More Arty Farty Comps!

Neil Burnell

Neil Burnell

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Ok after the first images seemed to be well received I had a little think of how I could progress these images. I had a thought to use bonsai tree shots so i contacted a local tree nursery and was lucky enough they let me go and take some shots. After taking the shots on a white background I placed them in surreal worlds, much the same as the previous images but this time using specific shots rather than just playing with old unused shots, I think the results are better because of this.


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Really like both images. The 1st one is screaming to be on the rear cover of a novel. Great art/photography.
 
Two very competent images Neil, and well suited to B&W.(y)

George.
 
Loving these more than your last set, absolutely superb Neil, are these hard to put together i.e. do they take a lot of photoshop skill & techniques?
 
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Brilliant imagery, Neil!
 
I'm sure I've commented on these ... obviously not lol

Great looking bonsai and the first is my fav.

Lighting is awesomely correct in the 2nd one ;) hehe

Good work mate certainly worth being published or put on a wall.
 
Billy said:
Loving these more than your last set, absolutely superb Neil, are these hard to put together i.e. do they take a lot of photoshop skill & techniques?
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Thanks Billy, I think the hardest part is having a clear vision of what you want to achieve, and what style you want. I've used photoshop for a long time (designer by trade) but wouldn't say I'm brilliant using it, and I learn new techniques all the time. Blending images is probably the hardest part, it's a fine line between either getting something realistic, artistic or just completely naff looking! The best thing I can suggest is to sketch up an idea, then take the shots you need in similar light and give it a go, I find it fun and rewarding when I get something I imagined from the start.

Kodiak Qc said:
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Brilliant imagery, Neil!
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Thanks Daniel

Tintin124 said:
I'm sure I've commented on these ... obviously not lol
Great looking bonsai and the first is my fav.
Lighting is awesomely correct in the 2nd one ;) hehe
Good work mate certainly worth being published or put on a wall.
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Cheers mate
 
Neil Burnell said:
Thanks Billy, I think the hardest part is having a clear vision of what you want to achieve, and what style you want. I've used photoshop for a long time (designer by trade) but wouldn't say I'm brilliant using it, and I learn new techniques all the time. Blending images is probably the hardest part, it's a fine line between either getting something realistic, artistic or just completely naff looking! The best thing I can suggest is to sketch up an idea, then take the shots you need in similar light and give it a go, I find it fun and rewarding when I get something I imagined from the start.
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Thanks for the advice Neil.
 
Lovely stuff. i reckon the first one would sell well as a poster - maybe aimed at uni students.... i say this (altho perhaps times have moved on since 1999...) because when i went to uni there was a big poster sale at the union and we went along and i bought a big poster of lightning, one of bagpuss and possibly jennifer lopez :) - the sort of thing Anthena would have sold (i miss them!)
 
dan_yell said:
Lovely stuff. i reckon the first one would sell well as a poster - maybe aimed at uni students.... i say this (altho perhaps times have moved on since 1999...) because when i went to uni there was a big poster sale at the union and we went along and i bought a big poster of lightning, one of bagpuss and possibly jennifer lopez :) - the sort of thing Anthena would have sold (i miss them!)
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Thanks Dan, hahaha I know exactly what you mean, I loved Athena and miss them as well :(

droj said:
Superb fun! Skill & judgement.
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Thanks Rog

A.G said:
I like the second one, Well done mate
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Thanks Ali
 
Billy said:
Loving these more than your last set, absolutely superb Neil, are these hard to put together i.e. do they take a lot of photoshop skill & techniques?
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I'd agree.
They are definitely a step up from the previous examples and are very impressive.
I too, would be interested in an outline of the compositing techniques involved.

BTW I always thought Bonsai trees were tiny - that's one BIG Bonsai!
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
You are getting a great collection of these now...
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Thanks Terry

Brian G said:
I'd agree.
They are definitely a step up from the previous examples and are very impressive.
I too, would be interested in an outline of the compositing techniques involved.
BTW I always thought Bonsai trees were tiny - that's one BIG Bonsai!
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Thanks Brian, it's an out door Bonsai about 2.5ft and I believe that particular one was worth in the region of 3-4k! With regards to trying the composites, I'm not sure I'm the best at explaining how I do them!! I think the concept part is the hardest part, I just bumble my way through photoshop at times and I'm not the quickest. I will try and do a video at some stage, so it will show the stages of the process.

MattyW said:
These are really good examples of composite work Neil. Very well executed and thought out.
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Thanks Matty
 
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Two excellent images - I particularly like the D&B effect in the grass on the first. The composition in the second is clever too. I like the meandering line and tree and lopsided nature of this but the bird balances it out well.

Great idea about the bonsai trees. Would the shop pop a print of the first up near their display for free in exchange? You just might get a sale and the shop might like it in any case.
 
EdwardL said:
Two excellent images - I particularly like the D&B effect in the grass on the first. The composition in the second is clever too. I like the meandering line and tree and lopsided nature of this but the bird balances it out well.

Great idea about the bonsai trees. Would the shop pop a print of the first up near their display for free in exchange? You just might get a sale and the shop might like it in any case.
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Thanks Edward, yes the plan is to get a few of these printed and frames to go on display (for sale) in the nursery. I'm not 100% sure what is the best way around this so it's fair to both parties but I know the owner is keen to work something out. I've just mocked up my 3rd concept so i just need to take the required shots for this now.

Any suggestions on pricing and printing/framing would be most appreciated.
 
Neil Burnell said:
Any suggestions on pricing and printing/framing would be most appreciated.
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Only a suggestion but will they display them to sell? If you purchase those cheap glass frames at least there will be some scope for profit. Retail used to like a 100% markup (buy for £5 and sell for £10). I don't know what happens these days. If the cost price to you is £10, can you ask them to put them up at £25 and they take £8 and you have £17? Or perhaps you sell them to the nursery and be done with it? (With your details on the back of the product.)
 
