I think you can use an interesting sunset/sunrise photo as the basis for a dramatic composite. It is also one of the easiest ways to create a composite because for the most part you'll be dealing with silhouettes and avoid the usual blending of photos. I aim for something real but there is plenty of opportunity for surreal also. This could be a good way for beginners to get into creating composites. Here is my post to start it off.
I made a mask of the bird > removed all of the color > combined it with a favorite sunset photo ... that's all!
Very nice work Howard. Maybe this will inspire others to give it a try. The end result is very rewarding.
Cwilson341 wrote:
Very nice work Howard. Maybe this will inspire others to give it a try. The end result is very rewarding.
Thank you. Inspire others ... that's the idea.
"How'd I end up in ALASKA?!"
artBob wrote:
"How'd I end up in ALASKA?!"
Do you have a composite that uses a Sunrise/Sunset photo? I would like to show beginners just how easy it can be to get a fairly dramatic image by using a sunrise or sunset photo as the background along with silhouettes.
Thank you for posting this topic. I know a lot of beginners think of composites as difficult to do and they can be but you can also do smaller less complicated composites that can transform a typical sunrise/sunset into one with a story. I just happened to be working on a composite photo yesterday like you described. I didn't totally black out the eagle because of the angel he is flying. I thought the white head would be visible since he was not directly in front of the sun and at that angle. He is not that big in the photo but I thought anything larger would not work with the perspective and composition of the photo.
My original reason for adding the bird was more about working on my story telling rather than my composite skills. I recently read several articles on the elements of story telling in photography and like your idea with the sunsets, it doesn't have to be complicated to make your photo more interesting and compelling.
kenievans wrote:
Thank you for posting this topic. I know a lot of beginners think of composites as difficult to do and they can be but you can also do smaller less complicated composites that can transform a typical sunrise/sunset into one with a story. I just happened to be working on a composite photo yesterday like you described. I didn't totally black out the eagle because of the angel he is flying. I thought the white head would be visible since he was not directly in front of the sun and at that angle. He is not that big in the photo but I thought anything larger would not work with the perspective and composition of the photo.
My original reason for adding the bird was more about working on my story telling rather than my composite skills. I recently read several articles on the elements of story telling in photography and like your idea with the sunsets, it doesn't have to be complicated to make your photo more interesting and compelling.
Thank you for posting this topic. I know a lot of... (
show quote)
The addition of the bird definitely adds interest to the scene.
A composite with a pelican against a fire-sky sun. Rim Fire, Tuolumne County, CA.
kenievans wrote:
Thank you for posting this topic. I know a lot of beginners think of composites as difficult to do and they can be but you can also do smaller less complicated composites that can transform a typical sunrise/sunset into one with a story. I just happened to be working on a composite photo yesterday like you described. I didn't totally black out the eagle because of the angel he is flying. I thought the white head would be visible since he was not directly in front of the sun and at that angle. He is not that big in the photo but I thought anything larger would not work with the perspective and composition of the photo.
My original reason for adding the bird was more about working on my story telling rather than my composite skills. I recently read several articles on the elements of story telling in photography and like your idea with the sunsets, it doesn't have to be complicated to make your photo more interesting and compelling.
Thank you for posting this topic. I know a lot of... (
show quote)
Keni, I really like this. Was the dock part of the original. I'm thinking it must be. The eagle is a nice touch and adds life to the scene.
via the lens wrote:
A composite with a pelican against a fire-sky sun. Rim Fire, Tuolumne County, CA.
Really nice. I like that you kept some of the details of the pelican.
Cwilson341 wrote:
Keni, I really like this. Was the dock part of the original. I'm thinking it must be. The eagle is a nice touch and adds life to the scene.
Thank you Carol. Everything in the photo is part of the original except for the eagle. It is actually a public boat launch and I managed to even beat the fisherman to the site that morning.
joer
Loc: Colorado/Illinois
via the lens wrote:
A composite with a pelican against a fire-sky sun. Rim Fire, Tuolumne County, CA.
The pelican makes the image.
Howard5252 wrote:
Do you have a composite that uses a Sunrise/Sunset photo? I would like to show beginners just how easy it can be to get a fairly dramatic image by using a sunrise or sunset photo as the background along with silhouettes.
Yes, this is a composite of a sunset in Juneau, Alaska and a photo of a black panther. I adjusted the tones on the panther to get it to match the lighting. Rather than use the usual silhouette in the sky, I was trying for something different.
And, also liking pelicans, I put them as some other probables into the scene.
Here's another one. For this, the source image for the pelican was taken at midday. It was an overexposed shot with the blue sky coming out as white and the pelican very dark. I magnified that by editing with a curves layer that set the white point from a selection in the sky and black point from a selection on the pelican. Then, I cropped the pelican picture to a small rectangle. This image was added to the sunset background image using a multiply blend mode (no need to select the pelican in the image since multiply eliminated the white portion).
rfcoakley wrote:
Here's another one. For this, the source image for the pelican was taken at midday.
Very nice. I would hold on to the pelican and revisit this composite when you have a few different pelicans. I think individual birds would definitely be worth the extra work.
If you want to reply, then
register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.