Learning Composite: Just starting to get more involved in compositing. Had a problem with this image in getting a good selection of the tree to generate the tree's shadow. Used the...

russjc001 Loc: South Carolina

Just starting to get more involved in compositing. Had a problem with this image in getting a good selection of the tree to generate the tree's shadow. Used the lasso tool to outline the tree then used the refine edge tool. However, still had some blue sky attached to the edges. The moon was just a copy and paste. Then applied various adjustments to make the mid- day shot into a nighttime shot. Will do it over this weekend.

(Download)

oldtigger Loc: Roanoke Virginia-USA

looking good

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

A fun creation! I like the bold colors.

Many folks much more proficient than I, so I'll just mention that by using layers, you can erase bits of unwanted copy/paste items, as well as change opacity, saturation and so forth. Great adventures await!

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Linda is a Layer Evangelist. Me? I am a Crop Evangelist. Something bothered me about this photo.. yep love the brash color and art composition... but aaah... yes I am more comfortable with the bottom cropped up to the major portion of the root wad. Give the tree a stable base of Flotsam and Jetsam not the spindly shadows and thin stuff. What do you think abut this approach?

Bill Gordon

I immediately felt that the shadow was too short given the moon's position in the sky. Anyone else get that sense?

oldtigger Loc: Roanoke Virginia-USA

The light sources for the moon, horizon, and tree don't agree.
The source of light for the moon would wipe out the tree shadow
which is the wrong angle to have been caused by the moon anyway.
Wonderful colors and skilled work but flawed assembly of the image.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

This is very striking. I know it's not reality, but sometimes reality isn't what we want. It's a very pleasing image as is.

magnetoman Loc: Purbeck, Dorset, UK

You might find the magic wand tool easier to use for something with such a good outline and contrast. You can still use refine edge and simply add or subtract (subtract using alt or option key) - watch for the curser change from + to - as you hit alt. Then use the sliders for a touch of feather, contrast etc to taste. Have fun!

russjc001 Loc: South Carolina

oldtigger wrote:

The light sources for the moon, horizon, and tree don't agree.
The source of light for the moon would wipe out the tree shadow
which is the wrong angle to have been caused by the moon anyway.
Wonderful colors and skilled work but flawed assembly of the image.

Hmmm, I used the moon as the light source. What I didn't do is include the moon reflection in the water and foreground. The sun would be well down leaving the reflective light off the moon. Yes, agree the shadow from the moon might be off a bit. I did a redo the other day to fix the blue edge line on the shadow and add reflective light. Still needs work and I have much to learn.

(Download)

russjc001 Loc: South Carolina

magnetoman wrote:

You might find the magic wand tool easier to use for something with such a good outline and contrast. You can still use refine edge and simply add or subtract (subtract using alt or option key) - watch for the curser change from + to - as you hit alt. Then use the sliders for a touch of feather, contrast etc to taste. Have fun!

Yes, on my re- edit attempt, I did use the magic wand tool then went to the select and mask to use the refine tool to get a better selection of the tree for the shadow. Thanks!

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

russjc001 wrote:

Hmmm, I used the moon as the light source. What I didn't do is include the moon reflection in the water and foreground. The sun would be well down leaving the reflective light off the moon. Yes, agree the shadow from the moon might be off a bit. I did a redo the other day to fix the blue edge line on the shadow and add reflective light. Still needs work and I have much to learn.

Its an enviable image for sure and a slight change in prospective or cloning to remove the branch on the moon would make it perfect.

Edit: I didn't see the other version. You already did it. My error but at least we think alike.

russjc001 Loc: South Carolina

dpullum wrote:

Linda is a Layer Evangelist. Me? I am a Crop Evangelist. Something bothered me about this photo.. yep love the brash color and art composition... but aaah... yes I am more comfortable with the bottom cropped up to the major portion of the root wad. Give the tree a stable base of Flotsam and Jetsam not the spindly shadows and thin stuff. What do you think abut this approach?

Actually I thought about cropping or trying to take some of the root elements out to make it cleaner but I kind of liked the "mess and entanglement" in the foreground. Might play with it though to see for comparison.

Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)

The second attempt is a definite improvement; I'm glad you fixed up the shadows. The moon position is also an improvement. I'm guessing that the lighter sand near the water's edge occurred when you attempted to add moonlight to the water. I think the first image is better for that sand. If you darken (burn it in) the sand again, the moonlight on the water will improve. I am looking forward to seeing some more tweaking.

russjc001 Loc: South Carolina

Howard5252 wrote:

The second attempt is a definite improvement; I'm glad you fixed up the shadows. The moon position is also an improvement. I'm guessing that the lighter sand near the water's edge occurred when you attempted to add moonlight to the water. I think the first image is better for that sand. If you darken (burn it in) the sand again, the moonlight on the water will improve. I am looking forward to seeing some more tweaking.

Thanks for the suggestions! I was not sure of the moon reflections and still wanted some to extend to the sand as a full bright moon would illuminate some of it I would think. But the colors were off to me (too yellow maybe). I did another edit. Let me know what you all think. Great help!

(Download)

russjc001 Loc: South Carolina

Seems that editing may never stop on this one. Looking at my last changes, the overall lighting was off (too dim in my opinion) plus the moon needed to be lightened a bit from the darker yellow.

(Download)