Virtual Billboards. Making Composites "Larger than Life!"

Hey Everyone. I'm back with another blog post today after having Harry Kerker guest blog the last couple of times. I'm going to be sharing a great way to showcase your clients and make them... as the today's title says, "Larger Than Life".  As usual, StudioMagic makes things real simple.

So, what comes to mind when we think of an impactful way to make an important visual announcement that all can see from near and far? A hint would be: "Will You Marry Me?" That's right. I'm thinking BillBoards! What better way to make your client, family member or friend the "Star of the Show" than to plaster them all over a billboard? Right? The good news is that you don't have to rent one, thanks to StudioMagic's PhotoBoards. Let's take a look at how simple it is to get someone you know up on their very own billboard.







Above you see a finished PhotoBoard and the first unusual but totally cool thing you'll notice is that
the subjects are so (here it comes again) "Larger Than Life" that the edges of the billboard can't contain them. Let's see how we can produce this with the help of StudioMagic I and we'll even take it a bit further to knock it out of the park with a little "one-click" accent from StudioMagic II. Let's go!

To start, we need to cut out our subjects from the original photo. Just a note that a simple empty background is best.  For that we'll go to StudioMagic I's CutOut feature. I'll open it up and using my "quick selection" tool in Photoshop, make a few swipes at the background so it looks something like this:

Once I've got all of the background selected, and judging by all the detail the edges have due to the hair, I'm going to click the "Detailed CutOut" button and make sure the "ProMask" button is checked. What that'll do is give us a mask when it's all said and done so we can have the luxury of tweaking the edges after the fact if we need too. Once we click "Detailed Cutout", the "Refine Edge" dialogue box appears. It may look complicated but StudioMagic 1 chooses the best settings for you to get you going...

...and this is what we get when we click "OK". If we like the quality of our mask, then we can right-click on our layer mask to apply the effects of the mask.  But hold off if it still needs a tweak here or there. Simply paint on the mask with white to reveal more of the photo, or less by painting with black. Then right-click on the mask and choose "Apply Layer Mask." The mask then goes "bye-bye" since its work is now done.

Note the transparent background of the subject layer when we chose "Apply Layer Mask".

Now with the layer of our subjects selected, let's copy the contents of that layer so we can paste it into the PhotoBoard image by going up the the "Edit" menu then down to "Copy". I prefer keyboard shortcuts so I use "control (pc) / command (mac) along with the "C" key but here's the menu:

Back in our PhotoBoard image, let's command/control click on the "Paste Outside" layer's mask. This will select the area defined by the mask and lets us see the space our models will occupy once pasted back in. Note the marching ants surrounding that space:

To paste the copied image on the billboard we do the following:

And voila! Into the PhotoBoard they go with their very own layer mask to prevent them from poking out the bottom of the billboard! See? Right there on "Layer 1". You can now resize using the transform tool (command/control "T") and/or move them with your move tool to get them sitting in the board just right.

Now as I mentioned early on, I said we'd use StudioMagic II at the very end to give this image a little something extra. So let's pop it open and spice things up just a bit. As I look at this scene, I'm thinking "night time" and what comes to mind?... the moon! So let's do it. Let's head down to the "MoonClock" section under the "Compositor" dropdown menu. I'll click "choose preset" and let's feast our eyes on all the various moon phases. Once I choose one, I click "create" and there it is! All that's left to do is resize by moving the "Resize" slider and "update" or if you prefer, with the transform tool (command/control "T") and drag the corner handle while holding the "Shift" key to keep the proportions correct. When done, hit "Enter/Return" and you've sealed the deal. We could even pop open the "Starry Night" dropdown and sprinkle stars all over the night sky with a single click but you get the idea. Let the image tell you what it needs and know that StudioMagic delivers!

