Composite image -- rip away

Bilsen

So this is my first attempt at dropping a BKG behind Cyndi after cutting her out of the gray screen image.

Getting this right by the end of the year is criticall important for for our World Tour is very important so I would like to here what everybody has to say, particularly those who composie a lot.

Dreadnote

Well...color temp, and direction of light seem to be different on Cyndi and the background (though I am looking at these on my iPad which doesn't have the truest color in the world). It helps to open each layer as a smart layer so that they can be adjusted after the fact. With the sun behind her she ought to have a bit of a rim light from behind. There is also a disparity between the light on the model and the light on the foreground. Foreground seems a bit dark when the model is that bright. Depending on how important the specific background is, you can either shoot the model to match the background or pick a background that matches your model. Also you will want to mask your layer edges. You can see the layer edge cutting across the frame horizontally just under the sun. It also helps to shoot both images at the same focal length and on a tripod at the same height. Just a few observations.... for whatever that is worth. I'm still working on my technique as well.

Bilsen

Thanks Dread.

I think my first task is to learn to see what you're seeing.

We did have this background on the iPad while we shot. I did rim her from behind and also shot her in blue "flourescent" WB. Then I added yellow to her left side to reflect the moonlight.

I didn't notice the line through the BKG but I didn't do anything there. It must be in the original image. There's no way for me to shoot these scenes from the same focal length. For example, I'm not gonna get to India to shoot the Taj Mahal for the next set. I need to learn to match perspective.

This is exactly what I need because I can't see these things yet. Please continue to point them out as we go through the year.

Qarik

ripping away. it looks 100% fake. beside that..the BG just looks really bad regardless of whether she is in it or not.

Dreadnote

Let me illustrate what I'm trying to say. Here is a photo that Joel Grimes composited that's up over on his photo stream over at Flickr:

Heidi

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelgrimesphotography/2726973056/&quot; title="Heidi by Joel Grimes Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3044/2726973056_b332522ab3_z.jpg?zz=1&quot; width="640" height="426" alt="Heidi"></a>

There are some similarities and some differences to your photo of Cyndi. Notice how the light in this photo is very cool (temperature wise). It is a night time photo like yours and the light is coming from an obscured moon (presumably) over her left shoulder like yours. At first I thought your photo was a sunset photo due to the bright orange and yellow cast, but I now see that it is in fact the moon, perhaps in a bit of haze, as the reflections in the water and glow around the moon would indicate, but back to the Grimes photo. Notice the the highlights in his picture are all the same color temp. The highlights on her neck, arm, hair, the reflections in the chrome on the car, etc. are all cool light. The only exception is the headlights on the car which, as he depicted throw a more yellow light, since they are emitting their own light. Also notice the rim light on her right arm and other places. It is a hardish light. The full moon, like the noon-day sun throws hard light. Looking at your photo of Cyndi I do now see, like you commented, that she was shot with a rim light, but it's so small and soft that I didn't notice it at first. Matching the color temperature on a model to a background taken at a different time in a different place, or perhaps a stock photo, is challenging which is why I suggested opening the layers as smart layers, and I might add shooting in raw as well so as to have the greatest latitude for adjusting color temperature.

Now take a look at the general luminosity of the photo. As you would expect of a portrait backlit by the moon, it is relatively dark. There is no great contrast between the model and the foreground. It looks as though she is lit by the moonlight shining on the clouds, whereas in your shot Cyndi appears to be standing in the sunlight.

Now your intent with this photo may very well be different than that of Grimes. Whether you want it to look "lit" is a creative decision and completely up to you.

As to the line in the background, it is almost certainly the edge of the layer that Cyndi is on. I've done that exact same thing at least 50 times myself. When you mask out everything in a photo except the person, photoshop sometimes leaves some edge contrast where that layer ends that shows up looking like that line you have in your shot. All you need to do is select the layer Cyndi is on and brush some more mask where that layer ends. Use a 100% soft brush.

Now as to what Quarik said about the background, he does have a bit of a point. My biggest issue with it is that it seems over saturated for a moonlight picture and the orange yellow hue of the moon and reflection which oddly enough seems to start randomly in the middle of the lake or ocean (whichever that is) instead of at the shore or at a shadow that the shore would surely make if backlit by a full moon like that.

I hope that helps and doesn't come off like too much of a rip. Compositing is my favorite photography at the moment and I wish you all the best with your project.

wave01

hi i am not an expert on this but i told a long time ago by people who do this a lot that for it to be believable then you have to look at physical laws and relationships of what you are combining. there quick teach was you cannot have 2 suns ie it has to all be lit from the same direction. hope it helps

Bilsen

Thanks all.

This is a whole new skill set I'll have to develop.

It's a good thing I've become such an "expert" photographer.rofl

Hackbone

Except for the color of her skin and the awful yellow glow on her arm I think it is pretty good. She needs to be warmed up (color wise) quite a bit and maybe drop the exposure on her a tad. Try to crop above her knees. These look more believable when not showing the full body. The sun seems a little fakey.

Bilsen

Thanks Hack.

The funny part is that the BKG image is untouched. I didn't put it together. Doesn't mean I can't modify it though.