How to composite several images where the background stays the same, but the subject moves through the frame.

[ScottF2000]

Hello everyone, I have a squence of images where a Falcon flies away from a nest box and I'd like to composite the images so you can see the trajectory of the bird as it leaves the box. I know you can select the birds out one at a time from the images and do it that way, but is there any other way to do it?

Cheers,

Scott 

[Old Bruce]

Not sure if this is what you want but you could try placing all the images into one file then Stack them (I think the Layers menu has that ? ? ?) then play with the blending modes. 

[h_d]

Hi @ScottF2000 and welcome!

Search the Help files for 'Creative effects using stacks'. The example image is a bit different from yours but I think the technique should be the same.

[R C-R]

Did the camera move or change focus between shots?

[John Rostron]

17 hours ago, Old Bruce said:

Not sure if this is what you want but you could try placing all the images into one file then Stack them (I think the Layers menu has that ? ? ?) then play with the blending modes. 

Stack your images (File > New Stack) and tick the align box. Choose a blend mode. If your falcon is darker than the background, choose Darker, otherwise chose Lighter. Note that you need your images in files on disk, not already loaded. Note also that the alignment algorithm needs some well-defined background features to work properly

John

[ScottF2000]

15 hours ago, R C-R said:

Did the camera move or change focus between shots?

No, the camera was stationary , only the bird moved. I'll try the suggestions here.

Thank you!

 

[Granddaddy]

APhoto's Stack function is robust. You do not need an unchanging background to stack photos, just enough overlap for APhoto to figure things out. You can make an action sequence by panning the camera to follow a moving subject. See my post at