Draft composite - what needs to be fixed?

[petersweden]

Hi

I have started on a composite. What are the main things that need to be fixed?

Regards

Peter

[skoobey]

Re: Draft composite - what needs to be fixed?

IMG_0147_notes.jpg All of the above. No1 problem is that the obvious light sources are not affecting models what so ever.

[petersweden]

Re: Draft composite - what needs to be fixed?

Thanks, good points.

1. What would the rim lights from the helicopter/street lamp look like?

2. How can I make the existing edge light on the models match the background? I added helicopter and street light to explain the edge lights but maybe that doesnt work so well.

3. Can I just skip the mid-plane?

Thanks

Peter

[skoobey]

Re: Draft composite - what needs to be fixed?

Google rim light for references. Rim light is rim light, if the light is coming from behind and above the model, they have a narrow rim of light covering them.

It doesn't. That is because you are shooting before you draft. First you make up a concept, then realize it. Don't try to make things fit.

You can skip the mid-plane, yes.

What I would do if this is the image I've got, is to make a narrower crop movie poster style image, focusing on the models, rather then the backdrop. Keep the night theme, but put them in a more gritty environment, they already look like soldiers or special ops.

[klev]

Re: Draft composite - what needs to be fixed?

This is an improvement over your past work, but it's clear that you picked up some bad habits when it comes to color balancing skin. Each time you post one of these, the skintones are always very monotone.

Other things feel a bit off. The shadows on the two models are very deep compared to the background. Now obviously you have some amount of atmospheric haze in the background areas, which would cause this effect. It's just too extreme.

[petersweden]

Re: Draft composite - what needs to be fixed?

This is an improvement over your past work, but it's clear that you picked up some bad habits when it comes to color balancing skin. Each time you post one of these, the skintones are always very monotone.

I attach a version without color balancing of the skin. Any suggestions on how to do it?

What I have done is to try to match the saturation and hue of the models to the background but maybe I tend to take it too far.

[klev]

Re: Draft composite - what needs to be fixed?

I attach a version without color balancing of the skin. Any suggestions on how to do it?

What I have done is to try to match the saturation and hue of the models to the background but maybe I tend to take it too far.

Things aren't as straightforward as that. You have many colors in the background. I can't use hue and saturation to balance things. There are too many misleading cases, and overall I need to make judgements based on visual feedback. That visual feedback could be a proof or a display. If it looks weird, I'm not going to leave it that way.

I would probably go closer to this, but I'm really not quite sure where you're going with that lighting or how this fits together, especially on the guy. In general you want the subjects to feel as if they are part of the same general environment.

[petersweden]

Re: Draft composite - what needs to be fixed?

Ok that looks better. My goal is to create a movie poster type of feel.

Any suggestions on how to make the edge lighting on the models fit the environment? The helicopter and street light were my initial thoughts.

If I remove the helicopter and street light wouldnt I need something else to cast the edge light?