Clone Yourself

Nothing sucks more than spending your weekend doing tedious tasks like washing dishes and cooking. There are those who enjoy cooking, but I'm not one of them. Therefore, I've decided to clone myself and save some time.

Here's what you need:

• a camera (digital is preferable, as it's the quickest turnaround)
• a way to digitize your images (skip if you're using a digital camera)
• a tripod (you could substitute a sturdy surface if your short a tripod)
• graphics program (something like Photoshop or The Gimp supporting layers)

Step 1: Determine the chores you wish you didn't have to do. Try to choose chores that are in the same area. (You want to be able to keep an eye on your clone so he/she doesn't commit any crimes and get you in trouble.) As stated I choose cooking and washing dishes. Both take place in the kitchen, and it's super easy to keep an eye on your clone.

Step 2: Find your shooting location and setup your camera. This part is very important. You want to be sure that the tripod is sturdy and can't move between shots. Frame the shot, and set up the correct exposure. Take a few test shots to make sure your going to get your desired background.

Step 3: Setup the shutter release mechanism and go do one of your chores. Whilst doing your chores, snap a few shots. If you are just pretending to do chores so that the clone thinks you are working, you can look at the picture and make sure you are in the frame and posing how you'd like. Make sure you DO NOT move your camera, or you will have to start again at step 2.

Step 4: Trick your clone into doing the chore you were just doing. This is easy, just start doing it and take another picture (clones aren't that smart).

Step 5: Take a picture of the location with no one in it.

Step 6: Tear down and prepare for post processing. Make sure that before doing this step you're happy with the pictures you took. Use the LCD display to review if applicable.

Step 7: Transfer your photos to your computer. Now, depending on the resolution of your camera, and the desired size at the end of all this, it's probably best to resize the photos to make it easier for your computer to process them. For my example, I took my photos at 6.1 megapixels and resized them to 800px wide. [Notice how image 1 and 2 overlap and aren't usable]

Step 8: Bring your photos into your image editing program making each picture a new layer. Layers make this much easier. Using the opacity setting for each layer allows you to visually combine a few photos to see which combination will look the best.

Step 9: In each layer you want to combine, duplicate the layer and select the portion that is your subject (the clone or you) using the pen tool, or a lasso. Invert your selection and delete the background. Repeat this for each layer you are going to use.

Step 10: When your satisfied with your composite, delete the excess layers and flatten the image. It should look pretty good, but you might want to play with the levels and other color correction tools.

Step 11: Enjoy your excess time!

** Disclaimer: we're not really making a clone, nor will you gain any extra time from this procedure.**