This exercise involved me taking a single image in a location, applying the rules i had from the previous modules and then editing it to give it a certain tone of magic and illusion...
Photoshopped Image.
The image below is one which will be broken down to show the different layers that have been added and overlayed into the frame while editing this picture in
Adobe Photoshop CC.
Initial:
The image above is one which was carefully planned. This location was used as it has leading lines on both the left and right sides of the frame, drawing the eye towards the centre of the frame which will play into what is being added later on. After this I darkened the image with a black gradient to give an impression that the photo was taken at night and to also increase the contrast in the image when the magical 'illusion' element of the edit is added later on.
Starting to Layer:
After darkening the image as stated above, I then proceeded to layer a 'portal' over the centre of the frame, making sure that it was aligned with the ground and was also sized appropriately with the amount of distance the camera was away from the subject.
Magic & Illusion:
As the brief for this project was on Magic & Illusion, I had decided to create a portal overlayed into my photograph. After superimposing the portal into the frame, I had moved and cropped another photo of mine taken at another location (Pornic, France) and put this layer 'underneath' the portal. This gave the impression that the portal was more realistic and acted as a window into another part of the world.
Lighting and Enhancements:
With the portal added and 'finished' it was time to make some changes to the lighting of the photo to make the element fit more in the photo. This was done by creating a new 'Adjustment Layer' and using the brush tool tool to paint the illuminated parts of the scene a more 'yellow-ish' tint to match what the light from the portal would be giving off if it were a real photo that was taken.
Finishing Touches & Enhancements:
For the final touches to the photograph, I added a subtle starry sky layer and added the same black gradient as I used to darken the photo in the first step to make it successfully blend into the frame with a 'natural flow'. Aswell as this I increased the contrast of the image slightly. At the slight expense of detail this allowed the image in my opinion to look slightly more realistic in the frame and allowed it to look authentic as a magic and illusion representation utilising all of my learnt skills during this project.