Tuesday, June 1, 2010

An Exercise In Digital Compositing | WESLEY CHAPEL BAND PROMO PHOTOGRAPHER

What do you do if you've been asked to put together a promo shot for a band consisting of 4 members, and your studio space isn't quite big enough to pull it off?  Freak out and tell them you just can't do it?  Of course not......Photoshop to the rescue!

Not only does this method save you the hassle of trying to squeeze 4 people into a space that was really designed for a single model, but it also affords you quite a bit of flexibility in terms of shot selection.  In other words, you can mix and match the best individual shots to your heart's content in order to come up with the best overall composite.  So you basically don't have to worry about capturing good facial expressions on all 4 faces in a single frame.

Here are the 4 original SOOC shots:



Using Photoshop CS5's new masking tools, extracting a subject from a solid-color background has never been easier.  You just draw a rough selection around the subject with the Lasso tool, add a mask, and then use the Refine Edge dialog to decontaminate the excess color (in this case, white).  Then just take the individual shots that you want to composite together and drop them onto a large white canvas in Photoshop.

One last thing I had to do in this case was use the Free Transform tool to adjust each band member's size relative to the others.  In order to figure out who was taller than who in real life, I had to go back to a previous shot that I had done of this same band.  Of course I could have saved myself quite a bit of time by simply using a tripod and shooting each person from the exact same position and angle, but I'll just have to take that as a "note to self" for next time.  Anyway, here's the final composite:


Ever use this technique yourself?  Plan to use it in the future?  Please tell me about it in a comment below, and click "like" along the way!  :-)










4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are a great photographer!! I'm still learning so I just want to know what do you use on your floor for it to be white and shiny? I see the background is white paper.

Tampa Band Photos said...

You are correct about the background, and as for the floor, it's called "Tileboard". You can get it at Home Depot for around $12-$13 a sheet. Here's a link to the tutorial that I based my entire studio setup on....it's a must-read if you're interested in creating this look for your images:

http://www.zarias.com/?p=71

Good luck, and please check back and let me know how it goes!

Anonymous said...

Ok I'm so in aw of your work, the things you do and the technique is awesome. This band shoot rocks and the one below it. Thanks so much for sharing it.

Tampa Band Photos said...

Thanks, Anonymous...I truly appreciate your encouragement!

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Tampa, FL, United States
I'm a commercial photographer in Tampa, FL specializing in band & musician promos, CD covers, press kits, posters, and the like. Please feel free to check out my website/blog using the link below, and give me a shout if I can be of service to you!

http://TampaBandPhotos.com

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