Easy. I told you! And here's our final image:

But is doesn't end there, folks. Remember that with the aid of SM I & II you can really take these images to a whole new place by applying your imagination. Think atmosphere as in sun, clouds, fog, painting with light. That and so much more awaits you. Oh, and I forgot to point out that yes, there is a shadow layer behind our subjects. As if extending beyond the billboard to make them pop out isn't enough, you could take advantage of the shadow, courtesy of StudioMagic I to make your models really jump out from the background even more.

So there you have it. StudioMagic PhotoBoards. Tons of different scenes in this package and a bunch of new ways to make some cool composites. Get creative. You could mix and match elements from the different scenes to create your own. So explore, create and most of all... Happy compositing!

To See tutorials on PhotoBoards, click here.

Guest Blogger: Harry Kerker - "Location Shoots On Your Desktop"

Hello LayerCake/StudioMagic community!

Peter again with another StudioMagic blog. As you've noticed, we've changed the name of this blog to "Clicks, Tips & Compositing Tricks". We feel that the new name better encompasses what we set out to share here. And speaking of sharing, Harry Kerker, President of LayerCake/StudioMagic is back again this time talking to us about StudioMagic's Picture Windows. Prepare for new possibilities for your creations. Once again, here's Harry.

Location shoots on your desktop

Remember location shoots? I do so maybe that dates me, but it wasn’t so long ago that we were dragging a van full of lights and assistants to some ungodly location at 5 am. Also the cost involved became prohibitive, few clients wanted to spend the extra money asking if maybe it could be done in a studio… which it couldn’t.  Compositing in Photoshop changed all that. Now you can do that location work from the comfort of your computer desk and have a sandwich at the same time. 

In this article we’ll discuss creating virtual window studios. Window portraits have always been popular, but depending where you live you’re limited to what’s in the neighborhood. Many clients, especially high school seniors, are always looking for something different - “Put me in the Old West!”, “Put me in something edgy” - and brides may want something more sophisticated… hopefully. 

Overview

If you have a list of things in your head to look for like me, shooting cool windows is second nature. 
I snap them off on all my trips from San Francisco to San Gimignano. 

I try to shoot windows as straight on as I can, otherwise you may limit the subject you can place in it because of an odd angle.

Now you have to start thinking layers. Remember understanding layers is the key to compositing. 
I named the company LayerCake because that’s what compositing is, making a cake of image layers. If you think of your image in a three-dimensional sense, and turned it sideways, it would be a layer cake. Once you visualize this, the whole process is much easier to understand.

Building your own PictureWindows

Start by creating a new layer for your window image. Select it, cut it and paste it on a new layer of its own. Fill the blank background layer behind it with black, you can always change it later if you want. Select your lasso tool and change the feathering to “0” so it’s a hard edge. You want to remove the glass from each windowpane. Click with your lasso in a corner and click around all four sides until fully selected and hit delete. You’ll now see the black background we created showing through where the windowpane once was. Continue removing the glass until all panes are removed and save this new file as a PSD. 

Look through your portraits for subjects that you can at least see to their waistline. Now you probably have a strategy for doing the extracting from the original background, and there are many applications on the market for masking out people that tout ease of use, but few live up to that promise. In all honesty, Photoshop is still the best tool for masking, however if you’re not an experienced user it can seem complicated. 

The CutOut tool in StudioMagic 1was created to simplify Photoshop’s refine edge, by defaulting all the settings to those recommended to us by a panel of industry experts. It also gives you simple options like Auto CutOut for hard-edged objects and Detailed CutOut for things like flying hair on your model. 

Once your subject is removed you can now drag the layer into your window composite. It’s a good idea to have the layer pallet open so you can see all your layers. Now lets think layer cake. Select the layer with the window on it, then drag your subject from the other image on to the window composite. If you selected the right layer in the window composite, your subject should be inside the window with the black background behind. If not, look at your layers pallet and slide the subject between the window and the background and voilà.

If your subject looks a little strange, ask yourself these questions. Is he or she photographed at the same angle as the window? Is the direction of the light on the subject coming from the same direction as outside the window? Is the subject sized correctly relative to the window? 

