Photo 191: Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction with CS5 Tutorial

Jamie and I have been pushed to do more creative work in our latest class then any of the previous classes we have taken. The most recent example being our “Truth is Stranger than Fiction” assignment. We each had creative blocks for a fairly long time before we came up with the ideas for our individual projects. Once we each decided on what to do the next challenge was taking the photos and editing them in the amount of time left. I personally was limited in that I didn’t have access to a pickup truck and so I relied heavily on the abilities of Photoshop for post production work. In the paragraphs to follow I will take you through the steps I took to make just one of my images. I will also tell you what I would have done (and may still do) to correct some of the less successful images.

The Premise:

My idea for the project was to take photos of myself on a couch that I am in the process of disassembling in my garage in various locations where you would not expect to find a couch. In addition I would be staring off into something out of the frame and have a gaming controller in my hands and a headset on. Seeing as I was crunched for time and didn’t have a truck I decided to take the background shots separately from the subject shots of me on the couch and then merge the two into a composite image in post production. This proved to be a difficult task as you can imagine.

The Execution:

The first step was for me to take the photos for the background settings. I wanted to choose settings where it would be strange for a couch to be sitting in the foreground. In addition I needed photos which had an empty space for me to place the subject. I took two such shots and then went into my massive library of images to find the other four. Fortunately I had many images with empty ground in the foreground. Why I have these photos, I don’t know but it worked out. Next I needed to take the shots of the subjects.

I dragged my old couch out of the garage and set up the shots. I put it in direct sun but didn’t worry about the background. I set up the shots but I had Jamie help with actually pressing the shutter while I posed. How the shots were composed did not matter as much as getting the couch in the frame. Once we got the shots of myself I posed the dog and stood behind him while holding his leash. The next step was post-production where all the magic happens.

Post-Production:

The first step was to mask just the subject out of the photo so it could be placed in the background shot. I started this in Photoshop CS4 trial and during the process the trial ran out. I purchased Photoshop CS5 Extended and downloaded the trial to get me through the time between when I ordered it and when it arrived. This was actually good because the “quick selection” tool and “refine edge” dialog box became even better in CS5.

Something you can see in the photo is the new “Mini Bridge” which lets you browse as you would in Bridge except within Photoshop. One note is that if Bridge is not already running then it will need to start in order to show “Mini Bridge”.

Step 1: Open Image

I used the quick selection tool to select the subject. There are a few tricks to using this tool successfully. The first is to understand the two means of controlling how much it selects. These means are: 1) reduce or enlarge the brush size and 2) zoom in and move the tool more slowly. Another tip is to remember that it is called “Quick Selection” for a reason. There are times when you need to fix things with the lasso tool or other times when the magic wand works better. You should remember though that by default the quick select tool adds to your selection but you can just as easily use it to remove from your selection.

Step 2: Quick Selection

The next step I took was “Refine Edge”. You can access this by going to Select–> Refine edge or by clicking the “Refine Edge” button which is visible when using the quick selection tool. You can use this tool to expand the area of edge detection, smooth the edges of a selection, feather the transition of the selection edge, or adjust the contrast of the selection edge. The most useful part of this tool for me is the ability to expand the radius of edge detection as it is a really easy way to get a good selection of hair, fur or other uneven edges.

Step 3: Refine Edge

There are a few new options in this dialog box in the CS5 version. These include the “Smart Radius” check box, the ability to paint to expand the refine edge radius in certain areas, and the “Decontaminate Color” check box and slider. The “Smart Radius” check box will contract the maximum radius of the edge detection in areas where it does not need to be so large. If you need more control, you can now paint in to add to or remove areas of edge refinement. Lastly, “Decontaminate Color” will actually change the color of pixels to get rid of background color seeping through or light from a nearby object which reflected onto the edge of your selection. If you use this option then you are forced to output to a new layer as some of the original image information is destroyed/changed.

Step 4: Placement in Layer

Once I completed masking out the subject (myself and the couch) I simply copied the image information and pasted it into the background of the new image as a new layer. This results in the object in the new layer being much too large in this context. In order to re-size the subject you can go to edit–> Transform–> Scale. Then hold shift as you change the size of the object. Holding shift maintains the aspect ratio as your re-size. You can also drag the object around while in this mode.

