Using multiple images to remove people from image

[Patrick Bell]

A while back I used Photoshop Elements to remove people from an image. Using multiple shots I did something to merge them but only including common elements. Is there a parallel process in Affinity Photo? All the suggestions involve inpainting (or using a megaphone to shout "get out of the way!"

[John Rostron]

The best was is probably to load the images into a stack with auto-align, and then using the median value. Since median appears to be the default, your scene should be people-free. You can then flatten the layers and save the result. If you save as jpg, then it will automatically flatten it for you.

John

[Patrick Bell]

OK just opened them both from Lightroom now I have two photos open. New stack opens a dialog to locate them on disk. Is there a way to add already open photos to a new stack?

[firstdefence]

17 minutes ago, Patrick Bell said:

OK just opened them both from Lightroom now I have to photos open. Nes stack opens a dialog to locate them on disk. Is there a way to add already open photos to a new stack?

No, you have to create the stack and then add images, so you would have to export them from Lightroom or Affinity Photo to say the desktop and start a new stack in Affinity Photo and click the Add button to pick the exported images.

 

Info for those who would like to understand stacking.

Image stacks

Non-destructive image stacks blend together a series of images based on the same scene or almost identical subject matter. Visual differences between images in the series can then be removed, composited together, or used for creative effects.

About image stacks

Use image stacks for:

• Exposure merging: Merging images of varying exposures.
• Object Removal: Use a series of images to blend out unwanted subject matter from a specific image in an image set.
• Noise reduction: Blend together multiple shots of the same subject and average out the noise.
• Creative effects: Simulate long exposure imagery and combine bright subjects (e.g., fireworks) for a composite effect.

About stack operators

A choice of operators can be applied to your stack depending on what you want to achieve. Median can be used for most blending operations such as object removal, exposure merging (exposure blending) and noise reduction.

Stack operators include:

• Mean—averages pixel content across the stack of images. Good for long exposure simulation and noise reduction.
• Median—removes pixel content that is not consistent in each image. Suitable for object removal and noise reduction.
• Outlier—exposes pixel content that differs in each image: great for sequence composites.
• Maximum—uses the maximum pixel values from each image. Can be used for creative exposure blending where the subject is lighter than the background.
• Minimum—uses the minimum pixel values from each image. Suitable for exposure blending where the subject is darker than the background.
• Range—indicates areas that change across the image stack. Good for analysing what has changed between each image.
• Mid-Range—uses the middle pixel values from each image. Can be used to increase tonal range if used with bracketed exposures.
• Total—produces the total value of pixels from each image. Usually results in overexposure, but can be used to lighten very underexposed imagery.
• Standard Deviation—analytical: measures the distribution of information between the images. Useful for object removal as it clearly indicates areas that will be averaged out with a Median operator.
• Variance—analytical: as Standard Deviation, indicates how pixel values are spread between images. More intense distributions are shown very clearly.
• Skewness—analytical: highlights edge detail and indicates the intensity of pixel value distribution. Can be used to determine tonal and spatial differences between images.
• Kurtosis—analytical: detects the peakedness of an image. A brighter result represents low noise levels and a tonal uniformity (most pixels at dominant grey level). Darker results represent greater noise and less tonal uniformity (more pixels further away from dominant grey level).
• Entropy—analytical: represents the number of bits required to encode information in the stack. Could be used with stacked video frames (within the same scene or shot).

To create a stack:

1. From the File menu, select New Stack.
2. From the dialog, click Add to locate and select your images for blending. Click Open to add the images to the stack list.
3. (Optional) Uncheck Automatically Align Images to manually align images later in the Layerspanel.
4. Choose a Perspective or Scaling operation from the menu to allow for successful auto-alignment. The former applies a perspective adjustment to each image; the latter repositions and/or sizes the image layer.
5. Check Live Alignment to allow the above perspective adjustment to be made non-destructively (this may affect performance depending on size and number of images to be stacked).
6. Click OK.

Your images are blended and presented in a Live Stack Group in the Layers panel. You can manually align layers if auto-alignment isn't 100% accurate.

Once stacked, you may notice 'checkerboard' transparency at the very edge of your stack group. This is an intentional result of auto-alignment and can be either cropped away or, if you're merging the stack image layers together, inpainted out instead.

 To change stack operator:

1. On the Layers panel, click the Stack operator icon on the Live Stack Group. The default operator is Median as indicated by the icon.
2. From the pop-up menu, select a stack operator suited to the type of photos you are stacking (see above). The icon will change depending on the operator selected.

