Moving Objects Between Images

Layers let you easily combine parts of different photos. If you’re using tabs, the simplest way to do this is by copying and pasting: Select what you want to move (press Ctrl+A/⌘-A if you want to move the whole photo), and then press Ctrl+C/⌘-C to copy it. Next, make the destination image the active image by double-clicking it in the Project bin, and then press Ctrl+V/⌘-V to paste. The pasted material comes in on its own layer, and you can use the Move tool to rearrange it in its new home.

You can also move objects between images by dragging. To do this, you need to choose one of the tiled views if you’re using tabs (Image Views), or Tile or Cascade (Window→Images→Tile or Cascade) if you’re using floating windows (Image Views). Just put what you want from photo A into its own layer, and then drag it onto photo B. You can use the Move tool to move the object from one image to another, or you can just drag it. The trick is that you have to drag the layer from photo A’s Layers panel. If you try to drop one photo directly onto another photo’s window, then you’ll just wind up with a lot of windows stacked on top of each other. Figure 6-24 shows you how to execute this maneuver.

Tip

You can also drag a photo directly from the Project bin onto another image. This is really useful for projects like scrapbooking where you have many objects, each in its own file, to add to a page in Elements.

But what if, rather than moving a whole layer, you just want to move a particular object—say, a person—to another photo? Just follow these steps:

  1. Open both photos in Full Edit.

    You can pull off this maneuver by using a tabbed view, but most people find it easier to use floating windows when working with several images. To create floating windows, first go to Edit→Preferences→General/Adobe Photoshop Elements Editor→Preferences→General and make sure that “Allow Floating Documents in Full Edit Mode” is turned on. Next, head to the Arrange menu (Image Views) and choose “Float All in Windows,” and then go to Window→Images and choose Tile or Cascade. If you want to use tabs instead, go to the Arrange menu and choose a layout that gives you a view of all your images.

    Here’s how to move objects from one photo to another, working from the Layers panel. The goal is to get the silverware from photo A (whose Layers panel is visible) onto the tablecloth in photo B. You always drag from the Layers panel onto a photo window when combining parts of different images into a composite. (If you try to drag from a photo to a photo, it won’t work unless you click the Move tool first.) This image shows what you’ll see when you do this on a Mac, an empty outline of the moving layer; in Windows you may see a shadowy version of what was in the Layers panel for the layer or just the little clutching hand and no outline at all, depending on your version of the operating system. Use the Move tool to reposition your object once you’ve dropped it into the image.

    Figure 6-24. Here’s how to move objects from one photo to another, working from the Layers panel. The goal is to get the silverware from photo A (whose Layers panel is visible) onto the tablecloth in photo B. You always drag from the Layers panel onto a photo window when combining parts of different images into a composite. (If you try to drag from a photo to a photo, it won’t work unless you click the Move tool first.) This image shows what you’ll see when you do this on a Mac, an empty outline of the moving layer; in Windows you may see a shadowy version of what was in the Layers panel for the layer or just the little clutching hand and no outline at all, depending on your version of the operating system. Use the Move tool to reposition your object once you’ve dropped it into the image.

  2. Prepare both photos for combining.

    Go to Image→Resize→Image Size, and then make sure both photos have the same Resolution (ppi) setting before you start (see Changing the Size of an Image if you need a refresher on resizing and resolution). Why? If one photo is way bigger than the other, then the moved object could easily blanket the entire target image.

    You don’t absolutely have to do this size balancing, but it’ll make your life a lot easier, since it helps avoid having an enormous or tiny pasted object. (Keep reading for more advice about resolution when moving objects and layers.)

  3. Select what you want to move.

    Use the selection tools of your choice (see Chapter 5 if you need help making selections). Add a 1- or 2-pixel feather to your selection to avoid a hard, cut-out-looking edge.

  4. Move the object.

    There are several ways to move what you selected to the other image:

    It doesn’t matter which method you use—Elements puts whatever you moved on its own layer in the combined image.

  5. If necessary, use the Move tool to position or scale the transported object, as shown in Figure 6-25.

    See The Move tool for more about using the Move tool.

  6. Save your work.

    If you may want to make further adjustments to the object you moved, then save your image as a TIFF or Photoshop (.psd) file to keep the layers. (Remember that if you save your file as a JPEG, then you lose the layers and you can’t easily change or move the new object anymore.)

Here are a few things to keep in mind when copying from one image to another:

Tip

If you’d like more practice using layers and moving objects between photos, visit this book’s Missing CD page at www.missingmanuals.com and download the table tutorial, which walks you through most of the basic layer functions.