Fun Extractions

These are some of the first extractions I did.  In fact, "Angel" was the very first extraction I ever did.  I had no idea how to use Photoshop at the time and had no manual.  I learned by poking around and trying to get things the way I envisioned them.  I worked under the premise that if I can imagine it, it can be done in Photoshop, I just need to figure out how.  I still have a lot to learn with Photoshop, but I now know that my original premise is very true.  I also have a great many resources to consult when stumbling on a challenge.  The number one learning tool is asking.  To get better, ask lots of dumb questions.

For this shot, I laid my daughter, Ximina, on the bed and she stretched out and I captured the image.  I extracted her from the bed and put in the Windows® Clouds wallpaper behind her.  I ripped the wings from a website (I don't know which one) and added it between the Ximina layer and the Cloud layer. The wings extracted from the original file, rotated and resized.  The donut halo above her head was actually a stacking toy ring placed directly on her head.  This was cut out and moved up so to have it float above her head.

No, Ximina was not standing unassisted at 6 months, she was leaning on a sofa.  The Ximina and the carpet were extracted, some of the carpeting cloned to extend out to the edges of the frame, and a drop shadow placed behind her.  The background is a out-of-focus TV screen shot close up.

For this extraction, Ximina was sitting outside on some grass, looking up at daddy because she's a bit scared of the grass (and still is).  The perfect look for a lily pad.  I extracted her and took a Windows® Lily Pad background wallpaper and stuck it behind her.  I duplicated the extracted Ximina layer, flipped, skewed, resized and adjusted the opacity for the reflection in the water in front of the lily pad.

For this one, my niece was holding Ximina up on top of the hippo.  I extracted Ximina, and cloned out my niece's hand.  I then hunted for a "Wild West" image on the internet and stuck it behind her.  Unfortunately, I don't remember where I got the image from.