composite image

using brush with smoke stamp and would like to overlay photo so photo image is picked up by the brush stamp only..... using magic wand to separate brush from background does not pick up the transparent subtle quality.....i want the final image to look as though the smoke is made from the photo ......have tried all i can think of any directions out there?????????

This may be more a complicated solution than it needs to be, but here is how I would do it.
Make a clipping mask for the image and smoke: put image on one layer, place thicker smoke on another layer, under the image layer. Make the image layer active. Go to the drop down menu on the top right side of the layer palette, and select make clipping mask. Go back to the smoke layer , make it active, and move it around, to best position the image showing in the smoke.

Then copy the smoke layer and put the smoke copy layer above the image layer Exactly over the smoke layer below. (If you can't isolate the layer to copy it...make a copy of the smoke layer and hide it before you make the clipping mask)

Try to change the blending mode to multiply... or simply lower the opacity of the top smoke copy layer.
I hope this makes sense and works.