Dancer in the studio.

[tirediron]

Two from today; C&C welcome.

(Note: I know the cut & paste is crap; we had a background malfunction. If you have any tips on using Photoshop selections to get good results with hair and other complex situations, PLEASE share).

 

[shortpballer]

There is no really good way to change the background from my experience. With a Tablet you can do closer and more exact work by doing your selecting by hand (this is what I do)... I've never found the auto selecting functions in photoshop to do the job good enough for me. Can you please explain the background you used and what lighting setup? Becuase if you have a black background you can normally setup the lights more on the sides of the model with grids so the light doesn't spill on to the background. Other options for black are to use a true black cloth (very expensive from BH) but it reflects almost no light....

Hope this helps

 

[Mach0]

You can do it. I've seen it done but it takes time and a lot of work.....

Here are some links I've saved. Good luck !

 

[Hussain Frutan]

great sshoots i like the
keep up the good work

 

[Big Mike]

Two from today; C&C welcome.

I like the first one, although, I had to look at it for a minute before I could really figure out what it was that I was looking at. Without seeing a face/head, it's very abstract. My eye is drawn to the bright reflection on the cape...not sure if that's should be the strongest focal point though.

The second one seems under exposed. Maybe just a touch, but the bright cape is taking attention away from the dancer, and since we can see her in this one, I think she should be brighter. Tough to do with that cape, you might need a small, constrained light aimed just at her.

If you have any tips on using Photoshop selections to get good results with hair and other complex situations, PLEASE share).

Topaz Remask. It's a plugin. I was against plugins because I could always do the same thing with just Photoshop, but Remask does a great job and it's a huge time saver.

 

[tirediron]

T...Can you please explain the background you used and what lighting setup? Becuase if you have a black background you can normally setup the lights more on the sides of the model with grids so the light doesn't spill on to the background. Other options for black are to use a true black cloth (very expensive from BH) but it reflects almost no light....

Hope this helps

Lighting was simple; 72" octobox 35 degrees camear right and for fill I had a 30" shoot-through high and left. The original intent was to shoot against my 12x12 backdrop and gel it to suit the costume the dancer was wearing. Unfortunately however, I totally under-estimated how big these things (They're called 'Isis wings') are when they're in use. As a result my background was pointless. Even though this was only a TFP shoot, the dancer had driven a half-hour to get to me, so I'm going to get something useful out of the session, and chalk it up to a BIG learning experience.

You can do it. I've seen it done but it takes time and a lot of work.....

Here are some links I've saved. Good luck !

<Links snipped>

It sure does. THANKS!!!

great sshoots i like the
keep up the good work

Thank-you very much!

I like the first one, although, I had to look at it for a minute before I could really figure out what it was that I was looking at. Without seeing a face/head, it's very abstract. My eye is drawn to the bright reflection on the cape...not sure if that's should be the strongest focal point though.

Good point. It was a really challenging shoot (IMO); the only way to have the model get the wings to move like this was to do her dance routine, and since she's moving on the floor as she turns, I lit for a general exposure. I would like to have been able to snoot another light for her face/body, but it would have been almost impossible to position.

The second one seems under exposed. Maybe just a touch, but the bright cape is taking attention away from the dancer, and since we can see her in this one, I think she should be brighter. Tough to do with that cape, you might need a small, constrained light aimed just at her.

You're right; this is a static shot, so another light is doable for this one.

Topaz Remask. It's a plugin. I was against plugins because I could always do the same thing with just Photoshop, but Remask does a great job and it's a huge time saver.

w00t! Thanks Mike! In fact I think I have a Topaz disk kicking around somewhere.

 

[Granddad]

Isis wings are a B**** to shoot in a studio situation. The size of the things is the worst factor but the way they affect the light is a close second because they are almost always highly reflective. They can look good on stage and are a WOW factor in a performance in front of non belly dancers but I've yet to get a shot of a belly dancer with isis wings that I regard as a keeper. In competition I've seen belly dancers eliminated for using them because they don't allow the dancer to show her true skill. Personally, I hate the things. If you get the chance to shoot the lady again ask her to bring a silk veil instead, Veils work MUCH better photographically (although they are still "not easy" in a studio). I have an all day shoot on Saturday with 8 belly dancers from an agency, thanks for reminding me to say "NO!" to wings.

As for cutting out, though I have Photoshop, for cutting figures out from a background I still use my old Paint Shop Pro 7 and the point to point lasso tool. It's slow and painstaking work but I get better results with that and a small degree of feather than anything I've been able to do with Photoshop to date (I confess to being a photoshop novice).

I'll be checking out Mach0's links, too, especially the hair link as that's always been my major problem.

Regards,

Mark

P.S. If you are interested I have some links to a couple of good belly dance photographers' websites.

 

[tirediron]

Thanks Mark; you're right, the wings are a <female dog> in the studio. I totally mis-judged the amount of background I would need. I do have a number of fan and veil shots as well (not yet processed), but I really wanted some good shots of the wings, and as miserable as they are, I'm going to keep at it!

On the topic of cutting out, I have to whole-heartedly endorse Mike's recommendation for the Topaz plug-in. That works like a hot damn! BEST tool I've used to date for masking.

 

[Derrel]

KnockOut 2 - Complex masking software with absolute precision

KnockOut, Version 2....for those situations when you need that National Enquirer-level cut and paste, with 100 percent believability---FAST!

 

[Granddad]

Thanks Tirediron and Derrel - that's a high recommendation. I'm off to follow the yellow brick road ... I mean the link.

 

[tirediron]

Gee, thanks Derrel, just what I needed; yet something else to spend money on.