Thank you for giving me such great tips and techniques for removing backgrounds. I've done this before, but this takes it to another level. Using the burn tool, whether to use the hard edge brush or soft brush makes a difference. I hadn't thought of that. The 'cleanup' is the most important part if you want professional looking pictures. On a sad note, 2024 is the last version of Elements I will ever buy. It's going to a 3-year subscription model. Too bad. My current version does everything I will ever need anyway. In fact, even my 2019 version does quite nicely too.
You're welcome! I think that the 3-year subscription model is Adobe trying to get people used to subscriptions. I am sure they are planning a yearly subscription sometime in the next 10 years. From a business stand point I do understand their thinking, with subscriptions they know how much money they are bringing in every month so they can budget better and it is more reliable. With a single purchase model, like I have with my training courses, you never know how much you will make each month and sometimes the sales will dry up completely for a few months like it did for me back when the inflation really hit in 2021. Judging by my sales of the 2025 training course the new Adobe subscription model is really going to hurt their income (mine as well). That is one of the reasons I split my channel a year and a half ago, not to make the Photo channel cleaner, but so that I could do more gaming videos on the old channel to increase my UA-cam ad revenue to help counter loss of sales from the training courses. The photo videos only bring in half as much from the UA-cam ads as the gaming videos do. But my heart is with the photo stuff, everything else I do is just to support my photo habit.
George, so many great points in this video, it is a masterclass in sellections! Thank you first for the fingertip suggestion, this is helping me with the not so steady hand at times. It is funny how easy it is to see photography composites on FB sites because the poor selections are a dead give away. I always look for that "hallo effect" because it sticks out so much making the selection look more like something a kid cut out with a pair of scissors! Back that up to a contrasting color and the party's over! Again, thank you for the great tips and probably second only to layers is the most important skill a person needs to invest the time into using PSE. One sidebar trick I wanted to add (Possible video in the future) would be how important it is to add elements to a composition using place and how even small items like a bird or butterfly can look realistic. Keeping things as smart objects is important to do this feature and also scaling which you started to dive into here! Again, thank you for all you have done for us newbies in 2024 and the best in 2025 for you and your family! Rich
Thanks Rich! And I will continue to make more content in 2025. Right now the plan is to do 1/2 Elements and 1/2 Affinity with a smattering of other things on occasion for variety. I agree with adding in more details using smart layer objects, great tip. I am having some good success over on my gaming channel testing some videos for Roblox, a gaming system mostly for kids. Nothing to do with this channel but if that goes as well as I am hoping it will mean financial support for this channel for a long time to come.
Excellent tutorial. Love the details. The mouse info...very good suggestion. If allowed, please list the links for you wrist rest and mouse. Thank you 😊 Merry Christmas 🎄 & A Healthy and Happy 2025
Thanks! The mouse I use is a Corsair RGB gaming mouse, it is very close to the shape of a traditional mouse but has some programmable buttons and better sensitivity for gaming. I use a button under the thumb position programmed to do a file save. Very useful when I am video editing as I save after almost every edit. The mouse wrist rest is just a standard mouse pad with wrist rest combination, just do a search on UA-cam for mouse wrist rest mouse pad and you will find loads of choices. I found that rests with a fabric covering are more comfortable to the straight rubber ones or gel ones. I used to also use a hard surface mouse pad but mine finally died of old age and I haven't found a good replacement for that yet. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thank you for giving me such great tips and techniques for removing backgrounds. I've done this before, but this takes it to another level. Using the burn tool, whether to use the hard edge brush or soft brush makes a difference. I hadn't thought of that. The 'cleanup' is the most important part if you want professional looking pictures.
On a sad note, 2024 is the last version of Elements I will ever buy. It's going to a 3-year subscription model. Too bad. My current version does everything I will ever need anyway. In fact, even my 2019 version does quite nicely too.
You're welcome! I think that the 3-year subscription model is Adobe trying to get people used to subscriptions. I am sure they are planning a yearly subscription sometime in the next 10 years. From a business stand point I do understand their thinking, with subscriptions they know how much money they are bringing in every month so they can budget better and it is more reliable. With a single purchase model, like I have with my training courses, you never know how much you will make each month and sometimes the sales will dry up completely for a few months like it did for me back when the inflation really hit in 2021. Judging by my sales of the 2025 training course the new Adobe subscription model is really going to hurt their income (mine as well). That is one of the reasons I split my channel a year and a half ago, not to make the Photo channel cleaner, but so that I could do more gaming videos on the old channel to increase my UA-cam ad revenue to help counter loss of sales from the training courses. The photo videos only bring in half as much from the UA-cam ads as the gaming videos do. But my heart is with the photo stuff, everything else I do is just to support my photo habit.
George, so many great points in this video, it is a masterclass in sellections! Thank you first for the fingertip suggestion, this is helping me with the not so steady hand at times. It is funny how easy it is to see photography composites on FB sites because the poor selections are a dead give away. I always look for that "hallo effect" because it sticks out so much making the selection look more like something a kid cut out with a pair of scissors! Back that up to a contrasting color and the party's over! Again, thank you for the great tips and probably second only to layers is the most important skill a person needs to invest the time into using PSE. One sidebar trick I wanted to add (Possible video in the future) would be how important it is to add elements to a composition using place and how even small items like a bird or butterfly can look realistic. Keeping things as smart objects is important to do this feature and also scaling which you started to dive into here! Again, thank you for all you have done for us newbies in 2024 and the best in 2025 for you and your family!
Rich
Thanks Rich! And I will continue to make more content in 2025. Right now the plan is to do 1/2 Elements and 1/2 Affinity with a smattering of other things on occasion for variety. I agree with adding in more details using smart layer objects, great tip. I am having some good success over on my gaming channel testing some videos for Roblox, a gaming system mostly for kids. Nothing to do with this channel but if that goes as well as I am hoping it will mean financial support for this channel for a long time to come.
Excellent! As always a superb video.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent tutorial.
Love the details. The mouse info...very good suggestion.
If allowed, please list the links for you wrist rest and mouse.
Thank you 😊
Merry Christmas 🎄
& A Healthy and Happy 2025
Thanks! The mouse I use is a Corsair RGB gaming mouse, it is very close to the shape of a traditional mouse but has some programmable buttons and better sensitivity for gaming. I use a button under the thumb position programmed to do a file save. Very useful when I am video editing as I save after almost every edit. The mouse wrist rest is just a standard mouse pad with wrist rest combination, just do a search on UA-cam for mouse wrist rest mouse pad and you will find loads of choices. I found that rests with a fabric covering are more comfortable to the straight rubber ones or gel ones. I used to also use a hard surface mouse pad but mine finally died of old age and I haven't found a good replacement for that yet. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!