HOW TO EASILY CLONE YOURSELF | Photoshop 2023

Summary

In this tutorial, the creator revisits the concept of cloning oneself but this time in Photoshop, not Premiere Pro. The video teaches viewers how to take multiple photos of themselves with consistent lighting and no overlaps, then combines them into a single image using layer masks. The process involves selecting each 'clone', refining the edges, and adjusting lighting for a seamless and realistic result. The tutorial is aimed at those interested in photo editing and creating unique, engaging images.

Takeaways

• 🎥 The video is a tutorial on how to clone oneself in a photo using Photoshop, following up on a previous video about cloning in Premiere Pro.
• 📸 To start, take multiple photos of yourself without overlapping, ensuring consistent lighting and varied outfits or poses to create a more convincing scene.
• 🖼️ Open Photoshop and use the 'Open' command instead of 'New File' to maintain the same image parameters for all photos.
• 🔍 Use the 'Place Embedded' option to import photos, ensuring they match the framing and aspect ratio of the base image.
• 👤 Turn off all layers except the first one to begin the editing process with a clean slate.
• 📼 Use the Lasso tool to select and mask out the subject in each photo, isolating the character in the scene.
• 🖌️ Adjust the layer mask with a soft brush to fix any inconsistencies in lighting or shadows caused by the cloning process.
• 🔄 Work through each layer, refining the masks to ensure a seamless integration of all characters in the final image.
• 🛠️ Learn to fix issues like missing body parts or overlapping elements by manually tracing and painting them back in using the Brush tool.
• 📐 Understand the importance of organization in framing to minimize post-editing work and achieve a more realistic result.
• 📁 Once all layers are masked and the image is refined, crop and export the final composite photo as a single image.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video?

The main topic of the video is teaching viewers how to clone themselves in Photoshop using multiple photos to create a single image with multiple instances of the same person.

Why is it important to take photos with the same lighting when cloning oneself in Photoshop?

Taking photos with the same lighting is important because it makes it easier to match the lighting conditions across different images, which is crucial for creating a realistic and seamless composite image.

What is the recommended approach when taking photos for cloning oneself in Photoshop?

The recommended approach is to take enough photos without overlapping, with consistent lighting, and to act as if interacting with oneself to create a more convincing composite image.

Why should one avoid overlapping in the photos when attempting to clone oneself in Photoshop?

Avoiding overlap in the photos helps prevent complex issues during the editing process, such as the need to manually correct missing body parts or excessive shadows, making the cloning process simpler.

What is the first step in the editing process after taking the photos?

The first step in the editing process is to open Photoshop and import the photos by using the 'Open' option instead of creating a new file, as this allows basing everything off the same photo parameters.

How does the video suggest to handle the placement of multiple photos in Photoshop?

The video suggests using the 'Place Embedded' option for each photo to ensure that the framing is consistent across all images before starting the cloning process.

What tool in Photoshop is used to select the subject from the background in each photo layer?

The Lasso tool is used to make a selection around the subject in each photo layer, which is then used to create a layer mask to isolate the subject from the background.

Why is it necessary to adjust the layer masks after using the Lasso tool to select the subject?

Adjusting the layer masks is necessary to correct any inconsistencies in lighting or shadows, and to blend the selected subject seamlessly into the composite image.

How can one fix issues like missing body parts or incorrect lighting in the layer masks?

One can fix these issues by using the Brush tool with a soft edge to paint in the missing parts or to adjust the lighting around the edges of the subject for a more natural look.

What is the final step described in the video for completing the cloning process in Photoshop?

The final step is to review and adjust each layer mask, crop the image to the desired aspect ratio, and then export the final composite image.

What does the video suggest for viewers who want to learn more advanced techniques for cloning in Photoshop?

The video suggests that for viewers interested in more advanced techniques, they should look out for future videos that might cover tools like the Pen tool for more complex selections.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Introduction to Cloning in Photoshop

This paragraph introduces the video's aim to teach viewers how to clone themselves in a photo using Photoshop, similar to a previous tutorial on cloning in Premiere Pro. The narrator emphasizes the importance of taking non-overlapping photos with consistent lighting and suggests changing outfits or acting as if interacting with oneself to create a more convincing final image. The process begins with importing the photos into Photoshop and setting up the layers for editing.

