Gauging Light & Exposure On-Location
Lesson 10 from: Creating Your Reality with Composite PhotographyRenée Robyn
Gauging Light & Exposure On-Location
Lesson 10 from: Creating Your Reality with Composite PhotographyRenée Robyn
Lessons
Class Introduction
09:16 2Why You Should Sketch Your Composite
03:25 3What to Look for in Your Background
10:51 4Posing Your Model
08:23 5Communicate with Your Team
10:34 6Elements of Compositing
31:36 7Learning from Failure & Criticism
12:27 8On-Location Safety Tips
03:42How to Nail the Right Perspective for Your Composite Photo
07:15 10Gauging Light & Exposure On-Location
03:49 11On-Location Posing
18:37 12Cliff Shoot Location Final Thoughts
12:03 13Tips for Culling Images
09:41 14Culling Images Q&A
11:29 15Preparing Your Image for Composite
07:18 16Composite Image Cleanup
11:01 17Adding Background Image to Composite
17:04 18The Difference Between Flow & Opacity
05:41 19Composite Sky Elements
20:58 20Using Curves to Color Match
05:43 21Adding Atmospheric Depth to Image
17:08 22Using Color Efex Pro to Manipulate Color
07:37 23Using the Liquify Tool
05:15 24Color Theory & Monitor Calibration
10:35 25Adding Smoke Layer to Image
07:55 26Selective Sharpening
05:18 27Crop Your Image
02:29 28Goal Setting for Digital Artists
04:39 29Review of Location Composite
01:57 30Understand Angle & Height for Your Base Plate Image
06:15 31Base Plate Focus Point
04:45 32Base Plate Lighting Tips
06:10 33How to Use a Stand-In for Base Plate Image
03:47 34Capture On-Location Base Plate Image
05:57 35Student Positioning Demo
09:05 36Base Plate Sketching
07:33 37On-Location Sky Capture
01:53 38What to Look for in a Base Plate Model
14:30 39Building Composite Model Lighting
10:03 40Composite Model Test Shots for Angle Matching
19:48 41Composite Model Shoot: The Art of Fabric Throwing
13:34 42Composite Model Shoot: Working with Hair
05:45 43Composite Model Shoot: Posing Techniques
21:26 44Composite Test with Final Shot
06:12 45Lighting Setup Overview
04:52 46Culling Model Shoot Images
03:35 47Adjusting Skintone Colors
04:54 48Merging Background with Model
04:54 49How to Mask Hair
09:49 50Creating a Layer Mask with the Brush Tool
14:23 51Creating Shadow Layers
07:10 52Removing Visual Distractions with Stamp Tool
07:11 53Replacing Sky with Layer Mask
05:15 54Drawing Hair Strands and Atmospheric Depth
10:30 55Creating Contrast in Your Composite
12:23 56Adding Atmospheric Elements
06:43 57Using Particle Shop
11:47 58Selective Color Adjustments
07:58 59Cropping, Sharpening, & Final Touches
10:29 60Closing Thoughts
05:52Lesson Info
Gauging Light & Exposure On-Location
Right now we have the computer set up. I like to shoot tethered whenever I'm shooting models on location, so I just have a laptop here with capture one loaded up. And I'm just shooting tethered so that I'm seeing the images as they show up on the computer screen, not on the back of the camera screen. 'Cause the camera screen is so small, it's so tiny, I kind of will sometimes miss details. So I'll think I've got this great shot, but then maybe there's an eyelash doing funny things, and I can't see that on the back of the screen. So first thing what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna take, I've got a 16 to 35 mil lens here, and I'm shooting with Canon 5D Mark II, and I'm just going to take a portrait of her, well just a shot of the scene itself, and I'm gonna make sure that my background is slightly overexposed. I'm gonna expose for how I want the background to disappear, basically. She's gonna be a little bit dark, and that's okay, 'cause we're gonna fill this in with flash. But the reason why ...
