Since the real DPC juggernauts will supposedly be trying even harder with this challenge, I decided to just have some fun. This was an idea that I had for the Backlighting challenge, but never had the time to try it (I nearly ran out of time again).
I started with a photo of the model falling backward, then silhouetted the shot and added the "spray" in PS. I faded the image to about 45% black and then printed it out a little larger than life on clear film using the office plotter. I then suspended the transparent image in front of the model and placed a single incandescent light behind her to the left (additional lights created problems with glare on the film).
At that point, it was just a matter of capturing the right pose and expression. I cut a hole in the film so she could put her arm through (beyond the plane of the shadow) for a little extra realism. Humble thanks to my very patient volunteer model!
Processing: Given my poor lighting setup, I shot in RAW to allow some extra flexibility in exposure. I ran it through Noise Ninja, cloned out a few minor reflections and the hole in the film, dodged & burned, cropped, USM, and I think I added a slightly warmer tone. Despite all the steps, it's really not that different from the original. Hope I get a few chuckles. ;-)
Statistics
Place: 55 out of 69 Avg (all users): 6.2839 Avg (commenters): 7.1356 Avg (participants): 6.2321 Avg (non-participants): 6.2924 Views since voting: 2342 Views during voting: 830 Votes: 398 Comments: 67 Favorites: 2 (view)
This was another one of those shots that baffled the viewer and consequently voted down. Well, I certainly hope that members will reasses their judgement when they see somrthing they do not understand.
Your effort here is to be applauded because you produced another unique effect which expands further the technical comprehension which helps extend further artirstic expression. Very good job.
Yow! 6.284 is only good enough for 21% percentile. Now THAT'S some quality competition!
FWIW, I didn't care much for the blurry shadow overlap either, but there wasn't a whole lot I could do about it (having waited until the last day). I got a lot of comments suggesting more light on the model's face... but if the light is stronger in the front, where does that put the shadow? LOL
This photo wow'd me when I saw it, it definitely came from a creative mind. Its well executed too. The blur on the model is the only unusual thing here, to me. Great idea...
way cool! this is so killer. i hope i'm not wrong, but i'm absolutely convinced this was done in front of the camera and not in post-processing. either way, it's one of my top picks for the challenge. brilliant display of creativity and ingenuity. bravo!
great idea, black and white is not really doing it for me though. I do like the compostiion but the focal point is the face and it is out of focus, and the blurry obscured hip area is distracting.
Unusual, but an interesting technique. Trying to figure out the water drops with not much luck. There seems to be an over abundance of gray tones without any pure whites. Motion blur adds intensity. NIce job.
Hey, this is really creative! I'd like to know how you did this one. Great sharp and punchy contrast (no pun intended). Love the facial expression of the model as it really looks like she's fighting her own shadow. Would have liked to see a bit more detail of the model's face. 8
knockout idea here, love the spray of shadow sweat or saliva or blood or whatever it is that comes off a boxer's face when its punched! I can only assume that the shadow is on a transparancy of some kind as this was validated. Great Idea!
Sure I have seen this one before! Don't think it is as good as it could have been. Focus should have been on the face, to catch the aggression! Gave it 3 first look, gonna bump it to a 6 for the way it has been executed.
This is a creative effort with great visual powerThe choice of the blur adds the illusion of movement to compliment the punch. Will place it at 6 and will return for final evaluation.
back; fitsy O never questioned the validity since this can be accomplished several ways. But who are these members who are so green in this industry that they suspect ps. Remember, hollywood and trick photography existed way before ps ever entered the picture.
I am bumping this image to 10 because it is a creative effort of which there are not as many as I expected. It has remain a rather safe ground entry contest.
This is a wonderful shot, but the shadow on the front of her is more distracting to me. I see what you are going for and it's very well done but the proportions seems off a bit, the shadow should be a little smaller to me, jut a bit and the way it falls across her body is distracting. And there is no real sharpness in any of the shot, if the actual boxer was in better focus I would score this higher. I started at a 6 on this, first glance and upon further examination I'm raising it to a 7
Interesting shot to look at. Not sure I like the blurred forground though. Is there a way you could have put it behind her? Her face is also a bit out of focus.
