Masking and compositing, anyone?

[sincere]

What does your procedure look like in these areas, when you work with software? Spill the beans yo..thanks.

 

[Alpha]

I use calculations whenever possible...sometimes modifying the image first to increase subject vs background contrast to make the calculations easier. Quick mask will sometimes do the trick. For really fine detail/really complicated work I've used third party software/plugins before such as FluidMask, but it's a resource hog and a pain in the ass to learn.

 

[sincere]

I use photoshop for the most part but i would also be interested in working with other software. Btw, can anyone recommend me some good online tutorials on this? That Ken Rockwell guy got me into this so now i have to look into it,lolz.

 

[Alpha]

If you can afford it, the Lynda.com tutorials are wonderful.

BTW calculations is part of PS.