Project 52 - Week 31: Wood

The thing I love most about being a part of the blog circle, is that each week you are pushed to look at things and interpret them in your own style, to be creative, to learn something new, and of course to take back some great thoughts and perspectives of others.

This week I pondered "wood."  Should I do a pet in the woods?  A pet on something wooden?  Hmmmm...

I decided to use this week to learn something new.  So I made this.

This is a wood textured background.  I am so proud of myself I could scream!

I used two separate YouTube videos to learn how to make this.  The first is here.  The second is here.  I used what I could from each, because my version of Photoshop Elements is a bit different than what is discussed in the video, but I got the general idea from each video and then used the parts that worked for me to make this background.

To challenge myself even more, I decided to take an existing photo that I had previously left unedited, and pull the subject from it and place him/her on the background.  This is where things got real.

As anyone who edits can tell you, this is painstaking work.  Cutting the dog out of one image and placing them over a background in a realistic way means the use of shadow and light.  Everyone has their own way of getting there, but I typically use a "reveal all" layer to get rid of everything I don't want to see and bring out the background I have just placed the subject on.  I work at about 400% to blend the edges well.  I then use a dodge and burn tool to add shadow and light where needed, and where it would seem plausible if the dog were really sitting in front of a piece of wood planking.

This is not the type of image I would do for a regular pet portrait client.  This is a client dog, and one you have seen already in another blog post.  I felt he had the best coat color to use with the background I created.  This image would be good for commercial use.  So with that thought, I created this as my final rework of the image.

I "WOOD" encourage you to try it.  LOL!  I was happy to have tried something new this week.  You never stop learning where photography is concerned.

Check out the rest of the blog circle by starting with Danyel of Wag To My Heart serving the Portland Metro area, OR.  Enjoy the rest of your Friday, and have a wonderful weekend!  As my grandfather used to say:  "Don't take any wooden nickels."