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The first image you'll already be familiar with, since I presented it in my last blog post. I did receive a few questions from readers about the distracting background, and my response was that I simply wasn't shooting for portfolio images (and therefore didn't really care about it at the time). However, I later realized that I had originally promised my "model" that he'd get a Facebook profile pic out of the deal, so off to Photoshop land I went....
I extracted him out of the original background using a tool called ReMask from Topaz Labs. It's a fairly decent "quick and dirty" extraction tool when the item you're trying to extract has a fairly well-defined edge and there is clear separation from the background. However, I wouldn't use it for anything too complex, because it starts to get a little squirrely with your edges, and you'll end up saying a few more curse words than you would if you had used a REAL extraction tool like Vertus Fluid Mask. Anyway, I digress.
I found a nice stock image of a Nissan 350Z on Flickr (photo credit Jeremy Cliff), and decided it would make a much more appealing backdrop for my model, since he also happens to drive a 350Z. I dropped him into the scene as a new layer, used the free transform tool (while holding the Shift key, which constrains the proportions) to adjust him down to a smaller size relative to the car, and proceeded to make all sorts of adjustments to the lighting. That's the real key to making believable composites-- you absolutely *have* to pay very close attention to the lighting or it will scream "PHOTOSHOPPED!".
Anyway, when all was said and done there were a number of adjustment layers......mostly Curves and Levels with different masks applied, and also a couple of Dodge & Burn layers. Sorry that I didn't take detailed notes of all the steps I took, or I would gladly share them with you. I'm more than willing to answer any questions you may have about the process, though. So here's the before & after image (roll over it with your mouse):
The second image was taken in my studio that same day, and basically he was laying on his belly with a Lastolite TriGrip Reflector under his elbows and a beauty dish above his head. It was inspired by an image I had seen on legendary high school senior photographer Kirk Voclain's website a couple of months earlier. As far as post processing:
- I cleaned up his skin a bit using the High Pass filter (here's an excellent tutorial on this technique)
- I added some additional contrast using another High Pass filter (again, here's a great site explaining 3 great uses for this filter)
- I enhanced the color of his eyes by creating a new layer, lassoing his irises with the elliptical marquee tool, filling the selection with a bright blue, changing the blend mode to Color, and reducing opacity to taste
- For the most dramatic change, I blended in a texture of a scratched surface, and masked out his eyes and most of his face with a reduced-opacity, soft brush.
- Lastly, I created a merged layer at the top of my stack (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E) (or Cmd+Opt+Shift+E for Mac users), added a Gaussian Blur, then applied mask using the Gradient Tool in linear gradient mode so that only the top and bottom edges of the photo would be a little blurry. Kind of gives the photo a little more interest, and helps to draw the viewer's eye to those of my model.
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5 comments:
You are great with photoshop! I hate extracting items/changing backgrounds, I don't have the patience. You make it look so easy (which I know it definitely is not!). That first image came out awesome.
Tiffany, I hate extracting stuff too-- it's just about the hardest thing you can do in Photoshop. That's why I try to use 3rd party tools for jobs like these where it might be a little tricker than normal. For my white background shots I use channel masks because they work really well in that situation, but here it would have taken me twice as long to use that method. Have you ever messed with alpha channels at all? They're a great way to make your white backgrounds snap to pure white, and they also let you easily add colors and gradients (you've probably seen a few of my shots where I used this technique).
John is so pretty!
No, Ive never used alpha channels. I could probably use a photoshop class one of these days, I am sure I am doing some things the hard way. I mostly use curves & levels to get my backgrounds white.
Lol @ Chris...definitely agree!
Tiffany- curves and levels is fine unless you get someone with very wispy hair, at which point masking it becomes a real chore. I'll see if I can put my white seamless post technique on here at some point. Maybe it will help...and if not, stick with whatever works for you! :-)
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