In China, we had the opportunity to photograph two models dressed in Mongolian outfits, and the lake environment where the shoot took place was very pretty. The problem was that the one place I felt would be the best position for the models to stand was too steep and too muddy for them to access. So, I photographed the two girls closeup and then, in Photoshop, I selected them using the pen tool to make the selection precise. I then pasted them into the other side of the lake exactly where I wanted them to be. Finally, I added a realistic reflection using Flood, which is software made by flamingpear.com, because the original reflection showed the trees but not the models. My settings were for the forest at the lake's edge were 1/100, f/11, 1000 ISO. I purposed didn't include the complete reflection of the girls because I thought that would add to the realism. Sometimes if a picture is too perfect it's not quite believable.
5 Comments
Oct 7, 2017, 10:08:44 PM
Lorraine Piskin - Yes Jim, I'll look for your pen tool article in your emagazine! Great suggestion from one of your students of photography.
Oct 2, 2017, 4:07:51 PM
Lorraine Piskin - Just gorgeous and so thoughtfully made. You are unbelievably gifted!
Oct 2, 2017, 3:15:37 PM
Jim - Thank you very much, Lorraine.
Sep 23, 2017, 9:01:31 PM
Rohinton Mehta - Hi Jim,
In the past you had done a write-up on using the Pen Tool to extract a subject from a cluttered background.
Would you have a video -cum-text on using the different methods of selecting a difficult subject and then compositing the extracted subject on a new background? If yes, please lead me to the link and please let me know the cost. Thanks.
Rohinton
Sep 23, 2017, 8:07:27 PM
Jim - Hi Rohinton, I don't have a video on the pen tool specifically, but I should make one. I'll see if I can get it done before I leave for my Egypt photo tour on Oct. 4. If I can do that, I'll announce it in my eMagazine and/or here on the blog. Thanks for the idea.