Shadow Rendering Tut Needed

chuckinsocal

Hi Gang,

Most of my projects involve extracting classic and vintage cars from their existing backgrounds and putting them in a more pleasing environment.

Most often, the original shadows are not suitable for the purpose so I need to create my own shadows under the car to visually anchor the car to the ground, floor, or whatever. I've come up with several methods of doing so but the results are inconsistant and too often just mediocre and amateurish.

So, my challenge is to learn a way to create shadows under the car and wheels that are somewhat realistic, anchor the car to the ground, and are reasonably consistent with the shape of the car along with angles, perspectives, etc. The light source creating the shadows should be generally overhead so that the shadow stays under the car rather than extend much beyond it.

I've Googled this subject extensively but haven't found a suitable answer. Can anyone suggest a method for this or can someone point me to a tut or at least in the right direction? Maybe there's a PSCS plug in somewhere that'll do this?

As always, thanks for your help.

redleash

Hi Chuck-

I don't have any tips for you....but I did want to say that I really like your work! Whatever you've been doing for your shadows looks pretty good to me. I think you have a classy toned-down backdrop for your cars that really makes them stand out.

I shot a couple of car shows this spring, having never even attended one before...and it was a lot of fun. I have a few shots that I've tried to remove backgrounds from but it never comes out right. Mine aren't anywhere close to the quality of yours though!

Good luck and good shots!
Lauren

chuckinsocal

Hi Lauren,

Thank you so much for your generous comments.

A little off topic, but I read your piece on the origin of the Red Leash name and it brought a tear to my eye. I've owned many dogs over the years and when you lose one after 10-12 years of faithful companionship, the pain is indescribable. I like that you honored your dog with the name of your company.

Best wishes.

LiquidAir

The way I'd probably end up creating shadows like that is to use the Vanishing Point (under Filter in CS3) and a paint brush. Just paint on a separate layer and set the blend mode to multiply.

chuckinsocal

Thanks for the tip, but I'm still using PSCS and with the way things are these days there is no budget for an upgrade to CS3.

I did find a tut on pencil sketching shadows involving the scene vanishing point, the shadow vanishing point, and the light source vanishing point and I'm trying to figure out how to adapt that. I'll just have to keep plugging away at it.

Thanks again.

redleash

Chuck,
Thanks for the nice words. Sent you a PM.
Lauren