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1st fantasy manipulation
- Thread starter ddl
- Start date
Paul
Former Member
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Yeah i see what you are trying to achieve, maybe look at a few blending tuts also think about image placement (your wife) maybe have her pose differently next time so shes not all cooped up in the corner.
The wings look lost against the awesome tree, maybe other tuts on this style of imagery would help you also, heres one to get you started http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/p.../how-to-create-a-fantasy-mother-nature-scene/
There are obviously millions of tuts out there but this site offers what i consider rock solid tuts for all levels of ability.
The wings look lost against the awesome tree, maybe other tuts on this style of imagery would help you also, heres one to get you started http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/p.../how-to-create-a-fantasy-mother-nature-scene/
There are obviously millions of tuts out there but this site offers what i consider rock solid tuts for all levels of ability.
sprucemagoo1
Guru
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I think if you cartoonize it slightly, it will give more of a fantasy feel, as well as what Paul has said. The tree stump doesn't seem to be interesting enough to be the focal point for the piece. Otherwise, it is a very nice idea.
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Hi ddl and welcome!
The photo of the wife seems a bit disproportionate maybe due to not holding the shift key during a transform. The wings are totally lost for me. If I had not read your post, I would have had a hard time figuring them out.
As Paul also mentioned, the composition is a little awkward due to where you placed your wife's image. You might read up on compositional techniques. I like the suggestion of a different pose in your next attempt. This will require some planning on your part. Take lighting into consideration when planning.
The photo of the wife seems a bit disproportionate maybe due to not holding the shift key during a transform. The wings are totally lost for me. If I had not read your post, I would have had a hard time figuring them out.
As Paul also mentioned, the composition is a little awkward due to where you placed your wife's image. You might read up on compositional techniques. I like the suggestion of a different pose in your next attempt. This will require some planning on your part. Take lighting into consideration when planning.
Tom Mann
Guru
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A good fun shot, but I've got to agree with the previous comments, especially those about the visibility of the wings, the composition, lighting, etc.
With respect to (wrt) the wings, I first looked at your image on an iPhone and, for quite a while, I actually thought she had a guitar case over her shoulder, wide end up. Look at your image at many different sizes, from very small (to give you an overall view of the composition) to very large (to give you a view of details and technical features such as sharpness, small areas of blown highlights, etc.)
WRT composition, it doesn't matter if it's a fantasy composite or a normal photo, the same compositional guidelines apply: (a) you've got to decide which are the one or two most important points of interest in your composition, and then steer the viewer's eyes to those points; (b) generally, you don't want to have a person near the edge of the frame pointed out of the frame; (c) you don't want ultra busy backgrounds that attract the viewers' eyes away from the main subjects; and (d) you want believable sizes and lighting for the various elements of your composite.
WRT lighting, obviously it should come from the same direction for all elements of the composite, but I wanted to point out that if a person is going to be a main compositional element, be careful of mottled lighting over her face. It isn't just a matter of the high contrast, the other problem is that the highlights often are warm toned, whereas the shadow areas pick up the green ambient glow in a forest. I had to make a special effort to smooth out the lighting on your wife's face.
Towards this end, I played around a bit with your image trying to keep the fantasy fairy-in-the-forest intent by softening the background and giving it an unusual color, and zooming in to make the focus be clearly on her. The version you posted reminded me of photos that my dad used to take where he would be so far away that the family would be tiny little specs in the picture.
See what you think.
Tom M
With respect to (wrt) the wings, I first looked at your image on an iPhone and, for quite a while, I actually thought she had a guitar case over her shoulder, wide end up. Look at your image at many different sizes, from very small (to give you an overall view of the composition) to very large (to give you a view of details and technical features such as sharpness, small areas of blown highlights, etc.)
WRT composition, it doesn't matter if it's a fantasy composite or a normal photo, the same compositional guidelines apply: (a) you've got to decide which are the one or two most important points of interest in your composition, and then steer the viewer's eyes to those points; (b) generally, you don't want to have a person near the edge of the frame pointed out of the frame; (c) you don't want ultra busy backgrounds that attract the viewers' eyes away from the main subjects; and (d) you want believable sizes and lighting for the various elements of your composite.
WRT lighting, obviously it should come from the same direction for all elements of the composite, but I wanted to point out that if a person is going to be a main compositional element, be careful of mottled lighting over her face. It isn't just a matter of the high contrast, the other problem is that the highlights often are warm toned, whereas the shadow areas pick up the green ambient glow in a forest. I had to make a special effort to smooth out the lighting on your wife's face.
Towards this end, I played around a bit with your image trying to keep the fantasy fairy-in-the-forest intent by softening the background and giving it an unusual color, and zooming in to make the focus be clearly on her. The version you posted reminded me of photos that my dad used to take where he would be so far away that the family would be tiny little specs in the picture.
See what you think.
Tom M
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Tom Mann
Guru
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PS - I forgot to mention that I also agree completely with Sam's comment about the weird aspect ratio of your wife -- she looks squished horizontally. To make her look more normal, in my version, I stretched her horizontally by around 10%. I don't know what she looks like, so 10% could be either too little or too much, but it gives you the idea to be careful about such things.
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