C&C on first comp!

[mikeyman]

A little C&C on how to improve this comp would be great. I realise I chose two photos with very different lighting going on (was just playing around really) so I had a hard time trying to match that afterwards. Cheers!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3027/...e7c13839_b.jpg

[Swampy]

Mikey, welcome aboard!

I think you've done an excellent job on the figures. Their shadows and proportion are very good. The foreground clouds are a little soft and dark compared to the background white fluffy clouds though.

[mikeyman]

Hi Swampy - thanks for the comments, this board seems like a great resource so I hope to be posting here fairly regularly!

With the clouds - do you mean the depth of field fall off between the figures and the background is not quite consistent? Actually I think the background was a 20s exposure so that would explain why the clouds are fluffy...

I just noticed the shadow under the male model's left foot doesn't extend to the heel...I had trouble making it look like the figures were not floating, I imagine adjusting this would help with that?

[Swampy]

The clouds... The ones on the right are dark and ominous while the on the left are light and fluffy. Since the overall ambiance of the scene leans to the "dark", I'd make those clouds on the left dark and "scary" like the ones on the right.

[JD Spears]

Great job, Mikey! And yeah, the feet! Also, try putting a real hard shadow right under the feet. (meaning right next to them) to anchor them down. Also, looks like the sun is setting over to the left of the frame. I would warm the skin tones way up to match the sun lighting.

[TommyO]

First, a nice comp and it shows you have put in some hours on it.
The cloud issue - while they look unusual to me (each from differing hours of the day), they could be a normal element in what you are trying to portray. But, I just can't pick up anything else in the comp to lead me that way.
And, yes the feet thing. I notice two issues. One, they don't look planted on the ground. Two, they are not in focus or of the same tonality as the rest of the clothing. Possibly adding the shadows and darkening the boots a tad could help.
Just some thoughts. Great work and keep posting !

[mikeyman]

Thanks for C&C so far guys - will do a second edit trying to incorporate the above! Ta

[mikeyman]

Had another go at this, applying the above changes as necessary. Made clouds on left darker/scarier and brightened up RHS towards the sunset. Warmed up skin tones considerably to match sunset temp. Diffused shadows of figures quite a bit. Had problems adding hard shadow under heels - what is the preferred technique for this? I added a drop shadow and masked off unwanted areas, but I found it a bit difficult to get a decent effect.

Cheers for comments so far:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3032/...2e733386_b.jpg