Very nicely done. How are you cutting out the trees? Just masking out the white? It's very well done as I've done quite a bit of cutting out of fine hair in photoshoots and it gets tricky when the detail is so fine as in the case of the fine branches here.
 
Awesome stuff, what a fantastic and well carried out idea, wish I had that creative spark because Id love to try this kind of thing.
EdwardL said:
Only a suggestion but will they display them to sell? If you purchase those cheap glass frames at least there will be some scope for profit. Retail used to like a 100% markup (buy for £5 and sell for £10). I don't know what happens these days. If the cost price to you is £10, can you ask them to put them up at £25 and they take £8 and you have £17? Or perhaps you sell them to the nursery and be done with it? (With your details on the back of the product.)
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For my tuppence these, even in cheap frames are worth far in excess of £25, dont sell yourself short as an A3 at least 4 times that!
 
EdwardL said:
Only a suggestion but will they display them to sell? If you purchase those cheap glass frames at least there will be some scope for profit. Retail used to like a 100% markup (buy for £5 and sell for £10). I don't know what happens these days. If the cost price to you is £10, can you ask them to put them up at £25 and they take £8 and you have £17? Or perhaps you sell them to the nursery and be done with it? (With your details on the back of the product.)
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I'm thinking a little more upmarket than that to reflect the product and also take into account the type of clients the nursery has. I believe some of the trees are nurtured for several years and sell for thousands. My idea was to maybe have the shots printed on a high quality material and frames in a quality frame. Perhaps I'm aiming to high but would rather sell a one off or limited run of quality products than go cheap considering all of the above.
 
Neil Burnell said:
I'm thinking a little more upmarket than that to reflect the product and also take into account the type of clients the nursery has. I believe some of the trees are nurtured for several years and sell for thousands. My idea was to maybe have the shots printed on a high quality material and frames in a quality frame. Perhaps I'm aiming to high but would rather sell a one off or limited run of quality products than go cheap considering all of the above.
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100% Neil, this is art mate
 
The numbers were for illustrative purposes only :)

I find the trouble with selling low quantities is the cost is a significant percentage of the final price. Good idea to go for the quality end though - in many ways it makes for easier selling.
 
htid said:
Very nicely done. How are you cutting out the trees? Just masking out the white? It's very well done as I've done quite a bit of cutting out of fine hair in photoshoots and it gets tricky when the detail is so fine as in the case of the fine branches here.
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Thanks Chris, as far as the cut out goes I dont cut the whole of the tree out! I generally bring the tree into the scene on the white background, ten I play with the layer styles and mask out any unwanted areas. Finally I mask back in the finer details in certain areas. It's a long process but necessary to keep the finer details of the tree and not have any visible cut out and edges which are to sharp!
 
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The Princess & I said:
Awesome stuff, what a fantastic and well carried out idea, wish I had that creative spark because Id love to try this kind of thing.

For my tuppence these, even in cheap frames are worth far in excess of £25, dont sell yourself short as an A3 at least 4 times that!
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Thanks Alan, really appreciate it and glad you agree with me regarding pricing etc.
 
These are all exceptional Neil, it's something i have just begun to have a go at myself, so i know how difficult it can be making the image look believable (something i an still struggling with)
 
EdwardL said:
The numbers were for illustrative purposes only :)

I find the trouble with selling low quantities is the cost is a significant percentage of the final price. Good idea to go for the quality end though - in many ways it makes for easier selling.
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Thanks Edward, I do know what you mean but I would personally like to go down the art route rather than go for numbers and more profit. Sounds silly but I would rather sell one at a higher cost, than make more money selling hem cheaper. Yes I am crazy!
 
rpsmith79 said:
These are all exceptional Neil, it's something i have just begun to have a go at myself, so i know how difficult it can be making the image look believable (something i an still struggling with)
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Thanks Rich, I'm sure you will get there. How are you shooting for the composites currently? I've found mocking up my concepts first and having a place point for the sun or light is vital. The tree in the first shot took a good 4 hours to blend correctly, I am pretty slow at PS but would rather work on something like these for a day or more than not have them look right. It's the subtle little adjustments that people dont notice that really make the difference.
 
I think that is where i am going wrong at the moment, as i am not particularly shooting with the sole purpose of creating the composite (though i have on a few occasions)

I generally look through my back catalogue to see if i can see something that i can use once i've got an idea in my head

I posted a thread in here the other day with a few Star Wars composites, out of the 4 shots i posted, only 1 of the foreground shots was actually taken with the sole purpose of being a composite

I think i need to come up with my ideas before putting pen to paper, or rather mouse to Photoshop, and actually shoot with the purpose in mind
 
GreenNinja67 said:
IKEA would bite your arm off for either of those.

Fantastic imagination, skill and artistry Neil.
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Thanks Terry, really appreciate it

rpsmith79 said:
I think that is where i am going wrong at the moment, as i am not particularly shooting with the sole purpose of creating the composite (though i have on a few occasions)

I generally look through my back catalogue to see if i can see something that i can use once i've got an idea in my head

I posted a thread in here the other day with a few Star Wars composites, out of the 4 shots i posted, only 1 of the foreground shots was actually taken with the sole purpose of being a composite

I think i need to come up with my ideas before putting pen to paper, or rather mouse to Photoshop, and actually shoot with the purpose in mind
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Yes Rich, light and shadows are the key! I saw the star wars ones and the concepts are great, just light, shadows and maybe selective bur or softening some edges would help.
 
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