# NAPP Photoshop User May/Jun "Altered States" composite



## ClickCardo (Jun 19, 2014)

I have never done a composite before unless you count exposure blending landscapes.  However, the "Altered States" composite in the May/June issue of NAPP Photoshop User mag has really inspired me to see if I can do something like that for a friend.  It's a composite of a baseball player in his batting stance, in a stormy field with his bat turning into a tornado.

It starts with a pic of a baseball player on a solid black background with front facing camera and head/shoulders facing to the right.  It appears lighted from the sky.  I assume the background is for it to be easy to select/cut only the player out.  The exposure seems to somewhat dark except on top/left.  I assume that is so it will blend well with the storm background pics it will be merged with.

I'd like to try something similar, but have much less photography/photoshop experience so I'm hoping I can find some tips / links here.

I'm thinking of an end result as follows.  The person is standing in a field body facing the camera with the head pointed left.  The left arm is raised straight at about a 65 degree angle pointing left with the fist clenched except the 1st fing pointing skyward.  The immediate area will be open grass, but probably there will be trees in the not too distant background.  There should be a dark, perhaps stormy, but no rain sky.  A lightning bolt will come from the sky ending at the outstretched finger.

My resources are a little limited.  I have no studio and will have to shoot outside a house painted bright solid white.  I have no studio/outdoor lighting or stands.  I do have a speedlight.  I plan on shooting the person with the house for background to ease the selection / cut out part.  The person I must use has a restricted schedule and the shoot must be setup in advance.  I plan on getting the other pics from a micro-stock agency so should have flexibility there.  I'll use a tripod,  FF camera and have 16-35, 24-120, 70-200 F/4 and 85 f/1.8 lenses.  

I have a number of questions.

Should I shoot when it's sunny to have the most exposure to edit with?  Perhaps I should shoot when it's cloudy if not a little dark to blend in well with what will be the other photos?  I'll have to schedule a day or more in advance so I don't think I want to shoot just before a storm and also for safety reasons.  What should I be considering lighting wise for the person photo?

How can I best prepare weather-wise since I have to schedule a set time a day or more in advance?

Shooting in the backyard against the house I only have about 35 yards to work with.  I can probably choose the other photos to give me anywhere from 15' to 200 yards to where I imagine the photo being taken from.  What should I consider regarding distance and lens focal length?

I'll need a fast enough speed to prevent model motion blur and small enough aperture to ensure believable composite sharpness.  What should my exposure considerations for my idea be?

I'll report back what I learn from my endeavors.

Thanks.


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## Victoria Bampton (Jun 20, 2014)

Yes, you're right, they put him on a plain background to make him easy to cut out.  

They've selected the lighting that would look natural in the finished photo - for example, if you shot a photo on a bright sunny contrasty day and then tried to put it on a background shot on a flat cloudy day, it would look fake.  Same goes for the direction the light is coming from - if it's coming from the left on one photo and the right on the other, it'll look fake.


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## ClickCardo (Jun 20, 2014)

Victoria

Thanks for the 2 quick tips.  I have a much better idea of the lighting I'll need.  Even better is getting a likely idea of some weather lighting condition I might be able to photograph my subject in then selecting the backgound composite that would match.

Rchard


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