The challenge here was to blend the two images together in a sympathetic manner, trying to ensure that background light, texture, and detail such as the water droplets were preserved while not allowing them to overwhelm the portrait image itself. I'm interested to know whether people thought this was achieved successfully or not, and any perceived areas for improvement in the image.
Also Rolling Stones fans will recognise the title "As Tears Go By" - I hoped the background image would add a little drama and make the portrait more affecting for the viewer. Was that successful?
Thanks in advance for mindful comments and suggestions. I made a tutorial on the edit if anyone wants to check out the approach to this.
Great capture she has such powerful eyes .
Thanks Tracy yes I was trying to make sure her eyes remained as the main focus point
It looks fine at first, and then whem one starts to investigate, some things comes up in ones head =)
As drops of water will distort things behind them ( as you see with the lights ) I would distort some parts of the face, like the eyebrow behind a big drop.
I would also adjust her color to match the background more, even if its meant to look as she gets light from a shop window in her face.
There is an aura of light following her cheek. Maybe its just the background, but I would even it out.
I think Pelle Piano is right on here. Great idea. If the idea is that she's on the other side of the window from the viewer then she is really close to. If the idea was that she was right by the glass - like about to step through a door with a glass insert, then the drops would be removed from her and still add a moody element to the background. I guess it's down to what story you're telling.
Thanks Pelle you have good eyes! Not sure quite how to achieve the distortion effect, I think you're probably right re colour and yes I found the haloing effect on the side of the face was difficult to avoid completely.
You can use a displacement map to get the distortion that Pelle mentioned.
Cool thanks will have a look at that.
Hi Chris,
I think you have taken on a nearly impossible task with blending these two photos. Apart from what Pelle has said I also am distracted by the sharp water droplets & her face is sharp but her shoulder looks soft indicating two focus planes. I think I would have softened the water droplets a tad, particularly the ones on the left.
Great shot of her, expressive eyes.
Thanks Peter it was difficult to strike the right balance between the portrait and the background elements with this one - but is has been a very popular image for me so happy with that.