Photo-Shoot #9

For this shoot, I used some old models of 'Yu-Gi-Oh' characters as miniatures, with the intent of adding them into scenes from previous shoots. I captured some of the images with shallow depths-of-fields with the miniatures being out-of-focus to account for the focus on the part of the scene I plan to put them.

I will be using images from Photo-Shoot #7 and Photo-Shoot #3 as the scenes for these miniatures.

Image #1 (Original Unedited)

During this shoot, I decided to use this image (left) from Photo-Shoot #7 to be a scene in this 'Fantasy Medieval' experimentation because the fallen trees made good spots for a character to stand, the greenery looks conventionally fantastical, and the wider depth-of-field puts suitable focus on the fallen trees. I captured the image on the right with the intention of combining it specifically with the image on the left. I had the left image on my computer screen in-front of me as I captured the image of the miniature to help get the right angle.

Image #1

To create this 'Fantasy Medieval' scene, I "cut out" the miniature from its image, then imported it to the document of the landscape image, in Photoshop. Once imported, I decreased the 'saturation' of both 'layers', increased the 'contrast' of both, and positioned the miniature onto the tree. I then used a 'soft brush' tool with a lowered 'opacity' to create the look of shadows coming from the miniature, to make it look more "realistic" and like an actual part of the scene.

I really like the colours in this image as they have a very mellow and calm feel to them. The image looks rather peaceful and gentle to look at, as opposed to if it were made of reds and oranges, which would imply "danger".

Image #2 (Original Unedited Images)

I chose to use the first image (top-left), from Photo-Shoot #3, because it looks like what one would expect a 'Fantasy Medieval' battle scene with a dragon to look like. There is a bridge (the log) which the heroes must cross, with a dragon preventing them from passing. They can't go around because there is lava beneath them and fire surrounding them. They have no choice but to fight the dragon. This is what I thought of when looking at the Photo-Shoot #3 image, so, I proceeded to use miniatures to bring my idea to life.

I also chose to use the Photo-Shoot #10 image of the fire swirling in the can as it looks very well-defined and like it is moving quickly. It does a good job of creating the look of fire swirling around the characters.

Image #2

On the one hand, I like the overall look of this image. The colours look very intense and "dangerous". However, on the other hand, I am somewhat dissatisfied with the miniatures. I do not feel as though they blend with the scene very well, particularly the dragon.

I enjoy making these intricate scenes, but I do not think I will develop this idea any further due to how time-consuming it is to make just one of them, and the inconsistency of quality.

Image #3 (Original Unedited)

Again, I chose the image on the left, from Photo-Shoot #7, because of the colours and greenery which make it seem lush and fantastical. I also chose it because of the framing of the waterfall and the cliff as putting a character at the top of it would give him/her looking room, making for a dramatic shot.

Image #3 (First Version)

In this first version, I put the miniature into the image of the waterfall, placed it at the top of the waterfall, used a 'soft brush' tool to add shadows on the character and around him, then lowered the 'saturation' and increased the 'contrast' of the character. I also decreased the 'saturation' of the waterfall image, and increased the 'contrast'.

I like this version, but, to me, the miniature did not look right with the background; it looked too "fake".

Image #3 (Second Version)

For this second version, I added a low 'opacity' green 'colour overlay' to the miniature in an attempt to make it blend with the background more. However, I still was not satisfied with the way it looked.

Image #3 (Third Version)

Finally, I reached a look that satisfies me. From the second version, the only change I made to achieve this look was adding an 'unsharp mask' to the miniature.

I do like this image as the green colours make the waterfall "stand out" quite well. The miniature stands tall and powerful at the top, as though embarking on an epic journey.