Merging Images in PhotoShop

	Why are these kids laughing? Maybe because they’re imaging a seal in their playground? Okay, maybe not, but et’s add one anyway, just like you might add a missing person to a team picture.
	First we open up the file containing the seal picture. We want to carefully select him. In this case, the Magnetic Lasso tool (circled red) is easier than the ordinary Lasso, because the seal is easily separated from his different coloured background. To switch from lasso to magnetic lasso, click the little fly-out triangle (circled green). Zoom in, and with the lasso, carefully add or subtract areas you missed by switching to add or subtract mode, as we learned in the first selection lesson. When the selection is perfect, choose Edit, Copy (Ctrl-C)
	Open up the kid picture, crop it etc., and then Paste. Pasting adds the copied seal as a new layer. Trouble is, he looks kinda dumb just floating in front of everybody! How can we put him behind some of the parts of the picture but in front of other parts?
	The answer is: Select the parts of the background picture (the main one with the kids) that you want in front of the seal. Hide the seal layer while you do this. This example was done mostly with the magnetic lasso, zooming in and selecting one kid, then adding the other in Add mode. I used a 1 pixel feather. Notice how I concentrated only on getting a clean selection of the parts I needed – I didn’t have to do the whole kid. Then you Copy your new selection. (Edit, Copy or Ctrl-C)
	Here’s the unusual part: you make a new layer out of what you copied (Layer menu, New, Layer via Copy). The picture looks the same, but part of it is now a new layer, which you can put in front of the seal. I’ve renamed the layers to make it easier here, and dragged the “front kids” layer above “Seal” so they’ll be in front of him.
You then adjust the size and position of the seal to fit exactly where you want it. Touch all layers up with a soft eraser, add a shadow to the background layer under the seal, and voila – a seamless addition!

© jmartin 2006