If the subject’s angle is incorrect, find a different outtake, a different window or reshoot the subject angle to match the window. If the direction of the light is incorrect, flip the subject direction in transform and use your dodge and burn tools to accentuate the highlights and shadows, which will fool the eye. StudioMagic 1 has a cool LightBrush tool which makes this easy, but you want to be sure that the layer mask it creates is behind the window and in front of the subject in your layer structure, otherwise you’ll have dark over the entire image. You just want the Light Brush Tool layer over the model. Relative size is a bit easier; try to determine the size of one pane of glass. An adult’s head is 8” to 10” high depending on age and gender. Size the subject’s head relative to windowpane size and it should now start looking more realistic size wise.

Now if you don’t like the black background behind your model, change it using your bucket tool and pour in a new color or shoot a wallpapered wall to slip behind your subject. Remember this new wall should always be darker than the subject since it’s farther away from the window. If you want to cast a shadow on it, use the excellent ShadowCaster tool in StudioMagic 1, place a “Wall Back“ shadow on your subject and play with the angle slider until it looks correct. 

Lastly, every window needs glass. Make a new layer behind the window and in front of the subject. Fill the new layer with white. Add a layer mask to the new layer by clicking on the small icon that looks like a Japanese flag at the bottom of the layers pallet. You’ll see that a mask has been added to the right of the layer. Select the mask and reduce the opacity to about 20%. Now select your brush tool and make soft brush strokes at a 45 degree angle across the glass so you can see the subject’s face clearly. Repeat it in different areas of the glass. Now play with the opacity so you can see your work. If you want to paint glass back in, hit the X key on your keyboard and it’ll reverse the mask brush to paint back in. When you get it just right, play with the opacity until it looks like a reflection across the glass. Try making masks with gray and black as well, all do different things. 

There’s great satisfaction making your own virtual windows, but you can get a great collection of PictureWindows right in our store, already composited with lots of fun layer options in summer and winter scenes,  ready to drop your subjects into. 

Add StudioMagic 1 & 2 and you have a virtual window-making machine!

To see tutorials on PictureWindows, click here. 

Harry Kerker

President LayerCake StudioMagic

Guest Blogger: Harry Kerker - "Always Have Beautiful Skies"

Hello LayerCake StudioMagic community! It's been a while since my last blog and I still intend to hit the next point in the realistic composition series: Color and Saturation. But before we resume that journey, today we have a guest blogger. Harry Kerker, president of LayerCake StudioMagic is going to be sharing how to make the skies in our composites always looks great. So without further ado, here's Harry...

Always have beautiful skies

We work so hard at perfecting our photos, but many times the most important part gets overlooked. Some think skies are secondary to the photo’s story, but a poor sky can detract from the overall impact of a photo particularly in print competitions. Sky replacement used to be time-consuming and tedious even for advanced Photoshop users. 

There are many applications on the market for masking out skies that tout ease of use, but few live up to that promise. In all honesty, Photoshop is still the best tool for masking, however if you’re not an experienced user it can seem complicated. 

The CutOut tool in StudioMagic 1 was created to simplify Photoshop’s refine edge, by defaulting all the settings to those recommended to us by a panel of industry experts. It also gives you simple options like Auto CutOut for hard-edged objects and Detailed CutOut for things like trees. Once the sky removal has been completed, the new CutOut image with the sky removed is automatically placed on a simple gray layer which makes it easy to see. Drag the sky of your choice behind the landscape layer you just removed the old sky from. The original image you started with is always saved behind the gray layer as the background. I’d save this PSD as a master in case you decide you’d like to go back and try a different sky at a later date. Do a “save as” and save the new version with a new file name. To see tutorials on sky replacement, click here. https://vimeo.com/album/3249689

Tips for better replacements

A few clouds may be just what the doctor ordered!

