In some cases, you will happen to have a near-perfect photo, except for a missing person who you would like to be present. Instead of trying to get everyone back to the same place to recreate the photo with as many people as you want, you can add them to the photo using a program like Adobe Photoshop. If you follow these steps, you can add a person to a photo in no time.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Insert the Person in the Photo
Step 1. Choose the photos
When trying to add a person to a photo, you will need to make sure you have a photo of the absent person similar to the photo you want to add them to. For example, if you want to add your best friend to a photo of your company of friends at the beach, don't try to use a photo of him with a Christmas sweater. The photo will not be believable and people will understand that you have edited it.
- The ideal is a photo where your friend is portrayed against a simple or not too complex background. The more confused the background, the more you will have to work to erase it.
- The person you want to add will need to be portrayed the same size or larger than those already in the photo. If you need to zoom in on the person to add, it will become pixelated and it will be evident that it was added with a photomontage.
- Also try to find a photo with similar color tone and lighting. If the photo to be corrected is at the seaside, try to find a photo of your friend in the sun. You will be able to manipulate the colors later, but it will mean having to do some extra work.
Step 2. Select the person
You will need to open the photo of the person you want to crop. Click on the lasso tool in the toolbar. This is the icon that looks like a rope tied to a lasso, the third from the start of the sidebar. Start from a point close to the person and, holding down the left mouse button, draw the outline. Once the outline is complete, the lines you draw will be marquee lines, which are dashed lines moving along the path you created.
You don't have to be extremely precise, just make sure you don't cut out body parts. You'll get rid of the unnecessary background parts later
Step 3. Copy and paste the figure
Now that you've selected the figure, you'll need to copy it so you can paste it into the group photo. Click on the menu Edit at the top of the window. From the drop-down menu, click on Copy. Now, you will need to open the group photo. Once open, click on its window. Then, go back to the menu Edit and click on Paste from the drop-down menu. You will paste the figure you selected earlier into the group photo.
Instead of using the menu bar, you can press Control (or Command on a Mac) and C to copy the image. To paste, you can press Control (or Command) and V
Step 4. Resize the figure
Now that you have pasted the figure into the image, you will need to change its size to make it the same as the others in the group. To do this, you will use the tool Free Transformation. Make sure you've selected the layer of the figure - you can do this from the window Layer, which is typically located to the right of the work window. Once you have selected the desired layer, go to the menu Edit and select Free Transformation. A box will appear outside the layer. Holding Shift, click on the corner of the box, and drag it inwards, to reduce the size of the figure. Keep zooming out until it is the size of the people in the group photo.
- Make sure you hold Shift. This way you won't change the proportions of the figure.
- Instead of clicking on the menu bar, you can press Control (or Command) and T to use the tool Free Transformation.
Step 5. Eliminate the excess background
To give the impression that the figure belongs to the image, you will need to remove the original background around it. To do this, you will need the Eraser tool. To start, click on the figure layer from the layer window. At the bottom of the layer window, you will see a button with a gray rectangle with a white circle in the center, called mask layer. Click the button to isolate the image from the other layers. Now, click on the Eraser tool in the left toolbar, about halfway down the bar. At the top of the window, you will see the eraser options. Click on the down arrow and change the size of the eraser to 60 or 70 pixels, using the selector or typing the desired size. Also change the hardness at the bottom of the menu to 0. You can now erase most of the background around the figure.
- Approach the figure, without however erasing any part of it. You'll get rid of the smaller parts left with a smaller brush.
- If the background is white or a solid color, you can use the Magic Wand tool to isolate and eliminate it. Click on the magic wand tool, select the background color, then press delete once everything is selected.
Step 6. Finish isolating the figure
Now that you have removed most of the background, you will need to finish removing all the excess background to isolate the figure. In the eraser options above, change the brush size to 20-30 pixels. You will also need to change the hardness to at least 50. Once the eraser settings have been corrected, enlarge the image by clicking on the plus sign or by changing the percentage at the bottom of the window. Zoom in as much as possible, to see the outline of the figure clearly. Delete the rest of the background.
If you make a mistake or accidentally delete part of the picture, you can simply press the Cancel button in the menu Edit.
Part 2 of 2: Edit the Person for the New Photo
Step 1. Move the layer
Now that the figure is the same size as the rest of the people in the group and has been isolated from the background, you will need to move the layer to the desired position. To do this, make sure you have selected the layer of the figure. Click on the Move tool, the first on the left toolbar. After clicking on the button, drag the figure while holding down the left mouse button and move it wherever you like.
Step 2. Change the brightness
Now that the figure is the same size as the others, you will need to adjust its color. After selecting the layer of the figure, click on the icon next to the mask button at the bottom of the layer window. It has a two-color circle to identify it. A window will open. Click on the option Curves, which will bring up another window. You will see a square with a diagonal line in the center. Click on the line in the center, in the middle of the space above the line and in the middle of the space below. Each point that appears will allow you to move the line. Now you will have to experiment with the levels of this option. You will be able to move the lines up and down, gradually adding light and contrast. Experiment with the layer until it is the same as the group photo layer.
- If the two layers are similar enough, you can just change the brightness and contrast from the menu bar Image. Move the lines back and forth.
- A window may appear when you try to create a layer Curves on the figure. Awards OK to make Curves the mask layer.
- You can also change the brightness of the original photo. To do this, click on the background layer and repeat the steps described to change the brightness of the figure.
Step 3. Change the colors
Now that the brightness of the figure is right, you will need to make the skin tones similar. To do this, make sure you have selected the layer of the figure. Press the same two-color circle button at the bottom of the layers window and select Hue / Saturation from the menu. From the window that opens, you can change the Hue, Saturation and Lightness. Hue changes the color. Saturation changes the concentration of colors, making them more vivid or dull. Brightness changes the overall brightness of the figure. You should try moving the selectors until you get the desired result.
