A few weeks back I uploaded new pics of my layout…but this one, I photoshopped a backdrop into one of the pics. It is not perfect as the backdrop pic is not the right resolution…I want to take a pic with my camera and do this again… but I think it still blends nice with my desert scene here. I wanted to share…
enjoy!
Looks great![tup]
I have never Photoshopped before. The only thing I could think you might want to improve IMO is to lighten the foreground and the train. It will make the background almost look seamless and more natural.
Your image is very nice and interesting. If you don’t mind some feedback, I think it would benefit greatly if you were to use a free image stacking software such as Combine ZP. You have to focus on successively deeper points in the same field, no camera angle shift if you can help it, or greatly minimize it, and then you let the software process at least six different images for a field like this one.
Your lead engine and the tracks ahead of it are clearly needing some sharpening, and the only way to do that is to actually focus on them. Combine ZP would take that image and combine it with all the others you had taken, and then it yields one image with a fuzzy edge that you will have to crop. The rest, amazingly, will be very sharp and you’ll get the background and your foreground equal billing and credit. They’re both great, by the way, so get the middle chunk tack sharp and you’ll have a stunning photo.
Crandell
Hi I just wanted to say that this is a great picture. not being that computer savvy all that I can do is look on in AHH!!!
WOnderful piucture. Crandell knows what he;s doing, but what I really see is how you trimmed out the trees. Track can be blurry, butt there’s something about the way they look on the edges that looks more collage-y to me.
Nice Job with the backdrop.
Now that you have the pic ready, it’s always fun to try different backdrops.
Adjusting the exposure a little will help with the lighting some.
I actually do professional model photography on the side so I understand exposure and depth of field and all that…I rushed this pic which was not perfect and the photoshopping, also not perfect lol. When I took this, I was focused on the car as I I really liked the car hahah. I had a lot of fstop that I could stop down to to get the locos in focus as well. but I didnt. I want to totally redo all of the shots I posted probably in the next few weeks and really do it right. If I remember right, I was at about F22, 1/125s (what my strobes sync to) with a 50mm macro and I use some White lighting strobes that I use for my human photography… with the strobes, I can get as much light as I need to allow me to control the depth of field by stopping down as far as needed …I could of gone all the way to F32, and focus on the locos instead of the car, and then everything would of been perfect.
I believe the version of photoshop I have does have a photostacking module in it… I know what Crandal is saying…I have done his technique for sunset pics…controlling the exposure on the sunset, then other exposures for the foreground, and stacking them. You can also do it with layers in photogshop.
When I posted this…I was really just trying to do a proof of concept to see…does my desert scene even look like the real desert…hmmm I dont know, lets put a pic of the desert behind it and see…
I also think I should shoot it with a green or some other odd color backdrop…then key off the green to better mask the trees and backdrop. photoshop lets you select a like color then mask anything you want opposite of that color. In this pic…I just tossed that desert background in as a layer and tried to manually do it so that is why it looks a bit funky behind the trees.
I appreciate all of the feedback. Especially on what you think should be in focus… I think I do have a similar shot where the loco