Not all skies need full replacements; they may just need a little help. Let’s say you captured a brilliant blue sky, but it’s cloudless and boring. StudioMagic 2’s Compositor tool includes Cloud Creator. Cloud Creator gives you access to a library of masked clouds that with a click can be automatically placed into your photo, resized, and adjusted for intensity. The cloud is placed with an automatic mask so you can brush away what you don’t need. 

    StudioMagic 2’s Cloud Creator is a quick and easy way to put life in an ordinary blue sky. 

The trick is to place a few clouds from the library at different sizes to give you depth and perspective. You can also transform the clouds by flipping them with the flip horizontal selection tool, and then they can be overlapped and erased from the mask to build a realistic looking grouping.  If your sky is approaching sunset yellow and red, use the Color Match tool under LightingEffex to adjust the cloud’s color to match the overall sky. 

LayerCake has stand-alone collections of drag & drop clouds and cloudbanks as well, but for ease of use and saving time, the StudioMagic 2 is the best option.

To see tutorials on sky replacement click here. 

https://vimeo.com/album/3249689

Don’t be afraid of the ultimate makeover!

Sometimes there’s no getting around it. You shot a beautiful landscape, but the sky is white and blown out. It’s just a fact of photography, when you expose for the landscape the sky will be overexposed, expose for the sky, the landscape will be underexposed. So what’s the solution? A smart solution would be to put your camera on a tripod, shoot one exposure for the landscape, shoot a second for the sky and marry them in Photoshop. Unfortunately, few of us think of that when we are trying to get the perfect framing and we left the tripod in the car. 

StudioMagic 1’s CutOut tool and LayerCake’s sky collections fix all that pretty quickly. In this example you’ll be using the Detailed CutOut tool because of the delicate tree branches intruding into the sky that we intend to replace. Notice that the image has a pond with the blown out sky reflecting in it as well. In order to make this replacement look realistic, we’ll need to select both the sky and the pond area for removal.

Next we need a sky. Now if you have a collection of your own skies, by all means use those. But if you don’t, LayerCake has beautiful collections of skies that include all types, from sunsets to stormy. Once the sky and the pond has been removed, place the new sky on the layer behind the CutOut landscape. The sky will look great, but the pond will look funny. That’s because the pond is a mirror so the reflection needs to be upside down and reflecting the new sky above it. Which means you need to make a duplicate layer of your sky, flip it upside down and roughly reposition it to match the sky above. Now turn off your landscape layer, and with your rectangle selection tool, select the area from just below the horizon up to the top of the image and hit delete. Turn your landscape layer on again and you’ll see that the sky and the pond reflection are now correctly matched.

   Original sky and pond area removed with StudioMagic 1 and replaced with a LayerCake Sky.

Picking the right sky is critical 

We all go for the most dramatic, but it may not match the light in your image. First off, if it’s bright daylight, a sunset will never match. If you place a sky but the horizon of your landscape appears to be lighter than the sky, that’s an indication that the sky doesn’t match the landscape’s lighting. Now there are a few things you can try, first a lighter sky; most times that will fix the problem. If your sky is still too dark at the horizon, use a broad soft eraser tool to lighten the sky from the horizon up about a third of the way until the bottom of the sky blends with the horizon. Another trick is you use your burn tool to darken the horizon to match the sky. Sometimes it’s a combination of the two techniques.

You can’t fool Mother Nature

Another thing that gets overlooked is direction of light. How often have you seen composites that look a little strange but you can’t quite put your finger on it? Unfortunately, good print competition judges pick up incorrect lighting right away, and once they see that, they start looking for more Photoshop tricks that have gone awry. Stand back and view your entire image for a minute, look for the direction of shadows and the angle the light is coming from. If shadows go right to left, the position of the bright area in the sky needs to be coming from the right. Flip the sky if need be. If the shadows are short, it’s closer to midday and the sun angle is higher in the sky. If the shadows are long, the sun’s angle is lower and an afternoon sky or sunset may be more appropriate. 

