i need your help

[JonMikal]

i plan on re-doing this with your suggestions. over a year ago i started on this and Graham lent some suggestions on how to improve it, but i let it drop. maybe he'll jump in and have another go at it as well as you guys. anything will be appreciated. :)

this was created from two of my images from two museums. i need your help with wall texture and wall image. i'm not real keen on the texture and the wall image doesn't look anchored...if that makes sense. would a plain wall and drop shadow for the wall images make this work?


http://www.yourphotoforum.com/imagehosting/1454d2ae43f146.jpg

[oldbeachbum]

JM... Very cool concept and soooo close to being right on too. The only thing I see is the light source is obviously above and in front of the couch a little (by the shadow on the carpet). There needs to be a similar shadow on the wall under the wall hanging and, here's the tricky part, also along the top edge of each and every brick... Unless you want the impression of a large light source also, I can imagine the edges of the brick wall being a touch shaded - as if the light over the couch was a 3 or 4 light track system aimed at the wall just behind the couch. Look at the bricks in the very upper right corner, how they start to get a little grey...
Again - a great concept... love it...!!

[JonMikal]

thanks DD.

i see what you mean about the brick. do you think i'd be better off with a simpler texture or none at all?

[ChopperLinc]

I think a drop shadow for sure. Can you take out the copyright on the wall pic or did you purposefully leave it in? I like the texture on the wall. Plain is bad imho. Maybe a little more dimension to the wall frame itself?

but....

I'll defer to Graham, the decided expert on sofa photog!

[Hertz van Rental]

Drop shadows tend to be too artificial due to the way they are done.
And the texture on the wall is still too washed out.
The picture tends to look like it's been stuck on, or floating, because of the lack of solidity to the wall.
First stop would be to look at some walls with pictures on them and to see how they differ from yours.
Use that as a starting point.

[Aprilraven]

and just a thought... can you make the small little pic the girls are looking at be the couch in your first pic? like they are looking at the same image as us?


just a thought... i so suck at this kinda stuff....( ignore me, act like i am not here.. okay??)

[JonK]

i think you need the wall darker for one. I'd lose the frame on the wall image and somehow make it appear as if you are seeing that scene thru a window. It already has that appearance to a degree but if you could make it even more it would be good IMO.

[Luddite]

Lovely concept. I think the wall is too evenly lit - there would be a bright area lightng the picture and shadowing would be needed to both sides of this and under to match the angles of the shadow of the couch. It would be super if the two pictures in the "girls" shot could be either side of their one on the wall!

Looks like a good way to waste a few evenings playing as my wife calls it!

[Chiller]

Loving the concept Jon. I agree with the comments on the wall. Seems too overwhelming...at least with the colours on this work computer. There are no shadows around the wall pic and no resesses in the brickwork. I think the way Ch1ller discribed it to me was it seemed like a sticker on the wall, and not a framed picture.
I kinda dig Aprils idea too...reverse the shots. Hmmm...or even do another...with the pic of the girls...lookin at another pic of the girls...lookin at another pic of the girls...:)
But I would still frame this one. Excellent stuff Jon. :thumbsup:

[JonMikal]

thanks for the ideas. yep, i know it looks like a stamp on an envelope...just needed some PS direction.

thank you :)

[Ernie]

Jon, had a little look at this, play around with the highlight shadow, this brings the wall texture out very nicely. It will become as the picture
is, too sharp, so get the blur tool from the toolbox, lower the the opacity down to around 10 and go over the whole wall and picture blur it enough to give a feel of DOF. But before you do the blur, make a small selection under the picture, give it a feather of 3, then with a very soft brush, and again a very low opacity brush in a shadow, also tone down the white frame a touch, then do the blur thing. This All should have been done in the beginning before the outside frame. Another point is the frame of the picture the black and white is too contrasty against the wall, I tried changing it to a timber colour, it blended in a lot better. Ernie

[JonMikal]

thanks Ernie.
in the meantime, please feel free to post your results.

[Ernie]

OK Jon, not sure if I retained the image, I usually delete them straight away, I will have a look in my trash basket, if not Ill copy it again. Ernie

[kelley_french]

JM what a cool photo.:thumbsup:

Sorry i don't have any ideas on how to fix this photo when it looks great to me.