Photoshop Project #1

In the combination of interior, exterior, and human interaction, above are my final results. I had taken a number of images of my sister reaching for this hanging, wooden cross -- from one I took the cross and another I took her actual pose. I then cut out and combined those elements with a half-painted wall (inside our church), a shot of Brooklyn (outside of our church), and a photograph of a nebula (from online, obviously!) that I used in one of the first exercises.

My initial concept was to create a work that would not only blend the three physical elements of the project, but create a personal, spiritual parallel as well. You see this girl standing in a room - unfinished and imperfect - a part of her environment yet reaching beyond it. But her hand is not only outstretched past the wall of her immediate surroundings... she tries to take hold of something that is blending with her world yet suspended gently above it. Her gaze is upwards... and where the chaos and busyness of her world fade away... this is where the object which she reaches for becomes clearer and more defined. I use the cross here as representative not of religious tradition.... but rather, a faith where the seen and the unseen intersect.

(Which is why compositing images becomes so perfect for this!)

Aside from using gradient masks, blending options, and color balance filters, I tried my hand at some touch-up work. Using the color-balance adjustments made the image of my sister appear rather grainy, so I went in and did a lot of smudging in the dark areas on her face and clothes. Also, the original image was far too extreme in dark and light (her hand was ghostly while the rest of her seemed in shadow), so I went in with some dodging, burning, and painting to either create volume on her hand and arm (especially her fingers) or highlight on the rest of her. I also painted light and shadow as radiating from the cross/center of the nebula and falling on the wall. It was very tedious at times, but I enjoyed every minute of it.