Step 5: Scale

For this image this completed everything I did. Now the success of the image at this point depends on the quality of your selection as well as the way the lighting on each image matches or contrasts with each other. For instance this is how my image would look if I flipped the subject horizontally. You can do that from Edit–>Transform–>Flip Horizontally. Now the shadows are heading in the same direction, however I didn’t like this as much compositionally so I left it.

Step 6: Flip

Depth of Field, Lighting, Shadows, and other challenges:

Some things which I needed to take into account in the project included lighting, shadows and depth of field. In this image I applied a blur to the subject because if it was completely sharp it would not make sense. This landscape shot had a focus point approximately at the hyper focal distance. This means things in the foreground have various levels of being out of focus. Still even with this applied this image appears just slightly unbelievable. To add to the realism I made a selection of just the foreground and pasted it in place on a new layer on top of the subject layer. Then I moved the subject so that it was sitting behind the foreground.

Step 7: Foreground depth of field

I realize that in order to fix all my shots I should have shot it in such a way as to eliminate shadows completely. Then the images where there was a shadow could be manipulated to reduce the contrast and exposure of the subject to match the background. Oh well, next time.

The final step that I could have taken to blend my images more convincingly would be to apply adjustments to the whole image. Here is what it would look like converted to Black and White with noise added.

Step 8: Black & White with Noise

What does it mean?

You might ask what does my project mean or what is it trying to convey. I guess it’s trying to convey that games transport you places. It could also be said to convey that people get sucked into gaming so deeply that they forget what is going on around them.

Jamie did the same project with a little bit different approach. She took multiple shots from the same angle and merged them together and then used layer masks to bring out the different locations of the subject. She also combined multiple images of the background at different exposures to create HDR (High Dynamic Range).  Below is my completed project followed by hers.

Jamie’s Project

Picture of the Week 12-29-09

Today I took our dog Pearl out for a hike in nearby Peters Canyon. Here in California we are having beautifully clear days even though it’s supposed to be winter outside. I got this weeks picture as I was walking back to the car. There’s something about wooden fences that I love. I also love HDR, especially fake HDR, which is what this image is. To clarify, fake HDR, is when you make an HDR image out of one single photograph instead of three different images. It may be cheating but at least I don’t have to use a tripod to make sure the three images align correctly.

Photo Info: Shot with the 5D Mark II. ISO 400 at F4 at 1/4000 of a second and the made into an HDR with Photomatix.

Picture of the Week 12-17-09

As I was walking my dog around the Tustin Sports Park I noticed a few of the trees which inspired this week’s photo. Although fall is almost over there were still a few trees that still retained their brilliant autumn colors. I chose to shoot in the late afternoon which provided me with very warm light. I also tried to do auto exposure bracketing on all my shots but it was actually very windy when I was photographing. The photo below is an HDR image and as you can see the trees in the background didn’t line up perfectly when I put the images through Photomatix. I still love how the oranges, yellows and reds blend together and it reminds me that my favorite season of the year is coming to a close.

For more non-HDR shots of the fall foliage check out the GALLERY.

Photo Info: Shot with the 5D Mark II and made up of three images. Image 1- ISO 800 at F8 and 1/500 of a second. Image 2- ISO 800 at F8 and 1/1000 of a second. Image 3- ISO 800 at F8 and 1/250 of a second.

Picture of the Week 10-26-2009

This week’s picture is yet another HDR image done in Photomatix. I shot this with a rented Canon 50D in Mission Hills during the Trail of Torment. While I was waiting at the finish line for the runners I noticed the beautiful foliage around me and the perfect golden lighting that the early morning sunrise was providing. I thought  it would make for a perfect HDR image. The great thing about the 50D is it’s ability to shoot in high speed continious mode. Because I almost never use a tripod my HDR shots usually don’t line up right when I put them into Photomatix because I always shoot hand held. With the 50D in high speed continious this was not a problem, the burst was so fast it was like the wind didn’t have any time to rustle through the leaves.

Photo Info: This photo was made up of three images and shot with the Canon 50D. Image #1- ISO 400, F7.1 at 1/640 of a second. Image #2- ISO 400, F7.1 at 1/1250 of a second. Image #3- ISO 400, F7.1 at 1/320 of a second.