   

   Original sky removed with StudioMagic 1 and replaced with a LayerCake sky. Light beam added

   with StudioMagic 2, balanced with ColorMatch and LightBrush.

Yes, you can fool Mother Nature

StudioMagic 2’s LightingEffex tool offers a library of Rays, Beams and Bursts that are easily placed with a click of your mouse. On most skies you can place a burst with a light ray where you want the direction of the light coming from. In many cases, by placing this new light source in a convincing position based on shadows and overall angle of light, you can fool almost any eye, even those pesky print comp judges!

To see tutorials on sky replacement, click here. https://vimeo.com/album/3249689

Harry Kerker

President LayerCake StudioMagic

Compositing Principle #3: Size and Scale

Hello Everyone. It's been a busy month getting ready for the release of the new Studio Magic II panel. You people are going to love this thing! Some great stuff coming from Layer Cake and Studio Magic. So hang on and fasten your compositing seat belts! Anyway, my apologies for the lag time but here we are again ready to reveal more compositing secrets!

Let's move on to the next on our list of compositing principles. This one has got to be one of the most obvious ones when overlooked. It can make you look like Godzilla is about to crush the house or reduce you to one of the actors from "Honey, I shrunk the Kids"... and if you're not careful, it can also make a grizzly bear look more like a teddy bear! Unless that's what you're after, perhaps we should consider a few tips.

While this is largely a visual thing and needs to be determined with visual imagination, it first comes from observation. So if you're not gifted in this area, we can still take mental notes to get us in the ball park by observing. Our first cue is... Identification! Is it a hammer, a surf board or maybe pencil? Once we've got that down we have our first layer of information. Armed with that knowledge we can go to step two which is Comparison or scale. This has to do with observing things next to each other (as opposed to in front of or behind each other).

This only works if the object we're trying to size is not the only thing in the scene. If it is, then we'll have a scaling dilemma. A person standing out in the middle of the desert with nothing in sight may not tell us how tall he or she is like standing next to a telephone pole would. So, if it's a hammer, are there any other objects in the scene we'd like to place it next to that we can compare it to? Let's see... Hey look, there's a book on a coffee table. Let's put the hammer there. We know from personal experience that an average book is roughly 10" long. Hammers are usually longer than that but no a lot longer so we size accordingly. Get it? So we can look around the environment to get our cues for scale and size our hammer properly.

Let's try another scenario. We've got a cup we need to size but this time it needs to be on a table about 8 feet behind your subject. We start by knowing how big the cup would be if in the subject's hand but this time we have a new layer of information: Distance. The table is not going to be in her hand or next to but behind her. The distance between the viewer/lens and the object affects its size too so when we scale it, we have to take comparison AND distance into consideration. But how quickly do we reduce the size as it goes back in the scene, you ask? Well, every photographed scene leaves a clue... lens Distortion or Compression! Every scene will be different.... read on.

If the scene was shot with a wide angle (17-40mm), things will be more distorted and stretched out i.e. things close to the lens are really big and things towards the back are really small (think of that comical close up portrait where the nose gets really, really big). Same scene through a long lens (70-200) will be the opposite... more "compression" i.e. things closer and farther from the lens have less of a difference in size. In fact, the background might even seem to be right up against the back of your subject though you know it's way back there. Side Note: Check the photo's metadata for focal length info. So based on how much distortion or compression your scene has, you can use that as another hint for how drastically the size will change when you resize (move the cup close or farther back in space). Factor this in with the knowledge that the table you're going to place it on is about 8 feet behind the subject and your chances of making the cup size believable are real good.

If this sounds complex and just not the kind of thing you're used to thinking about, the best way to make it second nature is to cheat. Huh? Ya, cheat. You know. Like when you looked at the answers at the back of the book that one time... or two? Well the answers are all around you. In photos, in real life. Observation is the key to artistic knowledge and intuition. When my mind's eye can't come up with the answer I need, I go research it. I look around and identify, compare and observe what distance and camera optics do to things. Make plenty of mental notes and next time you're needing to replicate a spacial illusion by sizing an object, your mind will draw from your findings!

