Unfortunately in the world of photography, we cannot always take pictures of certain objects in certain locations. This composite is a perfect example. There was a location that was off limits, and a client who did not want a vehichle out in crummy weather. Fortunately for the world of Photoshop, just about anything is possible.
The client wanted a somewhat grungy theme, so it was decided that under a bridge would be a perfect location.
This photo is straight out of the camera with no post processing done. On the main layer will be the typical levels and curves adjustment as well as some sharpening and hue/saturation.
After the basic adjustments were made, the clone tool was used to eliminate all distractions. As metioned in a previous post, when using the clone tool it is recommended to use the same size brush as the object you are attempting to remove. It is important to pay attention to specific details, and zooming in for these will be necessary. For example when using the clone tool to eliminate the cones, one must make sure the all the surrounding areas are lining up properly.
After the cloning was completed, a curves adjustment layer was created to add more grunge to the photograph. Since this was a layer mask, the area was painted where ever we wanted the adjustments to take place. We created an area with extreme light fall off so that the vehicle could fit perfectly in the frame.
To finish the scene a desaturated sky was added to fill up the two sides and center openings of the bridge. It is recommended to use a soft edged brush when doing this type of layer masking in order to achieve a seamless look.
Once the backdrop was finished, it was time to work on extracting the vehicle from the original backdrop. There are countless ways to achieve this, and it is really a matter of preference. One can create a path, or use the lasso tool, or numerous other methods.
The method used for this particular photo was to create a layer mask, and erase away the background. A blank layer was created and filled with white, and a reveal all layer mask was placed on the image of the vehicle.
This is time consuming, and attention to detail is extremely important. A small soft edged brush was used, and the image was zoomed in to about 300%. Start with small brush strokes to ensure that you are erasing right up to the edge of the vehicle. Once there is a white border around the car, you can increase the size of the brush and delete the remaining background.
This is what the image looks like once the entire background has been removed from the original photo. To create a selection around the vehicle, you click on the layer mask while holding down the ALT button.
This is what the vehicle looks like once it is brought in to the background. It clearly looks pasted in for numerous reason, but that will be fixed by creating a new layer.
There are two layers dedicated to the vehicle. One layer the focus was place solely on the vehicle, and the other layer the focus was put on the shadow. The reason two layers were brought in was so that the layer dealing with the shadow could have the opactiy lowered to blend in with its surroundings.
This project took approximately 25 hours to complete from start to finish. The completely finished results can be seen above. Hope you enjoyed the posts.
13 Comments
Hi there! this is fantastic photoshop work! great work, really…
I also shot Lambo SV here in Italy, wasn’t so cool (the body work), mine was plain white – but a kickass car anyways, we shot it at Imola F1 track.
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