Easy way of lining up layers?

divamum · February 18, 2012

I recently had some portraits which needed eyeswaps (shot chosen wasn't as sharp as I'd like, although good in other ways, so I pulled eyes from another in series and pasted them in).

I did this by copy/paste of the relevant area to a new layer, reducing opacity of the layer to about 65% and then using the free transform tool to wiggle it around until it was close. But it was REALLY REALLY hard to get it exactly right.

Is there a tool or action which can help line up the relevant areas a little more accurately (and quickly!) than I can myself?

pathfinder · February 18, 2012

Use the Difference blend mode with your layers, diva, and use the up, down, left and right keys to finally align your layers to single pixel accuracy.

Just try it, and you will quickly see how Difference mode displays where your two layers do not align correctly.

divamum · February 18, 2012

THANKS! I'll try that next time. I actually managed it "the hard way", but I felt sure there must be a trick to make it easier. It took a really, REALLY long time to do and I'd prefer not to spend too many more future hours on these kinds of cleanup jobs

Peano · February 18, 2012

With some images, I open a blank layer on top and paint a bright dot on each pupil. Then use those dots to align the "transplanted" eyes underneath.

egiesker · February 19, 2012

Align Layers
Here is a way l use. Enlarge picture to 100/200/300 percent, which ever is best. Drag down a guide line from the top and one from the side to mark the spot you want to use as a target. Turn off the good layer, turn on the layer you want to align. Select the move tool, use the left/right/up/down keys to move the layer/image to the x mark. After they are aligned, using a layer mask to mask out what you don't need will finish the job! Oh and you can merge the two layers after you are satisfied. http://herman377.com egiesker@aim.com

divamum · March 7, 2012

All great suggestions - thanks!

basflt · March 9, 2012

try the warp-tool
when using free transform , you see 3 icons at the top ; accept , cancel , and left of em is the warp tool
when this tool is active , you can drag any area in your selection

really helpful and also easy

also , check that "snap to ....." is switched off

divamum · March 12, 2012

Hi basflt - the problem wasn't how to manipulate the layer as such (I'm familiar with the various free transform tools) but figuring out how to line it up with the layer underneath; I sometimes find it quite difficult to see the layers, even with varied opacities etc. These tricks mentioned above make the job much easier

Easy way of lining up layers?

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