This might be the holy grail of plug-ins. Everybody thinks that since they have photoshop they can put anything in any image, just like they see in the movies. Well it is a royal pain to make a good cut-out in Photoshop and it is very very time consuming. Topaz greatly simplifies that process with their masking plug-in. This is soo much easier, BUT it is not a push the button and make a cutout. Don’t get me wrong, it is much easier than just using photoshop and as with most things it does get a lot easier the more you play with it.

I  prefer to use a bright background to work in ReMask, it makes it easier to see where the shadows are being cut out.

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Here is the before image. The more contrast that you have between the subject and the background the simpler the masking. Trying to get a good mask with the same colors is a bit troublesome. This heron was very straight forward.

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I  always look the image at 1:1 or bigger so I can really see what is being properly masked.

From Topaz

Creating good masks and cutouts can be difficult, tedious and extremely time-consuming, but we all know that a good mask makes it easy to replace unwanted backgrounds, make selective adjustments, create compositions and more.

Topaz ReMask simplifies these difficult masking situations, offering you the easiest way to isolate objects and remove unwanted backgrounds from images, quickly and with precision. Like a pair of digital scissors, ReMask allows you to easily cut a subject from its background by quickly defining the edges of the element to be masked / cutout.

The quickest, easiest and best masking tool.

  • Easily extract intricate image details like hair & fur.
  • Replace backgrounds or isolate areas for selective adjustments.
  • Create multiple cutouts for unique compositions.
  • Maintain transparency in hard-to-mask objects like veils and hair.
  • ReMask is NOT compatible with Aperture, Lightroom or iPhoto.

I wanted to make a montage blending several elements together in one image and I started with this elephant.

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Then I made the cutout with Topaz Labs ReMask. I could have cleaned up all of those edges without much trouble, but since this was going to be blended in the final image, it was not necessary here. For the finished piece I needed him looking the other direction so I flipped it in photoshop.

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Then I put it in this image in photoshop.

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Also as gesture of my thanks for you reading my stories and looking at my images and such, I’m going to give you 15% off of your purchase at Topaz labs. Well technically Topaz is giving it to you on my behalf. All you have to do is use code Jeff15 and you will save 15% on your purchase.

What are you waiting for, head on over to the download page at Topaz Labs…HERE.

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I’d love to see your work with the filters, leave a link in the comments and I’ll be sure to check it out!

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