Including a Signature in my photos

[Fotero]

Kudos for you, guys. Lastly there is a real threat to Photoshop and its mortgage scheme. 

 

I want to include my signature on the portraits that I take. I scanned my signature on a white paper but when I include it on top of the picture it looks more like a label with my name on it.

 

Question 1:  How can I make its background transparent such that it looks as if I just signed the picture with the portrait as a background.

 

Question 2:  How can I reverse to white for when the portrait is dark where I want to sign it.

 

I appreciate your response.

[My Strawberry Monkey]

Hi Fotero,

 

Since you scanned it in on paper it will appear that way. I would try the methods below first to see if you achieve the results you want.

 

 

Answer 1: Select the layer then go to the menu bar and choose Filters - Colours - Erase white paper

Answer 2: Select the layer then go to the Adjustments Panel on the right hand side and choose the Invert Adjustment

 

 

Allan

[R C-R]

I am assuming from your other post that you are using Affinity Photo. If so:

 

1. Open the scanned file of your signature in AP.

2. Expand the Layers panel & if necessary remove any layers that are pure white. If the layer with your signature is labeled "(Image)" Right click on it & from the menu that pops up, choose Rasterize to convert it to a Pixel layer.

3. (Optional) From the Documents menu change the Color format to either 8 or 16 bit grayscale.

4. From the Documents menu choose Transparent background.

5. Depending on the scan resolution, scan mode, & image size, you may want to clean up the jagged edges. There are many ways to do this, like by scaling up the document size (so there are more pixels to work with) applying a small amount of blurring, or doing some manual touch up with a Paint brush tool set to a low Hardness level.

6. You can crop the document to remove any excess transparent space around your signature, but there is an easier way to do this:

6a. In the Layers panel, command click on the signature layer's thumbnail. This will select the non-transparent parts with a "marching ants" border.

6b. From the Edit menu, choose Copy, which will place the selection on the clipboard.

6c. From the File menu, select New from Clipboard.

6d. This new document will be just large enough to enclose your signature.

7. Save the document. For maximum utility & portability, export it to a file type that preserves transparency like PNG or PDF.

 

You can now add this as a new layer to your photos (or anything else that supports the file format you saved it with).

 

To make a white copy, use the same technique as in step 6a on a new copy of your file to select the non-transparent parts & use any of the painting tools to paint it in white (or any other color you want if you change the color format to one that supports colors).

 

You can also experiment with layer effects to do things like give the signature a border in a contrasting color so it will work on any background.

 

Have fun!