Great idea, you seem to have gone to a lot of effort for this one! I think I'd have liked more sharpness here, especially your model's face. By your shallow dof, you intended the pof to be on the shadow, but my eye rests on the boxer first... so I would have increased the dof. 7
hahaha lovely image... the idea behind it is excellent and the execution is brilliant, the only thing that i might change is the blurred nature of the pants from the shadow being overlayed... i would have really liked to see the pants a tad more focused however overall this is a brilliant photo and deserves to be well placed... congratulations on a wonderful photo
This is a clever shot showing the shadow of the opponent right on down to the sweat flying off her face as she is being clobbered! Looks like a difficult one to set up. Not the most attractive picture but interesting.
This is a really clever shot! The lighting is really good and the pose of your model matches the pose of the shadow very well. I think I would have preferred the model to be a bit higher in the frame though, so there wasn't as much blank space at the top. 7
Great setup. I particularly like the sweat flying off of the shadow. A bit more light on the boxers face may have worked better but overall a wonderful shot.
I was wondering how this had been done, then I noticed the "shadow" is in front of the woman, and it's transparent. Nicely done! Love the bubbles coming out of the shadow's mouth.
What a great idea. I'll be interested to see all that went into capturing this moment. It's beautiful. I gave it an 8 -- only because the bottom half of the girl is slightly oout of focus.
I like this photo, it's creative. I imagine you shot through an etched transparency, blurring the shape of the fighter? My onlyproblem is you lose a lof of detail in the live fighter. Maybe you could've placed the transparency on a projector and shot it on the wall from an angle where the girl would not blurred? Of course, I couldn't say, I've never tried it. 7
Great approach to get the "opponent," as well as a unique (though, difficult to perceive at first) viewpoint on the action... reminds me of the video game "Punch Out." Unfortunately, the result upon first glance is a strange out-of-focus effect on most of the body of your boxer, which throws off my eye in the scene. The lighting is good, but the composition seems a little cramped. The image looks either over-smoothed (NeatImage?) or slightly out of focus on the boxer, so there's little detail on her face... perhaps a fill light would have helped get a little more of the expression on her face.
I am sorry I am not really impressed with this one. It is a nice idea but does not really work for me. At first I thought the shadow was supposed to be hers, but now I understand it is not. The shadow is so big that it does not fit. Also the blur it causes across her body feels somehow strange. I do like the drops flying of her face, that's a nice touch.
great idea...little weak in the lighting department in my mind. the lighting on the boxer is quite flat, and loses a lot of detail. you did a fantastic job on the shadow. I'll be interested to see how you did it. the spewing slobber was a nice touch :)
I"m going to guess that this was done with a filter/mask. I think the composition is really excellent. The way the arms of both the real person and the mask go flying off in different directions and the beads of sweat of the shadow-mask really give the image a sense of hitting someone hard and sending them flying. Along with the way the subject's body is turned and way the shadow-mask is leaning really give the image a lot of energy. On the whole, I think the choise of harsh lighting was very good, but think there could be slightly more fill light on the face of your subject. Good choice of B&W and low contrast tones. This image was well thought out and masterfully executed. Bravo! 10
very clever and original idea. I like the black and white treatment. Excellent attention to detail, expecially with the blood or sweat spraying from the face of the shadow. The one thing that bothers me is the bottom of the boxer. Her shirt and pants blend together somewhat formlessly, creating a dark featureless area in the frame. I wish the line of the bottom of her shirt was more visible or the stripe on her pants legs more pronounced. All in all a wonderful idea well executed!
nice shadows, I feel the face needs a bit more contrast - it's a bit washed. Very nice anger shot - she must have been thinking of punching Pres. Bush in the face. :)
interesting concept, and i like that the boxers are fighting against eachother. I didn't catch it at the first second though. It seems a little low contrast or all too middle gray for my liking.
What a unique and hilarious idea! I can't wait to find out how you pulled it off.. I can see how the shadow image seems to be in front of the boxer.. was it cut out of some kind of material? Is it a double-exposure? However you did it, bloody brilliant.
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