How to ground this image ?

[buso23]

I'm trying to make this composite image attached below, but I'm having troubles grounding it on the grass so that it looks normal. I have the fisherman image on a separate layer and would like to know what is the best method to do this ? Any links to tutorials would also be much appreciated.

I'm also attaching a 100% view of the image so that you have a better idea of what it looks now.

Thanks in advance, Ljupco

[mlerrigo]

Hi I would try and clone some grass around the bottom of the soles of the boots to sit them in the grass. Also think of which direction the light (sun) is coming from and shade the fisherman accordingly. At the moment he has light coming from all directions which, of course, isn't realistic. Good luck

[mistermonday]

Ljupco, there are a number of ways. One suggestion to try first is to use Filter > Distort > Lens Correction to change the perspective. A sample is shown attached.
Regards, Murray

[MiningArt]

The thing I see is that the shadow is going in the wrong direction. The brightest part of the image is top left, so the shadows should be to the bottom right. You could use the shadow to blend in the boots, the darkest part at the boots going to the bottom right.

[seattle-light]

Dear buso23...

I think that are several problems here.

1) the direction of the light as indicated by there the highlights and shadows on the body doesn't appear to be consistent with a shadow going straight off to the left as you have it.

I would suggest that you pose somebody in a similar position in similar light to see how the shadows will fall.

2) shadows aren't consistent in their darkness or sharpness (except in extreme lighting situations) they will be darkest and sharpest right next to the feet and then fade in darkness and sharpness as they are overwhelmed by soft ambient light (think of the sky as a giant softbox/ambient light source). As the shadows become lighter and more diffuse you have more leeway in their shape. But you need to spend some time looking at how things work out in the real world or it's just going to end up looking fake (because in order to make it look convincing you need to understand a little bit about how shadows work).

3) The texture of the ground is lost with the bottom edge of the boot. This makes it look as if the grass is painted on linoleum. If he's standing on grass, you're not going to see the bottom of his shoes (unless the grass is made out of titanium). So there's going to be some grass in front of the edge of the boot (and that's going to affect how the shadow behaves near the foot. You need to spend some time looking at how these kinds of things interact in the real world. Take some quick reference shots. In order to fake it convincingly, you need to study it a bit (look at similar situations out in the real world). It's not rocket science, but it requires some thoughtful observation to see what's going on and then some thought as to how to replicate that in your composited world.

Hope you are doing well. Take care. Alan.

[buso23]

Originally Posted by MiningArt

The thing I see is that the shadow is going in the wrong direction. The brightest part of the image is top left, so the shadows should be to the bottom right. You could use the shadow to blend in the boots, the darkest part at the boots going to the bottom right.

That's a good try, how did you do this ? I am aware that shadows do not match the actual lightning, but this is just a try to see if I can do this ? I don't care that the shadows do not match, I just want to learn how to do this kind of job so that when I really need them, I'll be comfident and efficient in doing it.
So, one more time guys, what techniques, what methods do you use when pasting an image on a background ?

Thanks in advance, Ljupco

[Calvinhollywood]

Hi
I didnt read the previos posts but for a better reslut gras to boot you can use a grass brush.
Its in photoshop and if you paint with green and the gras brush a bit over the boots you will get a much better result.

lg Calvin

[buso23]

Originally Posted by Calvinhollywood

Hi
I didnt read the previos posts but for a better reslut gras to boot you can use a grass brush.
Its in photoshop and if you paint with green and the gras brush a bit over the boots you will get a much better result.

lg Calvin

Thank you Calvin. The method you described worked quite well. Here's the result attached. If anyone has got any other suggestion I'd be more than happy to hear it.

[Benji_]

hi!
You can also try to create a layermaske on the layer with the guy and paint with a brush with a size about 1 or 2 pixels some gaps in the boot. So you can see small parts of the gras through the boot and it looks like its growing in front of the boot.
Hope it was understandable......

Greets

[dkcoats]

To anchor any object to whatever it's sitting on you need not just the appropriate cast shadow but a dark and fairly hard shadow immediately under it.

(Photo by Legley from stock.xchng)

[oshead]

Seems the grass brush worked well. Another suggestion,you can try using the smudge tool to draw quick little strokes on the grass over the edge of the boots.