What is the name of this effect

[eadams Profile]

@DBenterprises: I actually thought they were giant Buckthorn berries and had never heard of pyracantha before.
@Phelon: thanks for the kind words

[DBenterprises Profile]

@eadams Ha. I thought they were rose hips at first because of the size.

[eadams Profile]

[Burcham Profile]

Hi Eadams,

Thank you for all your hard work and interest in helping me. I looked up the pyracantha berries in the link you posted, and when I clicked on it and it showed the name of the creator as "shy user", I remembered that name. Wonder why they took it off, I thought it was a nice background. I did google pryacantha berries and did get tons of results. I didn't know they were that small. Anyway I guess I could always use the picture I have, remove the girl, and use composite if I just have to have that particular background. But, as Phelon said there are many free ones on the web. I do wish there was a sub-gallery(s) of just good background photos on SPE. Most of what I have used the program for is lifting a subject out, and replacing the background. I should have posted the original for this one, she is a diamond in a coal-bin. Anyway thanks to all of you again.

Dave

[eadams Profile]

Hi Dave,

I agree it would be great to have a sub-gallery of copyright-free background images to browse through. Theoretically, you can browse background images by first selecting the background area and clicking on "Confirm selection and browse effects", but the resulting effects include things other than background images.

As I understand it, the philosophy behind SPE is to boost creativity by displaying effects that you MIGHT want to use, based on some algorithm that takes into account what tags have been added to the effects, the type of image, how the effects have been rated, etc. etc. I have found this useful in many instances, because I see my images displayed with effects that I never would have thought to look for myself. The downside is, if you know what you're looking for, it's hard to find it.

I find it interesting that you use SPE mainly for compositing. As DBenterprises suggested, one way of getting great backgrounds is to photograph them yourself. First of all, you know that your background image is unique and copyright-free, and secondly, it is very satisfying to use an image you created yourself. If you are using the background image as a backdrop for portraits (like in your photo of the beautiful lady), the background image needn't be of professional quality. It should be slightly out-of-focus anyway so as not to distract from the main subject and you can fix color and lighting in SPE. Not everyone has time to go around taking photos, though, so it really would be helpful to have a large library of backgrounds to choose from.

I would like to share some of my thoughts about your image. In the image you posted, the composition was obviously not meant to simulate a real environment, because the background covers the lady at the bottom of the image. Nevertheless, the background image should ideally look right in combination with the foreground image not only with regard to color and lighting, but also in scale. If this is not the case, the composition will look a bit off. As the discussion that ensued regarding the size of the berries shows, a background image can be distracting and draw attention away from the actual subject of the portrait. It is possible to correct problems of scale by resizing either the foreground or background image.

I would love to see more of your work, because the one image you posted is quite beautiful

Eve