Once you've applied a stack operator, the image layers in the stack shouldn't require manipulation (of opacity, blend modes, blend ranges, etc.) except for possible re-alignment (if auto-adjustment was not satisfactory). However, depending on image content you may need to apply additional adjustments to the stack or mask some areas for best results.

 

 

[Patrick Bell]

This is just an exercise but the two images I have used work well for several people but there are two ghosts. People only in one image but shosin translucently. What would be the recommended approach?

_DSC6142-Edit (Medium).tif

_DSC6143-Edit (Medium).tif

[PixelPest]

May I ask if you have seen this video already Affinity Photo - Stacking: Object Removal ?

 

Cheers

[John Rostron]

For removing people, you really need more than two images. The median algorithm takes the middlemost  value for each pixel, so for just two images, it effectively takes the mean of the two. Three should work, but more are better.

John

[Patrick Bell]

OK the video explained what I needed, mean median etc is how I tweak and yes more images!

 

[Brian29]

On 5/27/2018 at 2:31 PM, firstdefence said:

No, you have to create the stack and then add images, so you would have to export them from Lightroom or Affinity Photo to say the desktop and start a new stack in Affinity Photo and click the Add button to pick the exported images.

 

Info for those who would like to understand stacking.

Image stacks

Non-destructive image stacks blend together a series of images based on the same scene or almost identical subject matter. Visual differences between images in the series can then be removed, composited together, or used for creative effects.

About image stacks

Use image stacks for:

• Exposure merging: Merging images of varying exposures.
• Object Removal: Use a series of images to blend out unwanted subject matter from a specific image in an image set.
• Noise reduction: Blend together multiple shots of the same subject and average out the noise.
• Creative effects: Simulate long exposure imagery and combine bright subjects (e.g., fireworks) for a composite effect.

About stack operators

A choice of operators can be applied to your stack depending on what you want to achieve. Median can be used for most blending operations such as object removal, exposure merging (exposure blending) and noise reduction.

Stack operators include:

• Mean—averages pixel content across the stack of images. Good for long exposure simulation and noise reduction.
• Median—removes pixel content that is not consistent in each image. Suitable for object removal and noise reduction.
• Outlier—exposes pixel content that differs in each image: great for sequence composites.
• Maximum—uses the maximum pixel values from each image. Can be used for creative exposure blending where the subject is lighter than the background.
• Minimum—uses the minimum pixel values from each image. Suitable for exposure blending where the subject is darker than the background.
• Range—indicates areas that change across the image stack. Good for analysing what has changed between each image.
• Mid-Range—uses the middle pixel values from each image. Can be used to increase tonal range if used with bracketed exposures.
• Total—produces the total value of pixels from each image. Usually results in overexposure, but can be used to lighten very underexposed imagery.
• Standard Deviation—analytical: measures the distribution of information between the images. Useful for object removal as it clearly indicates areas that will be averaged out with a Median operator.
• Variance—analytical: as Standard Deviation, indicates how pixel values are spread between images. More intense distributions are shown very clearly.
• Skewness—analytical: highlights edge detail and indicates the intensity of pixel value distribution. Can be used to determine tonal and spatial differences between images.
• Kurtosis—analytical: detects the peakedness of an image. A brighter result represents low noise levels and a tonal uniformity (most pixels at dominant grey level). Darker results represent greater noise and less tonal uniformity (more pixels further away from dominant grey level).
• Entropy—analytical: represents the number of bits required to encode information in the stack. Could be used with stacked video frames (within the same scene or shot).

To create a stack:

1. From the File menu, select New Stack.
2. From the dialog, click Add to locate and select your images for blending. Click Open to add the images to the stack list.
3. (Optional) Uncheck Automatically Align Images to manually align images later in the Layerspanel.
4. Choose a Perspective or Scaling operation from the menu to allow for successful auto-alignment. The former applies a perspective adjustment to each image; the latter repositions and/or sizes the image layer.
5. Check Live Alignment to allow the above perspective adjustment to be made non-destructively (this may affect performance depending on size and number of images to be stacked).
6. Click OK.

Your images are blended and presented in a Live Stack Group in the Layers panel. You can manually align layers if auto-alignment isn't 100% accurate.

Once stacked, you may notice 'checkerboard' transparency at the very edge of your stack group. This is an intentional result of auto-alignment and can be either cropped away or, if you're merging the stack image layers together, inpainted out instead.

 To change stack operator:

1. On the Layers panel, click the Stack operator icon on the Live Stack Group. The default operator is Median as indicated by the icon.
2. From the pop-up menu, select a stack operator suited to the type of photos you are stacking (see above). The icon will change depending on the operator selected.

