⬓Ballerina⬠is part of the August 13 World Wide Scott Kelby Magic Walk.
Perhaps some of you also participated. The lady that set it up in our area, arranged for a few students from a local dancing studio to pose for us around St. Augustine. This set up was the best, unfortunately, it was in front of a storefront. The dogs just happen to pass by and the owner graciously volunteered them. The image was taken with a Canon M50, ISO 500, F3.5 at 1/1000 of a second.
How I did ⬓Ballerinaâ¬. Very painfully! I have no idea how much time I spent on this, but it was a lot, just to soften the background and get the leashes to show. Depth Blur helped, but it would totally blur out the leashes. I had to select them at least three times and save then on another background, then transfer then on the picture. Then the hand was totally blurred and I did a Layer > New > Via Copy to fix that. Then I found several imperfections I had to fix. In spite of it, I still think it leaves lot to be desired.
This round’s discussion is now closed! 6 comments posted
Marti Buckely
Interesting work. Did you try Select Subject? I couldn't resist trying something though I realize it wouldn't fit the Magic Walk format. When I used Select Subject it gave me a pretty good selection. There were a few spots to tweak like the leashes and some of the dogs but overall pretty accurate. Posted: 09/05/2022 18:52:13
Joseph J Zaia
Yes, I tried Select Subject, but as I resolved one problem another popped up. What you did is good, but I did not want a total dark background. Perhaps some variation of colors may work with it. Posted: 09/05/2022 23:06:01
Jerry Biddlecom
Yeah -- the background was always going to be a problem. I feel your pain! I noticed in the original that there might be some potential backgrounds around the corner. Would it have been permissible to move around so that the subjects would have had a less distracting backing? If the organizer of the walk intentionally picked the spot, then she was pretty demanding -- or maybe had something of a sadistic bent ... Posted: 09/06/2022 22:53:41
Joseph J Zaia
No Jerry, this was not a controlled situation. We moved from spot to spot, very fast among tourists and all sorts of backgrounds. The dogs were just passing by and the dancer got into the spirit. She was very good and I was fortunate to event get what I did. I have a few other pictures. If you have been in St George St. in St Augustine, you know what I mean. Posted: 09/06/2022 23:24:13
Al Swanson
Very artfully done. I'm still trying to imagine how you got all these pieces to fit together and still did it without cross traffic upsetting the apple cart. Very interesting image. Posted: 09/11/2022 20:03:08
Kaylyn Franks
I so understand your challenges with editing this image. There are times after I have editing for hours if it is worth it. My answer is always yes, because I learn so much more. I think the results are pretty darn good for what you did. The background is what it is and you bested the situation. Posted: 09/15/2022 22:03:48
