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Hiya All
I'm just about to throw this bloody computer through the wall, so please help! This is a really simple thing I'm trying to do with photoshop, but I cant work it out! I know about gradients, layers etc but what am I doing wrong! Lots of techniques I've looked at only blend in one side of a photo when I want all four sides!
Basically, I have a black and white image of my daughter. What I would like to do is expand the canvas by a few cm's so the picture is in the center, make the new added canvas black and blend in the original image to the black background in a gradient.
I've tried layers which I think is the way to go, but I cant get the gradient/ feather edge.
Any advice or links would be greatly appreciated! I know my mates would be laughing at me now because they are such wizards on PS!
Thanks in advance
Andy
I would put a layer filled with black on top, then add a layer mask and use a soft edged brush to paint white on to the mask till al of the face is revealed.
Thanks for the reply lob, I have tried a soft edge brush (my first thought), but I would like a more graduated fade from face colour to black, if you know what I mean!
Quote: , but I would like a more graduated fade from face colour to black, if you know what I mean!
Not really. Normally you'd have the portrait against a blue background, say, and blend the blue blackground to the outer black. You want to blend the face colour to black though?
If you want to do what I think you might, make four new backgound layers, make a selection on each from left then right, top, bottom margin to outer edge of original background. Now do your gradient fade in the selection. Obviously you'd need to do it one layer at a time and erase the unselected/ ungraduated area as you go along. Or do one gradient fade in a selection, duplicate the layer 3 times and rotate each layer.
If you actually want to blend the facial skin tones to black (I can't imagine why), it could be done but it would be long and painstaking and look horrible, I'd think. If I have misunderstood, please eat this message 
Extend the canvas in the nearest colour you can get to the image background of your daughter.
Select the top edge - depth of new canvas and add a new gradient layer from black to original image colour.
Repeat this process on other 3 sides.
You will then need a black/white soft brush to blend using layer masks.
Alternatively,
Control J to make copy of orig image
Layers>Layer style>stroke option> position: inside
Gradient: forground to transparent with foreground set to black - style: shape burst
Adjust to suit
HTH.
Quote: Thanks for the reply lob, I have tried a soft edge brush (my first thought), but I would like a more graduated fade from face colour to black, if you know what I mean!
start with the brush at 100% and reduce the opacity as you work outward to get the fade ?
KK Thankyou everyone!!!!!!!
I will try them all out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thankyou ALL!
Andy
Why not just feather a square selection? It will blend all four sides in one go. You can vary the feather amount to get the effect you are after.
Andy...why not upload the portrait on this forum, & we can try different 'mods'(as in the Gallery Mods)......
Whichever outcome works, we can describe the procedure for you to duplicate ???????
Brindamour's heading in the right direction !!
Just a thought !.
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