05:01

🖌️ Editing Process and Layer Masking

The second paragraph delves into the editing process, starting with opening the photos in Photoshop and using the 'Place Embedded' feature to import them as layers. It details the use of the lasso tool to select and mask individual characters in each photo, ensuring they appear distinct and non-overlapping. The narrator discusses the importance of matching lighting and correcting any inconsistencies, such as shadows or lighting differences, using the brush tool on layer masks. The paragraph also addresses potential issues like missing body parts and provides a step-by-step guide on how to fix them using the brush tool to refine the layer masks.

Keywords

💡Clone

The term 'clone' in this context refers to the digital replication of an individual within a single image, creating the illusion that there are multiple instances of the same person. It is central to the video's theme, which is teaching viewers how to create a 'cloned' effect in Photoshop. The script mentions 'how to clone yourself in Premiere Pro' and 'how to clone yourself in Photoshop,' highlighting the main instructional goal.

💡Photoshop

Photoshop is a widely used image editing software by Adobe. In the video, it is the primary tool for achieving the cloning effect. The script provides a step-by-step guide on how to use Photoshop features like layer masks to combine multiple photos into one, showcasing the software's capabilities for editing and manipulating images.

💡Layer Mask

A layer mask in Photoshop is a tool used to hide or reveal portions of a layer without permanently altering the image. In the script, layer masks are crucial for combining the different photos of the individual, allowing each 'clone' to be seamlessly integrated into the final image, as seen when the script describes the process of selecting and masking each photo layer.

💡Lightroom

Lightroom is a photo editing and organization software also by Adobe. The script mentions editing photos in Lightroom before bringing them into Photoshop, indicating a workflow where Lightroom is used for initial adjustments and Photoshop for more complex editing tasks like cloning.

💡Aspect Ratio

Aspect ratio refers to the proportional relationship between the width and height of an image. The script mentions basing everything off the same aspect ratio when opening photos in Photoshop, which ensures consistency in the dimensions of the final composite image.

💡Framing

Framing in photography and videography is the composition of the visual elements within the shot. The script emphasizes the importance of proper framing when taking photos for the cloning effect, to avoid overlap and ensure that each photo can be easily integrated into the final image.

💡Selection

In Photoshop, making a selection refers to the process of outlining a specific area of an image to apply edits only to that area. The script describes using the lasso tool to make selections around the individual in each photo, which is then used to create a layer mask for the cloning effect.

💡Brush Tool

The brush tool in Photoshop is used for painting and editing with various brush settings. The script instructs viewers to use the brush tool with a soft edge to smooth out the layer masks, fixing any inconsistencies in lighting or edges between the cloned images.

💡Non-Destructive Editing

Non-destructive editing means making changes to an image without altering the original pixels. The script mentions the benefits of working with layer masks as a non-destructive method, allowing for adjustments without permanently affecting the original photos.

💡Export

Exporting in the context of image editing refers to saving the final composite image in a specific file format. The script concludes with the process of exporting the edited photo after all the cloning and adjustments have been completed in Photoshop.

💡Thumbnail

A thumbnail in video production is a small, cropped version of an image used to represent the video. The script mentions cropping the final image to a 16:9 aspect ratio for use as a thumbnail, indicating an additional step in the video creation process.

Highlights

Introduction to the tutorial on cloning oneself in Photoshop using photos, following a previous video on the same technique in Premiere Pro.

The importance of taking non-overlapping photos with consistent lighting for easier editing in Photoshop.

Suggestion to change outfits or interact as if you're multiple characters to enhance the final image's realism.

Instructions on opening the first photo in Photoshop using the 'Open' command instead of creating a new file.

Explanation of using 'Place Embedded' to import additional photos, ensuring consistent framing.

Technique to turn off all layers except the base layer before starting the editing process.

Demonstration of using the Lasso tool to select and isolate oneself in the photo for layer masking.

How to create a layer mask to blend the selected area into the base photo.

Addressing minor lighting inconsistencies using the Brush tool on the layer mask.

Tip on adjusting brush hardness and size for a smoother, more realistic mask.

