Photoshop: Remove the man

To practice photoshop skills we were given a few tasks to complete, the first was to remove the man from the image below. 

(Original "Remove the man" Photo)

The first thing we did was use the "Object selection tool" to remove the man from the image so that we knew which areas needed to be reconstructed. We then used the "Clone tool" with a very small brush to add back some of the white bricks. (I think I need a little more practice with this tool, since I have only used it a few times and sometimes it can create repetitive patterns if not done correctly. Also when using multiple layers you have to be mindful of which layer you set as the source). After this I looked at the other images which were provided (which were of the same house, but from different angles) and took selections from these to replace features which the man was hiding. This included a drain, a vent and the black mark on the wall. I then used "free transform" and "warp" to make the angles of the selections line up better with the rest of the image. I then blended these out using the "Clone tool", "layer masks" and "Smudge tool" where necessary. I also used lines (Using the "Line tool") on different layers to help make sure the wall was moderately straight. Once the wall was finish I then went on to fix the pavement in a similar way, however I did have a bit of trouble with the colours not blending/not looking natural. (I think I should try to learn more about colour correcting in photoshop since I think this would have helped) Finally the last few things I was told to do, were to remove a reflection in the window and to add a street name to the sign. For the reflection I used similar techniques to the wall (Selection from other photo, warp/transform, layer mask and smudge with a small brush) for the sign I selected the plant, copy and pasted it, hid it, then added the text using the "Sans Serif" font (Which is what is used for street signs). I then warped the text, then added the plant back in and finally used a layer mask to hide parts of the plant layer which were not part of the plant (and covering the text). I think the final result looks quite good, considering this was my first time removing a person from an image in photoshop.

(My photoshop result)

The next task was to make a photo of a train station black and white except from one feature. The feature I chose was the Yellow sign since I thought it would make a good focal point.

To do this I added a black and white effect? using the button below layers, I then used a layer mask to hide the effect where the sign is. This was quite a quick task, but I think there is multiple ways it can be achieved.

 

(My Photoshop result)

After this, we had to use the object selection tool to remove the man (from the train station photo), add him into this street photo (Image below), make him black and white [Used setting for black and white effect so that it would only apply to the man's layer] and to add a shadow (By duplicating the man, adding effects [eg. changing to solid black colour] and then changing the opacity so it looks like a shadow) 

(My Photoshop result)

The final task was to make a collage using a variety of pictures of buildings. I think I sort of messed up on this since I just added features from other buildings to a picture of a building, when I think the task was more to merge parts of buildings together to make a building. However, I did have fun with this task. 

What I did to the image was add lots of windows and a gate from other pictures, I also added the man from the train station and some lava coming out of the road (I'm not quite sure why I did that, but I think it looks interesting?), I also added another version of the man (Maybe his twin?) looking out the window. I think this result sort of shows the sort of things I enjoy to do in photo shop, which is to merge random images (which may not always make sense together) to make things that I find funny. For example when I first used photo shop I made an image of a planet with a cat on it, this image didn't serve much purpose but it was a good way to learn techniques.

(My Photoshop collage)