how bad does this look?

Mygixxer · Jul 15, 2013

Hey ya'll. been a long time since I posted here, been busy riding instead of being on the other side of the camera. My buddy and I were on a ride last week and I pulled out my cell phone and took some photos while riding (Cell phone picture AND moving on a bike :sexywink:

) Got home and was looking through them and saw some potential with this photo. I knew the background was less than pleasing so I had the idea of pulling him from the image and layering onto a different background. The background was a clear photo and I adjusted it with a motion blur/gaussiam blur and warm filter.

Even though I was using the selection tool, it can be very difficult to get as detailed as I want/needed when all I have to use is the laptop "finger mouse". I have been saving up for a pen tool for a while but other things have taken priority. So for now I will have to continue to use my finger with the details. I'm still very new to PS, so there are probably a ton of things I did wrong or should/could have done differently to make it better.

that being said, what are your thoughts?

tirediron · Jul 15, 2013

The difference between the light on the rider and the ambient light in the scene are a dead give-away that it's a composite. The selection isn't bad, but the lighting does not work.

Mygixxer · Jul 15, 2013

good point. So the light on the rider is too hard compared to the rest of the image, that what you are saying?

Would you suggest selecting a part of the image and brightening with a gaussium blur or toning down the brightness of the rider?

tirediron · Jul 15, 2013

I would probably bin the background image altogether and go out and shoot a new one, at the same time of day, same direction, etc so that it matches up more closely.

KyleG · Jul 15, 2013

i would try to color match the rider to the background

vintagesnaps · Jul 15, 2013

The rider looks too bright against the second background; with that sky I'd expect him to be more subdued in color and not as bright. The spokes aren't visible anymore as if he's flying along but his body language doesn't seem to necessarily match that (but maybe because of the first photo I already know what the background was and his wheels didn't appear to be moving that fast).

I don't find that vignetting works all that well, it seems to just usually be filling space that makes me wonder why the extra space is in the photo.

Mygixxer · Jul 15, 2013

vintagesnaps said:
The rider looks too bright against the second background; with that sky I'd expect him to be more subdued in color and not as bright. The spokes aren't visible anymore as if he's flying along but his body language doesn't seem to necessarily match that (but maybe because of the first photo I already know what the background was and his wheels didn't appear to be moving that fast).

I don't find that vignetting works all that well, it seems to just usually be filling space that makes me wonder why the extra space is in the photo.

Good points. The position he is in is a full sprint position. The spokes and background in the original photo don't portray the speed, but I felt the blur in the second background shows more speed therefor I felt more speed/motion in the wheels was necessary.