Process of refining the layer mask by painting in missing details and correcting lighting.

Using the Lasso tool and layer mask to add additional photos and characters.

Technique for correcting more significant lighting differences between layers.

Advice on organizing the frame to avoid overlapping and the method to fix it if it happens.

Demonstration of tracing and adding back missing body parts using the Brush tool on the layer mask.

Final steps of cropping the image and exporting the final multi-character photo.

Conclusion emphasizing the simplicity of the cloning technique and its potential for fun and creative posts.

Call to action for viewers to subscribe, like, share, and comment on what they'd like to see in future videos.

Transcripts

hey everybody welcome back to another

video today's video I'm actually

referencing a video I made a few weeks

back and that video being how to clone

yourself in Premiere Pro and I figured I

figured that some of you who had watched

that video might actually want to know

how to do the same thing but with your

photos today's video is going to be how

to clean yourself in Photoshop and then

basically just how to make multiple of

yourself in one photo but without

further Ado let's uh let's get started

so you're probably thinking first things

first I'm gonna open photoshop on my

computer I just bought it awesome first

things first as you might have guessed

you actually need to take the photos

just like the cone effect in the last

video you need to frame yourself so you

first off don't overlap but you do have

slightly more forgiveness if you do in

Photoshop it's a way easier to mask that

and you need to make sure that you take

enough photos with the same lighting so

it's very very easy to match it it also

helps if you change your outfit or you

just like look like you're interacting

with yourself so acting as if you're an

individual character in the world and

you're all hanging out together that'll

help sell the deal a little bit more but

the biggest thing is to make sure that

you take enough of yourself so you have

multiple characters and you don't

overlap yourself now that you've done

that now that you've seen what I'm

talking about let's actually dive in and

bring that into Photoshop and get

started on the actual editing process

okay so now that we actually have our

photos they're taken they're done or

whatever we're ready to actually bring

it in Photoshop so let's go ahead and do

that what we can go ahead and do now is

Click open instead of new file because

new file we would have to set parameters

like the image size or the canvas size

DPI and so forth but because we're going

to base everything off the same exact

photo aspect ratio the quality

everything like that we're going to go

ahead and press open so open find out

wherever you saved your photos in my

case I made a folder called photos and

that has all the photos that I just took

and edited in Lightroom so go ahead and

click the first photo in the sequence as

you can see trunk clone picks one is

what I named it that's the first one so

let's go ahead and click that and Bam

here we go look at me all Goofy standing

over here by this tree now what we're

gonna go ahead and do is actually go

back to file so back to file

go down to place embedded click on one

place

make sure that looks okay press the

check mark if it is and do that for

every photo you could obviously click

and drag them all in but this is just a

way to make sure that the framing is

exactly the other photos framing but all

right so now that we have all six layers

or all six photos that I took as you can

see down here in the layers panel in

Photoshop we're actually ready to turn

off all the layers except the first one

uh so go ahead click all these off you

can click the little eyeball perfect

there we go and now we're back to what

we looked like we just started with a

minute ago except we have six more

layers or five more layers that are

turned off let's go ahead and turn on

the one right above the bottom layer

click the actual layer make sure it's

highlighted like that and I'm going to

go ahead and go over here to a lasso

tool right here or alternatively you can

press L on the keyboard and I'm going to

just lasso myself out here keeping it

very close to my body so I don't affect

much of the image and let go now you can

see the little marching answer the

little dotted line surrounding me as a

character in this scene so what that

will do is tell Photoshop hey the only

thing I want to be left in the frame is

what's inside this selection so go down

here once again if your layer is not

selected make sure it is and then go

ahead and press the layer mask Button as

you can see me number two I mean number

one are now in the same frame there is

slight issues with this and I'll zoom in

to show you and you might realize this

already but if you zoom in holding alt

and scrolling up or down on your

keyboard not your keyboard your Mouse um

you can see that the lighting is you

know slightly different because this me

created a slight shadow that might not

be visible to your naked eye but when

you compare them you probably will see

it so what we can go ahead and do is

press B open our brush tool back up make

sure that your brush is as soft as it

can go so turn your hardness all the way

