Help! How do I make this look less fake?

[JeffieLove]

Okay... So, here's the original...

I was trying to make the background white instead of that yucky brownish grey color... This is my assignment for my studio class. We were only allowed to use 2 lights. A main light and a hair light...

So here's what I did...

I copied the background layer. Went image/adjustments/levels and used the white dropped and clicked on the darkest spot on the background. Then I made a mask on the layer and "painted" back the exposure on the boys, trucks, and balls. This was suggested on another forum that I visit but for some reason, mine looks incredibly fake compared to theirs

Here's my edit:

 

[bluetibby1]

I have not tried to change background colors yet, so I am just going to say what I see. To me it would look less fake if the balls still had shadows, and the subjects were maybe feathered into the background. I'm not sure if that makes sense but they look like they are just cut and pasted... Sorry I hope this helps.

 

[JeffieLove]

I will try making a selection of them and refining the edges and feathering them a little.. <--didn't work.. I couldn't refine the edge on the selection because I had to make the selection off the layer mask.

 

[Robin Usagani]

if you dont want it too fake, you need to bring back some of the shadow. Put this on the top of original and make it like 60% opacity or something.

 

[bluetibby1]

I am interested to see how it comes out. And when it works could you post some instructions? Hope it goes well.

 

[JeffieLove]

if you dont want it too fake, you need to bring back some of the shadow. Put this on the top of original and make it like 60% opacity or something.

Thanks Schwetty That at least helped with the balls. My biggest concern was with the kids. They both still look cut and pasted and they aren't lol

Here it is after your suggestion:

 

[adversus]

Here's my go at it. All of the textures around the balls and under the trucks is a LOT of areas to touch up, so I didn't do a bang up job on that. Mainly just getting the background off and adding somewhat-realistic shadows.

Add some more time to it it could be cleaner.

 

[JeffieLove]

Personally, that looks more fake than before... The kids are about 3 feet away from the background so the shadows aren't going to look like that... That would be fine if they were right up against a wall, but in this case, they weren't. Looks more like an advertisement picture on a box for a toy or something...

Thanks for the attempt though

 

[adversus]

Hrm. Well this is fun, I like challenges (and I'm learning at the same time, woohoo).

Take 2:

 

[adversus]

Yeah I'm not sure in this case how to make it look less copy/paste on a pure white background.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Part of the reason it looks fake isn't because of the flat lighting, its because of the boy on the right. His shoulder and arm lines are nearly exactly the same as the edges of the dump trunk. The pose is totally visually awkward. Flat lighting and flat perspective. :meh:

 

[DeadEye]

Hummmmmm Was this not an assignment? In studio lighting? Lets not try to PS this .

The more you fiddle with the lights the better you will be, I think thats the way to go.

What do you have in the way of modifiers?

 

[~Stella~]

Edit in #9 is much better.

Part of the reason it looks fake isn't because of the flat lighting, its because of the boy on the right. His shoulder and arm lines are nearly exactly the same as the edges of the dump trunk. The pose is totally visually awkward.

This is a big part of the problem - it just looks funky. You could try to clone out his sleeves just enough to differentiate from the sides of the tonka truck, but it might just be easier to shoot the scene again.

 

[JeffieLove]

Part of the reason it looks fake isn't because of the flat lighting, its because of the boy on the right. His shoulder and arm lines are nearly exactly the same as the edges of the dump trunk. The pose is totally visually awkward. Flat lighting and flat perspective. :meh:

I guess I haven't figured out how to get "non-flat" lighting in the studio...

Hummmmmm Was this not an assignment? In studio lighting? Lets not try to PS this .

The more you fiddle with the lights the better you will be, I think thats the way to go.

What do you have in the way of modifiers?

The assignment was to do a portrait using two lights. We don't have to have the background pure white. Having the background pure white is 100% just something I want to learn either using my lighting set up or via PS.

Modifiers we have: Grids (honeycomb things), softboxes of all different sizes, reflective umbrellas, may have shoot through umbrellas (don't remember sorry...), beauty dishes, and we have just those silver funnel looking things that go on the strobes.. Oh, and snoots and barn doors... I think that's it... Pretty much everything lol

 

[gsgary]

Best way to do it is get the lighting right in camera and don't rely on photoshop