Creative Faking!

Neil Burnell

Neil Burnell

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Neil
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I tend to keep my processing in ACR for landscapes, but I have worked with photoshop in my job for a number of years so thought I'd try using it for creating a surreal landscape composite. I'm no photoshop expert, but I know enough to help me get around the program! I chose an old image I was never going to use, to see if it was possible to save using other catalogue shots I had to create something more appealing.

Here is the original image, flat boring and visually unappealing.

23238148711_6f3618ac86_b.jpg


After a few ACR adjustments:

23238150881_f97d0c7d20_b.jpg


Chosen Sky:

23024940980_f96b9a776c_b.jpg


Blended Sky:
I have blended the sky using layer masks using various sized brushes, the challenge was to blend this sky with the prominently blue foreground. To achieve this I have painted in some of the sky colours on an overlay layer, then desaturated the sky.

23320720345_5d80b18d18_b.jpg


Final image
For the final image I added a starburst for the sun and a few gulls, yes thats OTT but was intended to be this way with an almost surreal look. I then flattened the image and added some noise which helps to pull composite together.

 
Good ideas, I preferred the sun in the first of your composits, looked more realistic to my eye.
 
Very nicely done, and great to see your workflow too, not often you get to see how images like this are put together

Although i'm still not quite sure how you blended in the sky when you mention about "having painted in some of the sky colours on an overlay layer, then desaturated the sky", any chance of expanding on this as i have always struggled in the past making a sky look more natural when trying this kind of thing
 
Works well, though the fake sunflare might be a bit overdone. It's amazing what can be done with software. I had a film negative that was on the very end of the reel and got stuck to the side of the tank causing shed loads of streaks and weird colours. It took hours to rescue it with cloning but it was worth it, a print of it now hangs on the wall in the lounge.
 
That's very interesting Neil, and many thanks for showing how you personally do these things.(y)

George.
 
dizidav said:
Good ideas, I preferred the sun in the first of your composits, looked more realistic to my eye.
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Thanks David, you could well be right on the sun in the first but I prefer the extra drama and overall feel of the final.

rpsmith79 said:
Very nicely done, and great to see your workflow too, not often you get to see how images like this are put together
Although i'm still not quite sure how you blended in the sky when you mention about "having painted in some of the sky colours on an overlay layer, then desaturated the sky", any chance of expanding on this as i have always struggled in the past making a sky look more natural when trying this kind of thing
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Thanks Rich. To elaborate on pain the sky in... I copied the sky layer and stretched to fill screen and selected overlay on layer style. I then completely masked the layer out and selected a feathered brush to paint back in a hint of the colour. Hope this helps.
 
Thanks for posting, it is good to see the process and the end result is convincing but I agree with the others that the sun looks better in the first composit
 
G.K.Jnr. said:
That's very interesting Neil, and many thanks for showing how you personally do these things.(y)

George.
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Thanks George, it's not something I do enough of to be honest but I have seen some wonderful work on flickr which has got me thinking I should be using PS more!
 
Neil Burnell said:
Thanks Rich. To elaborate on pain the sky in... I copied the sky layer and stretched to fill screen and selected overlay on layer style. I then completely masked the layer out and selected a feathered brush to paint back in a hint of the colour. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Yes thanks, that makes a bit more sense now, cheers, just need to remember this next time i try it ;)
 
sirch said:
Thanks for posting, it is good to see the process and the end result is convincing but I agree with the others that the sun looks better in the first composit
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Thanks Chris, I agree it's more convincing but the style I was going for was more surreal artwork than accurate photo. I also think adding the gulls adds to the more surreal look, again I wasn't looking for an accurate photo just something a little different.
 
