Now that I had some eggs in my basket, I had to separate them from the background.  There are many ways to extract images.  If you are new to photshop, I recommend getting a copy of Katrin Eismann’s Masking & Compositing which details methods to extract images from just about any background.  This book shows how to extract everything from simple, geometric shapes to complex subjects such as a human hair.  Buy it, you will love it. 

Because I took pics of the white eggs against a dark backdrop, it was a simple matter to create a suitable mask.  Start by examining the individual RGB channels and look for the one with the most contrast.  For the translucent egg, the green channel provided the best contrast between the egg and background.  The goal is to make the egg pure white and everything else black.  Because of the light egg and the dark backdrop, the image is almost in that state to begin with.  

Duplicate the green channel and rename it.  Now apply a level adjustment, sliding in the inner and outer sliders until the background is black or nearly black.  The trick is to watch the edge of the egg.  If you see the edge start to contract, back off of with slider.  You will not be able to get perfect contrast with the levels adjustment alone but you will be able to get very close.

Now, use the marquee tool and make a rough selection around the egg.  Leave some space around the egg, as the selection does not have to be perfect.  Invert the selection and fill with black.

We are almost done but we need the egg to be pure white and the background pure black.  Use the brush tool, set to black with a very soft edge.  Set the opacity low, around 15%, and set the blending mode to overlay.  Slowly paint around the edge of the egg.  Using overlay blending, only the background will get darker, not the egg.  Once the background is black, switch to the brush to white and repeat the process to fill the egg with white around the edges.  Use the marquee tool and fill the inside of the egg with white.  Once you are done, you have a perfectly separated egg of pure white and pure black background.  Because I held the camera in place with a tripod and only changed the lighting, I can apply this mask to all of my eggs.

Load the copied green channel as a selection, return to the layers pallet, click on the desired layer and apply a layer mask.  The egg should now be perfectly separated.  Clean up an defects by painting with black and white directly on the mask.  Once the mask is perfect, reuse it on the remaining images.

Next - Part 4