Join me next time when we hit compositing principle #4: Color - saturation & temperature. Till next time, happy compositing!

Compositing Principle #2: Perspective

Hello once again, LayerCake people! Today we move on to the second in our list of principles for good compositing... Perspective. When I say "perspective", I'm referring to the angle and height of the viewer/camera as it looks toward the subject. All our different elements/photos in our composite must share the same angle/perspective to be believable.

Let's say you have a scene in which there is a hot air balloon rising well above the ground and your goal is to place a person in this scene. How do we need to shoot that person for maximum integration? What we need to consider is what angle the camera was pointed at when capturing the photo of the balloon. Obviously, we can see the underside of the basket of the balloon... to some extent, right? Why? Well, because it's above the viewer so the underside is visible. That tells us that the camera was pointed up. Though we don't have the luxury of always knowing what the exact angle was (especially if we're using stock photos), optics and lens distortion always leave clues...

Ever notice how when looking up at sky scrapers the bottom is wide and the top is narrow and tiny? We don't even need to know why... we just need to take note that this is what happens to objects when we view it through the viewfinder while pointing the camera up. Soooo, what are we going to do when we take a photo of the person for our scene? You guessed it, we're going to point it up. How much? Experimentation and observation is the key to know how much, but once you nail it, the blend is perfect. What happens if you don't observe and respect this principle when shoot/creating your works of art? Well, if the building is offset as it is when we point the camera up (the building looks like it's falling over backwards, doesn't it?) but the person is shot with the camera pointed level? The person will look like they're falling forward... not exactly the effect we're going for.

Here's a quick composite I made to illustrate perspective using a couple of stock images and our trusty LayerCake Studio Magic panels:

Notice how we can see the underside of the chin, shoes, nose etc. This is consistent with looking up at the building. He's bigger at the bottom and smaller at the top, just like the building is.

Another aspect of perspective isn't just angle. We also have height. Let's say we're not pointing our camera up OR down. We still have to decide the camera height from the ground. We could shoot the model at eye level or down by the floor. Again, which do we do? Look at the scene for clues. If there are cars in the scene, can we see the tops of the roofs or are we eye level with the headlights? 

I purposely used an extreme angle and example today to make a point... that it DOES matter what angle and height we shoot from when trying to integrate our scenes with our elements. Hopefully you've become sensitized to perspective and height and will be able to decipher what your scenes are telling you about how to shoot the elements.

Up next: Compositing rule #3: Size & Scale (correct proportions). We'll talk about what kinds of observations to make to decode this mystery! Till then, keep that camera pointed in the right direction and at the right height. Happy compositing!

Compositing principle #1: Direction of Light

Hello my LayerCake community! As promised, today we'll be chipping away at our list of compositing principles essential for good integration in compositing. First up this week we have one of the most noticeable ones, in my opinion: Direction, and for that matter, Quality of light. Let's break down these two aspects of light.

Direction is just what you think it is, the location of the source of light. Just taking a moment to note where the light or sun is coming from in your background or subject will help you make an informed decision when picking images/elements to fit your scene. Below is an obvious, and perhaps extreme scene but it illustrates my point nonetheless. If the bird watcher was lit from the left or from above, our brains would think, "Something weird is going on" and wouldn't believe the illusion for a second.

Subconsciously, our brain takes note of the uniform effect the light has on both the background and the subject and... Viola! Perfect harmony and integration. The brain is very sensitive to the light source and if the subject were lit even slightly from the wrong angle, it would pick it up in an instant... maybe not consciously, but we'd know something wasn't quite right. Now, to be totally honest here, this model was originally lit quite flat, straight on,  but I liked him so much that I relit him in post, thanks to Photoshops tools. This is not something I'd recommend getting into because it take lots of hard work and observational skills that most of us don't have the time or desire to execute... but it a pinch, I did it and it worked. It's better to know what you need and either get it right in camera or as you shop for stock images. But I digress...

