what is wrong with the boy in picture?

[AivarasB]

Hi,

I inserted boy in picture, but something is wrong, something tells me that this is not real photo. Do you know what it can be ?
http://i38.tinypic.com/aom2hh.jpg

thank you in advance for comments!

[iDad]

try this could be the shirt is to bright. and I noticed the boys index finger seems a bit transparent

[AivarasB]

thank you for comments, changed:
http://i34.tinypic.com/3492uzs.jpg

how it is now?

could you estimate mark you would give for such photoshop? 5 from 10 ? less? more ?

[SCTRWD]

What you need is a "prop" - some detail that being combined with your image will force the viewer to believe the boy is standing firmly on the ground.

I would recommend these steps:

Add some adjustment layer, say Levels. Leave all the parameters at their default values. Just click OK. Add mask to Levels layer, fill it with black. Now add Bevel and Emboss style. Take small white brush and carefully draw on the mask right around the boy's feet.

You should see the illusion that boy's feet are pressed firmly into the sand.

Now play around with Bevel and Emboss parameters to find the ones that make the right thing. Pay much attention to Light angle to make it the same as on the image.

Try to add some noise to your layer mask brush strokes to get more natural view.

Try to add some noise to the sand around boy's feet(take the selection from Levels layer mask). This will help viewer's eye "cling" to the details. Or even add some detail like the wet sand under boy's foot. The one like under elephant leg.

Won't hurt to cast some shadow from the boy. Again make slight distortions to it, so that it falls on the sand the right way.

Do something with the boy's pants. Select them and use Image->Adjustments->Shadow/Highlights...

This is all test and probe way, I just showed the right direction...

[Farley]

What you need is a "prop" - some detail that being combined with your image will force the viewer to believe the boy is standing firmly on the ground.

I would recommend these steps:

Add some adjustment layer, say Levels. Leave all the parameters at their default values. Just click OK. Add mask to Levels layer, fill it with black. Now add Bevel and Emboss style. Take small white brush and carefully draw on the mask right around the boy's feet.

You should see the illusion that boy's feet are pressed firmly into the sand.

Now play around with Bevel and Emboss parameters to find the ones that make the right thing. Pay much attention to Light angle to make it the same as on the image.

Try to add some noise to your layer mask brush strokes to get more natural view.

Try to add some noise to the sand around boy's feet(take the selection from Levels layer mask). This will help viewer's eye "cling" to the details. Or even add some detail like the wet sand under boy's foot. The one like under elephant leg.

Won't hurt to cast some shadow from the boy. Again make slight distortions to it, so that it falls on the sand the right way.

Do something with the boy's pants. Select them and use Image->Adjustments->Shadow/Highlights...

This is all test and probe way, I just showed the right direction...

Man oh man, you talk a lot of nonsense...adj. layers...bevel...noise...cast shadow...wet sand...seriously...sigh

Why should the boys feet be pressed firmly in the sand??? The boy weighs only about 50 pounds, while an average elephant weighs close to 5,000 pounds? Do you see the elephant's feet pressed in the sand?

The real issue here is that the boy's pants and feet (especially the feet) are too dark, which is impossible with that amount of ambient light and there is lots of it, considering that the shadow is pretty light.

And why suggest to add a cast shadow??? The boy is standing in the shadow and there is no second light source other than the sun, how on earth would he be able to cast a shadow? And adding wet sand to make it look real? Seriously... why are you adding so much bull to make it look real?

To AivaresB; there also seems to be some very small odd dark glow around the edge of his feet, get rid of it and give the boy a descent hair cut.

[SCTRWD]

2Farley. Read carefully:

"What you need is a "prop" - some detail that being combined with your image will force the viewer to believe the boy is standing firmly on the ground."

You do NOT have reality! That is the problem! The boys is dangling in the air. The only way is to create reality, to make it up.

BTW, check the last definition of weigh and compare it to pressure, smart boy.

"Do you see the elephant's feet pressed in the sand?" Then do them pressed, damn it, the name of the game is:

Feel lack of reality, details? Then create them.

Take Clone Stamp tool and add some small random chunks of sand overlaying the boy's feet front outlines. Add some fake details(texture, shadows, dirt, etc) under boy's feet. Make their contours less smooth, clean and unreal, make them INTERACT with the sand around them.

Look at the picture. There are two characters in there: the elephant and the boy. The boy is definitely looking out of place there. But the elephant looks good. Why? We don't know it, but what if the elephant had also been collaged in the image? What makes it look not so? Take a thorough look, exclude all unsignificant details and the answer is obvious - this wet sand stain under one of it's leg. This little sucker makes us NOT WANT to beleive the elephant was not there in the first place. It makes so that this question just never occured to us. And thus there's just never been any doubts and temptation to explore the reality of it, no need for physics or other boring things. This is what the "prop" is, and this why it is so important. Just add something similar for the boy and that's it.

P.S. Why do you think they add explosion sounds in star wars movies? There is no air in the outer space - there can't be no sounds! Because without them explosion sounds viewer wouldn't beleive it's fo real. Strange as it seems, but true. Think 'bout it.

[AivarasB]

thank you for all your comments, it helped a lot. now it's much better I think:
http://i34.tinypic.com/30ncdxw.jpg

[iDad]

There you go! Good touch

[pwslinks]

Hello,

Quite good, but Put a shadow on the image to look real.....