changing backgrounds

[Nomadr]

i am not very good at changing backgrounds with PS, i tend to darken to cover up mistakes (like in this pic)

however this next try wasnt too bad but it looks unrealistic, maybe a shadow would improve, any ideas ? cheers martyn

[jiro]

Shadows had to work only on the feet area. You wouldn't want to include any shadows on the background to make the impression that the background is really farther than the subject. I think you did good on your 2nd image. However, the blue oblong does not fade gradually to black. That gives away the impression that it was superimposed and not caused by a backlit background. To work around this situation, make a blue oblong on a separate layer. Apply about 10% of gaussian blur to it. THEN... continue repeating the application of 10% blur to this layer by pressing CTRL+F (this activates the last filter command that you applied). Continue pressing CTRL+F until such time that you would notice a very fine gradation of blur from blue to black. You would not see any banding issue since the continuous application of the blur filter is blurring it all layer by layer. Try it, you'll like it. You did lighted the ballet dancer nicely, Martyn. Nice work!

[Nomadr]

thanks for that tip Jiro, with this one i used radial blur on the BG , originally the dancer was on a white BG, i used quick selection tool and put the cutout on a new layer, there is a white line around her, maybe this is due to 5 pixel feather ?cheers martyn

[jiro]

Martyn, this is an example of the procedure I recommended to you.

[jiro]

thanks for that tip Jiro, with this one i used radial blur on the BG , originally the dancer was on a white BG, i used quick selection tool and put the cutout on a new layer, there is a white line around her, maybe this is due to 5 pixel feather ?cheers martyn

Even if you did not use any feathering, the subsequent application of a 5 - 10% blur on the oblong background will fade it nicely like a soft gradation. With the sample I gave you, I applied about 8X of blurring (by pressing CTRL+F). As you can see there are still some minor banding issues. If you notice this just continue to apply the 10% blur and it will fade better. I just gave you a simple example. Hope this helps.

[Nomadr]

thanks that looks a lot better (although there is a bit of banding), it was lit by flash eitherside,1 brolly,1 softbox,cheers martyn ps i will add an original pic,

[jiro]

Yup, that's why you can still continue to apply some more blurring the background to totally eliminate the banding. I need to show you the transition so you can judge for yourself if the gradation is already OK or you still have to blur it. I was thinking of applying a burgundy red color on the oblong to compliment her skin tone and the dress. Since you used a light blue color, I decided to stick to it.

[Nomadr]

ah i understand now, just keep blurring until banding disappears,heres original shot,cheers martyn

[jiro]

Wow! No wonder she was nicely lit, this was a studio shot! I think some professional photographers use a white (or colored) paper roll as a background to eliminate the creases on the floor area. I have no idea if they are more expensive but on some books that I am reading that is what they normally use on these kinds of photography. I'd probably preserve the original color of her violet dress. It looks more 'elegant' for me. Nice work, Martyn.

[revi]

Looking at the creases in the last shot, I'm not sure paper would have resisted, or looked better if it did:
the diagonal creases seem to be caused by the dancer turning on her foot (perhaps even without realising she did it)

[jiro]

Martyn, hope you don't mind. Just playing with some idea on the background. Here she is dancing on top of a plexiglass with a red concrete background.

[Nomadr]

thanks jiro yes that looks even better, i agree with revi, the dancer didnt even realise she had turned slightly (hence the missing big toe hidden underneath the sheet, the shoot was in a dance studio, i had wires and stuff everywhere and was petrified someone would trip,
i bought the 20 foot by 10 foot sheet over the internet, it was supposed to be muslin but its just like something you would have on your bed,
twirling was impossible (even with a large card on the floor it just wound the sheet up). the good thing was i learned from it,
i have taken dancers on paper and their shoes ripped holes in it, that studio also had a white thick plastic sort of BG that he used for hi key shots which would work, cheers martyn

[jiro]

Yeah, I think the white thick plastic roll would be better to use on this kind of shot. I just don't know what they call it.

[John B Walker]

A very informative thread thank you.

Out of interest, what method did you use to isolate the dancer?

John

[Nomadr]

hi John not sure what Jiro used but i used the quick selection tool in PS, basically i added a new layer from original ,cut out the dancer and put her on a new layer, then on the old layer i painted it all black, and added an oblong ball,cheers martyn

[Shadowman]

Martyn, hope you don't mind. Just playing with some idea on the background. Here she is dancing on top of a plexiglass with a red concrete background.

The reflection really adds to the image.

[Sonic4Spuds]

The one suggestion I could make is to clone a new tow onto the subject. The problem doesn't bother the eye until the reflective floor is added. If you are looking for a realistic look you could try adding a slight reflection of the concrete.

-Sonic

[foresaa]

A bit like this?

The reflection really adds to the image.

[Sonic4Spuds]

That reflection looks good

-Sonic