Picture of the Week 9-24-2009

I am using an older picture that I’ve posted on my blog before to show how awesome Photomatix is. I’ve been taking a lot of old photos and making them into HDR images. I didn’t think I would get so obsessed with it, but it does make the images pop that much more. I’m actually going to show the three images that I used to create the final HDR image. I cheated a little bit by using only one image and saving it at different exposure instead of actually doing Auto Exposure Bracketing in my camera. But the result is still the same.

Photo Info: Photo underexposed by 1 full stop

 Photo Info: Photo perfectly exposed at ISO 100, F16, 1/100.

Photo Info: Photo overexposed by 1 full stop

Photo Info: Three above photos combined to make HDR image.

Picture of the Week 9-15-2009

Hey look what’s back, it’s picture of the week! I can’t believe it’s been more than a month since I posted one of these. Honestly my August was crazy and I just didn’t shoot that much. We recently purchased an Adventure Pass that allows us to get into many Orange County parks. One of our new favorite parks is Peters Canyon, located off of Jamboree Road and very close to our house. We have been hiking a lot lately which is a lot more fun when we bring Mimi the cattle dog along. Most of the time we hike after work which is when the sun starts to go down. The lighting during this time is beautiful and the past few days the clouds were being very photogenic. This week’s photo is a shot from one of our after work hikes. I’ve taken the liberty to put it through Photomatix and make it into an HDR. This photo was shot hand held which I don’t recommend when doing HDR because as you can see the objects don’t align perfectly but I still love the results!

Photo Info: Shot with the 5D Mark II. Comprised of three photos. Photo 1- ISO 500, F8 at 1/400 of a second. Photo 2- ISO 500, F8 at 1/800 of a second. Photo 3- ISO 500, F8 at 1/200 of a second. I also used a polarizing filter for a more dramatic effect.

Picture of the Week 7-30-2009

I chose this week’s picture from our archives but I chose to run it through Photomatix. This shot is one of my favorite photos that Bryan took when we visited Burnet, Texas in 2007. The shot was already very colorful but I thought if I made it an HDR photo I could make it pop even more. This is a single shot so in order to make it HDR I merged the original correctly exposed RAW file with RAW files of the same image where I overexposed and underexposed by 1 F stop. I know it sounds confusing but it’s actually very easy and look at the result. In order to grasp how awesome HDR is I put the before and after photos. Enjoy!

After

Before

Photo Info: Taken with the Canon Rebel XT at ISO 100 at F5.6 at 1/320 of a second.

Picture of the Week 7-24-2009

This week’s photo is a special treat. Bryan and I went to Crystal Cove this past weekend to take some sunset shots and to try out our new polarizing filter. We set up the tripod high up on the bluffs and shot away. Bryan decided to use the Auto Exposure Bracketing setting on our camera so he could do HDR images. We have only recently dabbled in HDR but we decided to go ahead and purchase Photomatix Pro so we could really experiment. If you don’t know, HDR (high dynamic range) is where you take multiple exposures of one image and merge them into one. Taking the best parts of all exposures to make one “super exposure”. Okay I just made up “super exposure” but seriously the photos look awesome. Below is a photo Bryan took and made into an HDR image. What a sunset!

We ended up making a bunch of these HDR images and put them up in the GALLERY. Check them out!

Photo Info: Taken with the 5D Mark II. 1st Exposure- ISO 250 at F8 and 1/640 of a second. 2nd Exposure- ISO 250 at F8 and 1/1600 of a second. 3rd Exposure- ISO 250 at F8 and 1/250 of a second.

Picture of the Week 7-14-2009

I’ve been really busy the past few weeks with moving so I haven’t been able to go out and photograph as much as I would like. So for this week’s photo I had to go back in the archives. This photo was taken way back in February 2006 when we used to live in Pomona. We used to live on the third floor with a balcony that overlooked Holt Blvd. Even back then I seemed to have a fascination with shooting sunsets. I’m sure it’s not good for me to be shooting directly into the sun but how else would I have gotten this shot? I believe at the time this sunset was made even more spectacular by the fact that a fire was producing a huge smoke cloud. Photography Hint: Sunsets are made better by smoke from wildfires. Anyway, enjoy this weeks photo and hopefully next week I’ll have something brand new.

Photo Info: Shot with the Canon Rebel XT at ISO 400, F16 and 1/500 of a second.

Picture of the Week 7-1-2009

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