My First Collage Using a morguefile.com Background

[George Tyndall]

George, have you checked my three-part tutorial on photo faking? They cover many of these tricks in a very similar situation.
http://muvipix.com/products.php?searchp ... =0&btn.y=0

Please direct me to that, Steve.

[Bob]

[whisper] Psst... The link is embedded in the post. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that you overlooked it... [/whisper]

I see you're having problems with the shadow. Think of Peter Pan. Remember how his shadow became detached and flew around the room without him until Wendy sewed it back onto the bottom of his feet. Your shadows are detached and flying around. You need to sew the shadow back onto the bottom of her foot. Also, shadows are cast onto surfaces. In this case, that would be the ground. So, rotate the shadow so that it lies on the ground (look at the direction of the other shadows and align it) and attach it to the bottom of the foot. Steve's third tut shows one way to do it.

Hang in there, George. The first one is usually the hardest. You'll do fine.

[George Tyndall]

[whisper] Psst... The link is embedded in the post. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that you overlooked it... [/whisper]

Ahem!

Well, when I saw the word "search" in the link--this is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth --I incorrectly assumed that it would merely merely take me to the search engine, so I never clicked on it.





Edit: Added the Pray smilie (the red face was already the original post icon).

[George Tyndall]

You need to sew the shadow back onto the bottom of her foot. Also, shadows are cast onto surfaces. In this case, that would be the ground. So, rotate the shadow so that it lies on the ground (look at the direction of the other shadows and align it) and attach it to the bottom of the foot. Steve's third tut shows one way to do it.

Your wish is my command, Bob.

Steve, thanks very much for providing the easiest and most logical tut I've seen yet with regard to how to do create the shadow.

Bob

Steve

Young Woman on Country Road_edited-10 (Medium).jpg

Does the model still look "cut out and pasted" despite the shadow?

isn't the fundamental problem still that the sunlight is coming from photo-right, while the model's face is lit mostly from photo-left? Or, would the less-sophisticated viewer imagine that the left elbow is creating a shadow on the left cheek?

[Bob]

Looking at the montages you've been making, You've been making excellant progress, George. I like the backgrounds you've been creating very much, too.

You're still having some problem with the shadow though. You're on the right track, but you need to rotate the shadow more horizontally. Look at the image. The sun is coming from the right and casting the shadow to the left. Look at the shadows of the grass on the road. Do you see the direction they are pointing? Your shadow should match.

I think an example would help. Here's a quick one to get you started. The shadow should probably be tweaked some more, I mainly wanted you to get an idea of the relative orientation and position.

shadow.jpg

[George Tyndall]

but you need to rotate the shadow more horizontally.

Thanks for pointing out what should have been obvious.

Luckily, Steve's method allows one to adjust the shadow, to use his and Chuck's words, "in a snap." I could make the shadow even more horizontal, but that would make the space between her arm and torso disappear. Do it anyway?

Young Woman Country Road_edited-12 (Medium).jpg

[Bob]

Do it anyway?

Yes!

Shadows point in the opposite direction of the light source. If the shadow is not reasonably in alignment with the other shadows in the scene, it implies that the model was lit with a different light source. Since the implied light source is the sun, the eye will pick that up and it will not look right.

Keep in mind also that the shape you distorted to create the shadow shape is a front view and the actual shadow cast is, in this instance, a side view. Most likely, the space between her arm and torso would not be visable from the side. Same with the bent knee. It won't hurt for them to disappear or even be erased.

[Jayell]

In the last photo, George, the shadow is so sharp and distinct it draws my eye away from the model. the shadow needs to be there, but it should be blurred and not competing with the center of attraction