Testing Home Made Neon Sign

Buckster · Jan 13, 2013

So, I've got a project I'm working on that requires a neon sign hanging outside a window. I have a very particular image of it in my mind; A fairly large old rusty metal sign and the word "ACME" arranged vertically on it in red neon. I looked around for one in real life, and found it would be way too expensive to have one made just to use as a prop in the photo I want to shoot, and I couldn't find what I was looking for as an image to buy from a stock agency. So I decided to make one from scratch in Photoshop. Here it is:

Once I had it made, I wanted to test it out on a scene, even though this isn't the end photo I want to shoot (really, not even close, other than it'll be a 1940's era detective office, which this sort of looks like). So I put this composite together using images I'd shot over the years:

The cityscape is San Francisco, which I shot from just above the bridge on Treasure Island.
The desk with all the stuff on it, including the old typewriter, I shot at Alcatraz Prison.
The brick walls and windows I shot in Louisiana. They're from the external wall of the Tabasco Sauce factory on Avery Island.
The moon was shot on a clear night in Phoenix, Arizona when I lived there.
And of course, the neon sign I just made from scratch.

I'm kinda liking it.

Majeed Badizadegan · Jan 13, 2013

Awesome composite

oldhippy · Jan 13, 2013

You're one talented lil bugar..great job..

Mully · Jan 13, 2013

LOL Buckster......you know what you are doing .... Nice shot and realistic looking, great composite.

JOEFLY · Jan 13, 2013

very nice.

pgriz · Jan 13, 2013

Hmmm.... now I know who to contact if I ever need a picture to show that I wasn't where they thought I was. Nice job, Buckster, although if I had to quibble, the wall looks the least "real". You may also want to smudge the windows a little, as they appear to be a little TOO clean for a place that looks like you're making it look.

Buckster · Jan 13, 2013

pgriz said:
Hmmm.... now I know who to contact if I ever need a picture to show that I wasn't where they thought I was. Nice job, Buckster, although if I had to quibble, the wall looks the least "real". You may also want to smudge the windows a little, as they appear to be a little TOO clean for a place that looks like you're making it look.

Yeah, those were the two things that stood out to me when I decided "enough" for the day. I didn't do such a hot job lining up the brick work, and it looks like there's no glass in them thar windars. LOL! I'll play with that some more - a barely noticeable little reflection from inside the room on them should give "glass".

Much appreciated on the confirming observations!