Here's a more subtle but very realistic example of matching up direction of light but it goes a long way toward perfect integration. The athlete is standing close to the windows at camera right so that told me that I need a model that is lit more from the right. See how nicely he blends in? Granted, he has an edge light on the left but the predominant light is from the right.

Here's a good opportunity for me to jump in and introduce "Quality" of light. Generally, standing near a big light source like windows produces a soft light source. By soft, I mean that there are no harsh edges to the light and it falls off or fades gradually as it wraps around an object. Using a model that was lit in hard noon daylight wouldn't work and would make you think there was a hole in the roof or the wall and the sun was hitting him through that hole. So scroll back up and let's take a second look at our bird watcher friend. Notice the quick fall off of light. Very quick transition. He goes from being very bright to suddenly very dark. That's because the sun is a "small" source of light in relation to the subject. The rule here is the bigger the source of light in relation to your subject, the softer the light. So in the case of the athlete, we have a big source in the windows, and small, distant source in the case of the birdwatcher.

So think about the direction and quality of light next time you're setting up your lighting. To get your model to match the background, take note of the direction of the source AND the size of the source of that light in relation to the subject. Want softer light but don't have a big soft box? Just move it closer so it'll be bigger in relation to the subject. Want the light harder to mimic the bright afternoon sun? Then move the light farther away to make it smaller... you guessed it, in relation to the subject. 

These two qualities will go a long way towards helping you create believable composites that please the eye... and brain. Learn to identify it and recreate it in studio and you're good to go! Don't you love messing with people's minds? That's what LayerCake and the Studio Magic panels are all about. Well, what are you waiting for? Happy lighting and happy compositing!

Compositor's Eyes...

Hello LayerCake/Studio Magic friends! I hope everyone here is excited about the image making possibilities that await as we anticipate the arrival of the new Studio Magic II panel. But while we're waiting, I want to share some essential information that you can put to use right away in your compositing creations. So before we arm you with the most powerful one-stop-shop compositing tool on the planet, let's get to SEEING like a pro compositor.

Now let me start by assuring you that regardless of your level of artistry, anyone can understand and apply the principles I'm about to share with you to a meaningful degree. This applies whether you're doing a complex project that uses lots of different images or just as simple as a portrait placed onto a new background. Let's dive right in and starting examining the different things that help make more realistic and compelling images.

Whether you start your project with a background or the subject, you MUST take inventory of the following qualities they have in order to make any additional images/elements blend as seamlessly as possible with them. So, in no particular order (insert drum roll here) we have: 

• Direction of light (and shadows)
• Perspective (angle of view)
• Size/scale (correct proportions)
• Color - saturation & color cast (cool or warm)
• Contrast (strength of lights and darks)
• Focus (just what you think it means)
• Detail & Sharpness 

Now, you may be thinking, "Hmmm, that's looking like my grocery list there, mister"... Well most are what you think they are and we'll still go over each of them in detail in future articles. One thing is for sure, if something doesn't look like it fits, it's most likely because there's a contradiction between the subject and its environment in one or more of these areas. All those weird, suspicious heads plastered on celebrities' bodies on tabloid magazine covers comes to mind :)

It's always ideal if the images we bring into our project (whether a portrait, background or some other element) match in all the ways listed above. But that's rarely possible. Then what do we do? We arm ourselves with the compositor's knowledge from our list then bridge the gap in the differences using the Studio Magic pro panel and the soon-to-be-released Studio Magic II panel. Think of them as the "Dynamic Duo" of compositing.

So, your mission, if you choose to accept it? Hang with me and you'll learn how to make more realistic compositing choices that help "sell the illusion" better. By using good compositing principles and mastering the tools, you'll bring all your elements more in line with each other so they play nicely together... like one seamless image. Interested? Then stay tuned!