the foreground object should now be selected.
Once your selection is made, make sure you are working on the top layer containing the original background with the people, and erase away the unwanted background. This will reveal the desired lawn area on the lower layer.
Technical Note: Don't bother with auto-tracing functions, or the 'Magic Wand Tool (W)' to do the work for you. These tools never produce a good result, especially if your foreground object has similar tonal value to the background you are separating it from. It may take time and patience, but the end result will be realistic and convincing.