Once you've applied a stack operator, the image layers in the stack shouldn't require manipulation (of opacity, blend modes, blend ranges, etc.) except for possible re-alignment (if auto-adjustment was not satisfactory). However, depending on image content you may need to apply additional adjustments to the stack or mask some areas for best results.

 

 

 

On 10/2/2018 at 10:33 AM, MEB said:

Hi Dodgeruk,
No, the files in the Welcome Screen will be removed if you delete/reinstall the app. You have to backup them manually first.

 

On 5/27/2018 at 2:31 PM, firstdefence said:

No, you have to create the stack and then add images, so you would have to export them from Lightroom or Affinity Photo to say the desktop and start a new stack in Affinity Photo and click the Add button to pick the exported images.

 

Info for those who would like to understand stacking.

Image stacks

Non-destructive image stacks blend together a series of images based on the same scene or almost identical subject matter. Visual differences between images in the series can then be removed, composited together, or used for creative effects.

About image stacks

Use image stacks for:

• Exposure merging: Merging images of varying exposures.
• Object Removal: Use a series of images to blend out unwanted subject matter from a specific image in an image set.
• Noise reduction: Blend together multiple shots of the same subject and average out the noise.
• Creative effects: Simulate long exposure imagery and combine bright subjects (e.g., fireworks) for a composite effect.

About stack operators

A choice of operators can be applied to your stack depending on what you want to achieve. Median can be used for most blending operations such as object removal, exposure merging (exposure blending) and noise reduction.

Stack operators include:

• Mean—averages pixel content across the stack of images. Good for long exposure simulation and noise reduction.
• Median—removes pixel content that is not consistent in each image. Suitable for object removal and noise reduction.
• Outlier—exposes pixel content that differs in each image: great for sequence composites.
• Maximum—uses the maximum pixel values from each image. Can be used for creative exposure blending where the subject is lighter than the background.
• Minimum—uses the minimum pixel values from each image. Suitable for exposure blending where the subject is darker than the background.
• Range—indicates areas that change across the image stack. Good for analysing what has changed between each image.
• Mid-Range—uses the middle pixel values from each image. Can be used to increase tonal range if used with bracketed exposures.
• Total—produces the total value of pixels from each image. Usually results in overexposure, but can be used to lighten very underexposed imagery.
• Standard Deviation—analytical: measures the distribution of information between the images. Useful for object removal as it clearly indicates areas that will be averaged out with a Median operator.
• Variance—analytical: as Standard Deviation, indicates how pixel values are spread between images. More intense distributions are shown very clearly.
• Skewness—analytical: highlights edge detail and indicates the intensity of pixel value distribution. Can be used to determine tonal and spatial differences between images.
• Kurtosis—analytical: detects the peakedness of an image. A brighter result represents low noise levels and a tonal uniformity (most pixels at dominant grey level). Darker results represent greater noise and less tonal uniformity (more pixels further away from dominant grey level).
• Entropy—analytical: represents the number of bits required to encode information in the stack. Could be used with stacked video frames (within the same scene or shot).

To create a stack:

1. From the File menu, select New Stack.
2. From the dialog, click Add to locate and select your images for blending. Click Open to add the images to the stack list.
3. (Optional) Uncheck Automatically Align Images to manually align images later in the Layerspanel.
4. Choose a Perspective or Scaling operation from the menu to allow for successful auto-alignment. The former applies a perspective adjustment to each image; the latter repositions and/or sizes the image layer.
5. Check Live Alignment to allow the above perspective adjustment to be made non-destructively (this may affect performance depending on size and number of images to be stacked).
6. Click OK.

Your images are blended and presented in a Live Stack Group in the Layers panel. You can manually align layers if auto-alignment isn't 100% accurate.

Once stacked, you may notice 'checkerboard' transparency at the very edge of your stack group. This is an intentional result of auto-alignment and can be either cropped away or, if you're merging the stack image layers together, inpainted out instead.

 To change stack operator:

1. On the Layers panel, click the Stack operator icon on the Live Stack Group. The default operator is Median as indicated by the icon.
2. From the pop-up menu, select a stack operator suited to the type of photos you are stacking (see above). The icon will change depending on the operator selected.

Once you've applied a stack operator, the image layers in the stack shouldn't require manipulation (of opacity, blend modes, blend ranges, etc.) except for possible re-alignment (if auto-adjustment was not satisfactory). However, depending on image content you may need to apply additional adjustments to the stack or mask some areas for best results.

 

 

 

[Brian29]

So far all references to remove images with stacking seem to be written for PC users. On IPad we do not have men’s referred to. Can anyone please enlighten me?

[Brian29]

Correction. For mem’s. read  Menues!