Photomerge

[Tinka]

Hi all,
Here are three images, the first two taken on a compact camera, a relative asked me to try to combine the two images as grandpa is no longer with us and no photo of the two of the exists, the work is in progress, Final image A is shown.
Has it worked? how can it be inproved, all comments/critiques welcome.

[guymclaren]

Re: Photomerge

I don't think so, The bloke on the left looks a little daft leaning on fresh air.

[jojo]

Re: Photomerge

Hi Tinka, I think the one on the left looks more "spectral" than grandpa - sorry I can't offer any suggestions for improvement as I'm not that skilled with PP software.

Jo

[coupekid]

Re: Photomerge

Hi all,
Here are three images, the first two taken on a compact camera, a relative asked me to try to combine the two images as grandpa is no longer with us and no photo of the two of the exists, the work is in progress, Final image A is shown.
Has it worked? how can it be inproved, all comments/critiques welcome.

A nice try, but I think you are up against it with the poses you have chosen.

Is there not a picture of the guy on the left where he is standing more naturaly. It will make your job a lot easier!

Also, grandpa is very slightly more out of focus, I would advise adding a very slight gausian blur to the other chap, together with a very slight reduction in saturation.

Also, when selecting a person to add in, try then reducing the selection by 1 pixel, then feather by one pixel. it just makes it look a little less like a cut out. good luck, and dont give up!

[bigbob]

Re: Photomerge

Cloning in a subject to match exactly is hard when both have not only been taken at different times of day , but also in different lights .
As coupekid has said he needs blurring not only the body , but use the blur tool on a small brush size to blur around the edges to blend in more with the background.
The shadows need attention , not only the ground shadow (or lack of it ) but also the whole of his left side needs to be in shadow to match your grandad.
The raised arm and the cut off leg make him seem unnatural , this will work providing the viewer is'nt too particular about detail , but for me there are too many small things wrong .
I would'nt give up on it though , providing you have'nt flattened the layers you can still play around till you have something more realistic , i'd work on the shadow detail first , then try cloning in the rest of the leg , then try to work out how to work that raised arm into the picture better , maybe putting him behind the statue a touch .

B..

[Pops]

Re: Photomerge

Another way would be to make a seperate selection of his left arm (as we view) mirror the selection and place.
Like coupekid say's you will need to work on the color by either reducing sat or even reducing opacity.
There is a quick example here of what you could do using the mirrored arm but it still requires a lot of work doing on color and general body positioning and resizing. It's just the arm I am pointing out here

[Tinka]

Re: Photomerge

Hi all,
Many thanks for all your critique, suggetions and encouragement, it sure is a nightmare job, one hell of a learning curve that is why I posted it here, thanks for the edit Pops, I catch your drift and it starts the thought processes going. All points and sugestions have been taken on board, and with my limited experience I may ask if they have an easier image to work with. I will now remove the images from my gallerie, as I have been told to stand in the corner for not asking

[Pops]

Re: Photomerge

Hi all,
Many thanks for all your critique, suggetions and encouragement, it sure is a nightmare job, one hell of a learning curve that is why I posted it here, thanks for the edit Pops, I catch your drift and it starts the thought processes going. All points and sugestions have been taken on board, and with my limited experience I may ask if they have an easier image to work with. I will now remove the images from my gallerie, as I have been told to stand in the corner for not asking

I do believe there is a forum especially for image manipulation. They may let you out of the corner if you use that