I'm overexposing my background is so it's easier to cut out. She has nice dark hair, if we have a nice bright background, then the extraction process is gonna be a lot simpler. So I'm just gonna hold this here, one, two, three. And there we go. So I can see here on the back of my screen that the background is nice and light, it's a little bit too bright, and that's totally okay, because then we can fill this in with flash, and we'll get a proper exposure. I'm keeping her in her jacket right now, because there's no point in freezing her out, 'cause it is a little bit chilly out here, but once we get to the shooting part, then I'll get somebody to come along, we'll take her jacket off, and then we'll start posing. And then if we're taking a break, we're gonna get her nice and warm again, and then we'll continue on. So, on my laptop screen, the background was a little overexposed. Downside of shooting with a laptop is you can control the color, but you can't always adjust the contrast on a laptop screen. So on my screen, it looked overexposed, on this TV, it actually looks almost properly exposed, it's overexposed in some spots, but it's not as bright as it looked on my screen. So that just meant that in post-production, once I got into Photoshop and I looked at it, I was like, ah, crap! So then I just adjusted it, but we'll go through all of that later. But in other cases, once again, going forward, so when we were picking the model for this, I was like, okay, so we're gonna be shooting something outdoors, I want a model with dark hair. Because you guys don't want to sit here and watch me cut out hair for three hours, we just don't have that much time. So once again, going forward, okay, this is our limitation. Our limitation is time. So how to we make things more time-efficient? So I this case, get a model with dark hair, shoot her in a light background, the extraction process is gonna be much, much simpler. What kind of metering mode were you using on your camera, and do you use exposure a lot to try and control that really light background? Sometimes I meter, sometimes I don't. In this case, I just didn't want to carry all the gear with me, and I was like, I'm gonna shoot tethered, it's not pouring rain, I can just look at it and eyeball it, and get it, you know, 90% of the way there. So in this case, it wasn't quite as overexposed as my screen was telling me it was, but it's within an allotment that I can easily change that, and I can easily fix it. If I was getting something really specific, I mean if anyone here uses a light meter, I think they've gone the way of the dinosaur for a lot of people, because you can look at the back of your camera or computer, and see your exposure. But if you have a light meter, light meters are incredibly powerful. If you're not able to shoot to a tethered anything, and everything's bright, you can just get a light meter, meter everything, and do the math, and then you'll know what your exposure is. So, it's once again using the tools, right? So if I'm at home and I have my meter with me, then I'll totally use it. But if I don't, it's also, 90% of the time, fine. (laughing)
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
Dino Maez
i have to say, the class was AMAZING! in every way from the tricks and technique's of mastering this art form to the personalized attention given by Renee. through the class you are able to learn information that would normally take the average person years of trial and error. Renee gives you the gift of benefitting from her her experiences and what she has learned THE HARD WAY! Renee is an outstanding instructor full of passion for what she does, and with a strong desire to not only improve the art, but more importantly, pay it forward, by sharing her knowledge with others. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the event in person, truly a once in a lifetime experience for me, the staff at creative live were THE BEST! they are helpful in every way and really made this event something special, i can't say enough about the experience i had and would highly recommend that anyone who has the opportunity to go down for a class, it will be an experience that you will never forget. but the best part of creative live is that wether you are there in person or wether you are watching from the comfort of your own home, you are involved in the class in REAL TIME, you have the ear and attention of the skilled artist giving the instruction, being there myself i can tell you that Renee was regularly given questions and comments from the viewers via the creative live staff and she would respond to them as they came, in that way you are very much apart of the class you are never left without getting that personalized attention of an amazing artist or that specific question you have answered, and even better you have the option to purchase the class and have it as a constant resource in your tool kit that you can refer back to at any point that you need a refresher or want to recall that special technique that was demonstrated. thank you thank you to renee and all the staff at creative live you have a life long member in me. and i would recomend that everyone take advantage of this valuable resource dino maez
stephen lenman
I have completed many creative courses. This is by far the best so far. Quite the most amazing and inspiring presenter with a true passion for their craft. The core information is excellent, but the thing i liked most were her subtle tangents, dropping incredible information completely on the fly. A complete real world honest view of business and practical side of the industry. Especially her advice on how she started to her business. Saving up enough in her day job so she could pay the rent, and do photography for 3-6 months.
Sheldon Carvalho
Awesome class. I've been following Renee for a very long time. I love her work and to finally see her work and get an image done from start to finish was quite something.. I love the way she sees things and the way she treats her work and all fellow creative. I would recommend this to everyone interested in getting into composting. Looking forward to creating and making my own art work. But it now :) Have fun creating. :)