Tintin124 said:
Thanks for showing your process.. deeply jealous of your PP skills :D
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To be honest mate I'm self taught and still learning different techniques all the time! it's fairly daunting at first but once you get your head round the basics it's all about how you use them to create your vision.
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
Works well, though the fake sunflare might be a bit overdone. It's amazing what can be done with software. I had a film negative that was on the very end of the reel and got stuck to the side of the tank causing shed loads of streaks and weird colours. It took hours to rescue it with cloning but it was worth it, a print of it now hangs on the wall in the lounge.
Click to expand...
Thanks Alan, yes i agree it's overdone but wanted a more surreal look.
 
LOL, Costa Del Brixham never looked better :)
Have to confess I'm not a big fan of overprocessed images, BUT this works very well indeed.
Good work Neil and interesting to see the different stages, pleased you posted it, very informative.
 
Steve B said:
LOL, Costa Del Brixham never looked better :)
Have to confess I'm not a big fan of overprocessed images, BUT this works very well indeed.
Good work Neil and interesting to see the different stages, pleased you posted it, very informative.
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Thanks Steve. Yeah I have to agree with you there, HDR images are a real no no for me unless they are done well. I think heavy processing can work though if it's done in a certain style, I particularly like the processing by Mikko Lagerstedt (check out his work on flickr), it's what I would describe as heavy processing but the style works so well. I see so many images on FB now with over processed shadows and unnatural skies that just look like a HDR mess, the worst thing is people like and praise the photo so the processing goes from bad to worse on the next shot!!!
 
I think you've left too much of the blue sky on the right hand side. Not sure if you were aiming for that but I reckon the sky should be consistent, as in all 'yellow' or all blue rather than a mix. Hope that makes sense.
 
htid said:
I think you've left too much of the blue sky on the right hand side. Not sure if you were aiming for that but I reckon the sky should be consistent, as in all 'yellow' or all blue rather than a mix. Hope that makes sense.
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Yes you are probably right, but I not too worried about it as it's an "artistic impression" rather than accurate photo representation.
 
I quite like this.. What I like more though is you sharing how and what you was going for. Very interesting to see the changes by step etc (y)
 
Neil Burnell said:
I particularly like the processing by Mikko Lagerstedt (check out his work on flickr), it's what I would describe as heavy processing but the style works so well.
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He has got a certain something going on with his style. Nice to look at, but dont think it's for me, though if this grey weather carries on much longer, might change my ideas about that :)
Was out in the drizzle this morning, thinking I should have stayed in bed, but I'm a sucker for high tide at sunrise, not that you could see it, just a lighter shade of grey as the sun came up ;)
 
Kodiak Qc said:
•
Creative Faking it is not! This is called imagery and it is fine!
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Thanks Daniel

Steve B said:
He has got a certain something going on with his style. Nice to look at, but dont think it's for me, though if this grey weather carries on much longer, might change my ideas about that :)
Was out in the drizzle this morning, thinking I should have stayed in bed, but I'm a sucker for high tide at sunrise, not that you could see it, just a lighter shade of grey as the sun came up ;)
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To be honest Steve, it's not for a lot of people because it is mainly about the processing and the unique style! For me it's more of a graphic art approach it's quite a unique style, and being a graphic designer I really like it!
 
bt33 said:
take a look at this guy Serge Ramelli one of the best with photoshop and lightroom on youtube

http://photoserge.com/
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Not so keen on his work from what i have seen, he seems to like creating halo's when he blends multiple images, this is fine if they are intended but they look proper nasty in a few of his images, the eiffel tower shot especially. Having said that I have watched his video's before and they are pretty good and easy to follow.
 
Neil Burnell said:
To be honest Steve, it's not for a lot of people because it is mainly about the processing and the unique style! For me it's more of a graphic art approach it's quite a unique style, and being a graphic designer I really like it!
Click to expand...

Probably came across a bit wrong there, can certainly appreciate it on an artistic level. The shots of the wrecked boat on his first page in particular are stunning and something I wish I had taken. Lots of others there to admire too, perhaps I just dont have the patience for that type of processing if the truth be told ;)
 
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