At the stable

[autofocus]

Shot was planned to be a silhouette, and although the shot was underexposed the girl and horse were still too well lit by the ambient. Here's a before and after forcing the silhouette. Also, a lot of work went into the removal of the blankets hanging off the lower left side of the image. Comments are always appreciated..thanks


B-A Sil-MP by vmontalbano, on Flickr

[SusanH1970]

VERY nice work! Love the "after" image...silhouettes are a favorite of mine.

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by SusanH1970

VERY nice work! Love the "after" image...silhouettes are a favorite of mine.

Thanks Susan, over an hour of editing time went into it, so the customer better buy it! We thought a shot like this would be a little different, let's hope she agrees

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by autofocus

over an hour of editing time went into it, so the customer better buy it!

Damn, you've got the patience and faith of a saint, LOL!

[BK553]

In a true silhouette the stables in front of the subject would not be lit...this is a "cut-out"

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by BK553

In a true silhouette the stables in front of the subject would not be lit...this is a "cut-out"

The goal was to silhouette her and the horse against the background. If you try to picture blackened sides, top and bottom of the stable area it would have created a black rectangle with a bright box in the middle. I personally wouldn't think that would look particularly good. Plus, you'd have no idea where they are, and what they are doing...it gives the image context. But thanks for your opinion

[BK553]

I understand what you're going for, my point is that the way you have edited is, physically impossible to occur naturally. There is no way the stables could be lit without the girl and horse being front-lit as well.

[dalmorloson]

I really like the idea and appreciate the time that went into the post work, but it does look a little "off " imo. Maybe its the total blackness of the subjects with everything else being somewhat "lit". I love silhouettes too, but there's something about this one that doesn't seem natural.

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by dalmorloson

I really like the idea and appreciate the time that went into the post work, but it does look a little "off " imo. Maybe its the total blackness of the subjects with everything else being somewhat "lit". I love silhouettes too, but there's something about this one that doesn't seem natural.

Remember, I said the intent was to get them as a natural silhouette against the bright background. Unfortunately, even with underexposing the subjects when shooting, the reflective ambient light was just enough to take them out of silhouette, and illuminated them slightly. The next best thing was to do it in post work. I can see why you feel it doesn't look natural.

[prince]

May be you tried, but did you try to slow down the shutter speed? The background is too bright for the post processing to look like a silhouette. I surely wouldn't show this to the client.