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Posted on 02/03/04 1:35:46 PM |
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trinityofone
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A question of shadows
If an object is placed within a shadow, should it cast one itself? Case in point is this image: 
Ignore the really poor highlight/shadowing on the monks themselves, I am not at all proud of that 
I placed a small amount of shadow around the base but I'm not sure it needs it. _________________ It must be Thursday, I never could get the hang of Thursdays |
Posted on 02/03/04 2:10:24 PM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7000 Reply  |
Re: A question of shadows
I think the monks certainly need a shadow beneath them - but not in the same direction as the light from the windows. The window shadows are still lit (they're not black, after all) so that light must be coming from somewhere. So I'd certainly add some shading beneath the monks. Black is wrong, as you've discovered; I'd recommend sampling some of that brown wall and painting it on in Multiply mode. |
Posted on 02/03/04 2:18:09 PM |
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trinityofone
Guest Reply |
Re: A question of shadows
Thanks, I'll try that. Should the floor shading be sampled from the existing shadow from the window? I actually used dodge and burn on a seperate layer for the monk's faces, I think that's my downfall, I'll pick up a technique, like the shadowing section in the book and expect it to work with everything, I guess there are times where this is not the solution. Is there a dividing point where dodge and burn will and won't work or am I just not proficient enough? _________________ It must be Thursday, I never could get the hang of Thursdays |
Posted on 02/03/04 3:39:13 PM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7000 Reply |
Re: A question of shadows
This kind of image is really difficult for d&b, mainly because it puts so much black into the shadows. Hard light or Multiply are going to be the best solutions here - I'd recommend Hard Light becuase then you can paint in highlights as well. but faces really are tricky: you have to make the shadows follow the contours of the face to make it look convincing. For head-on shots like this, a good solution might be to photograph yourself lit from the side, then apply the resulting shadow to this image a few times. Phew! If only that monastery photographer had used a flash! |
Posted on 02/03/04 4:42:48 PM |
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trinityofone
Guest Reply |
Re: A question of shadows
I like the idea of using a real life shadow, might be one to try. The monks are all Hemera images, with the heads exchanged (otherwise they probably would have been the only monastic quadruplets ever), I added the shadowing because I thought imight add to the mood. Maybe I should have left them front lit and just blended them into the scene? I might redo the image, one with hard light shadows and the other with no shadowing on the faces...watch this space  _________________ It must be Thursday, I never could get the hang of Thursdays |
Posted on 02/03/04 4:47:32 PM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7000 Reply |
Re: A question of shadows
The background is almost uniform in colour - all in shades of brown, which gives it an almost sepia effect. I think I'd be tempted to make the monks' habits match that colour more closely, which would help a lot in blending the whole thing together. |