down and maybe we'll increase the brush

size to I don't know a little bit more

that was good so now I'm going to paint

this back in and basically just smooth

out that line that cut that I had

and kind of paint back in some of the

white things feel a little bit more

consistent a little bit more real but

you still have uh me now here unaffected

the border of my image won't really

affect me as a character and there we go

um that's a whole lot better of a mix

now we can even you know do this a

little bit more we'll increase the brush

size press X to switch from black to

white so now we're on black as you can

tell and I might add or subtract some

more of this back in to fix the lighting

and make it look a little bit more

consistent and I think that's good so

what we alternatively we do is do that

for every other photo we'll do one more

and then I'll you know we'll skip to the

end so turn on layer three now and then

we know okay there's Trent outside let's

do one that's a little bit better uh

maybe layer five sure so now we have

layer five and we know we can do the

same thing we can start the same way so

go to lasso tool I'm gonna select a

bigger selection around me so once again

go ahead after you have your selection

make sure the layer is selected and

press the layer mask tool panel now bam

there's three of me here but you can

obviously tell the lighting here is a

much different situation than the last

one and that's a good thing because this

will teach us how to fix or correct

those issues so once again Press B to

get brush tool back out see what color

you're on if you're on black like I am

that's fine for me right now I'm going

to start with that you can always add

back whatever you take away that's the

benefit of working in a non-destructive

layer mask let's erase some of these

lines here except oh no we'll come back

to that in a second so uh let's cut away

some of this

and overall it's pretty good except for

the giant missing elbow of mine on the

ground here and now this is what I mean

by organize yourself in your frame so

where you don't overlap so you don't

have to do this but in case you did this

I'm glad this happened because now I can

show you what to do in case you end up

in this type of situation so what I'm

going to do is actually press on the

bracket key to shrink down my brush tool

alternatively you can go up here and

just slide it but it's a little faster

that way and I'm going to go ahead and

zoom in holding alt and zoom and just

kind of Trace out the edge of my arm to

get started just so I know where it's

actually at because it's kind of hard to

know if you can't see it perfect now now

oh my foot's missing but it's starting

to look a little better

um and we can keep working on this right

so let's press X and erase some of this

layer do it over here with the baseboard

oh no I cut into my hand press X switch

back keep going right we'll keep uh

slowly etching this out you can do this

a lot of different ways this is just the

way that I'm showing you because it's

very very simple and easy it just takes

a little bit more time the better you're

going to photoshop the faster you'll

want to do things but they are more

complex and take a little bit more

knowledge so we're starting simple in

the future videos if you're like oh use

the pen tool you should use the pen tool

and just Trace yourself sure I know I

could have we're not doing it that way

we're doing it this way for a reason

look oh perfect beautiful now let's

paint this line out

bam beautiful there's three of me

there's actually six photos in this

sequence like one right here and a few

others I'm gonna go ahead and add those

in but you get the gist of it you get

the point so let's go ahead we're gonna

together you're gonna finish yours I'm

gonna finish mine we're going to edit

our photo in Photoshop and then export

it as a single image and it'll see it

when I'm done with this part so uh let's

cut right to that okay so I went ahead I

finished it as you can see now I did two

things one I cropped it from four by

three to sixteen by nine so I can use it

both as a thumbnail and put it in this

video you know and make it look okay but

other than that all I did was the same

thing we talked about in here as you can

see in this group every photo layer is

masked as you can see if you double

click on the layer mask you can see what

was layered out that might have been an

issue but oh well but nonetheless I'm

not saying this is the best method I'm

not saying I'm an expert at doing this

type of thing but it is you know it's a

little quirky it's fun it's a you know a

nice history rhyme post or whatever

um but nonetheless it really is that

simple go ahead take your photos you

know take them make sure you don't

overlap yourself if you do that's okay

just do what it taught you and then from

there bring it in Photoshop layer mask

each one select your person or your

character as you know its own individual

section of the layer other than that

that's it so I hope you guys enjoyed

this video if you did and if you want

something be sure to both hit subscribe

like the video and share it with a

friend and as always thanks for watching

I will see you guys in the next video

let me know in the comments what you

want to see on that one too

all right see you guys later goodbye

foreign