Toad On Lilly Pad

[Norm Dulak]

Lilly Pad:
Nikon D7000 w/Nikkor f/3.5-5.6G 28-300mm vr lens @ 100mm, hand held
ISO 320; uncompensated MM; f/9.0. 1/125 sec.

Toad:
Canon PowerShot S90 IS, hand held
ISO 500; EM -0.33; f/8.0, 1/500 sec.

PP:
Standard PS CS6 adjustments; Topaz DeNoise 4; Toad "extracted" onto transparent layer following Magnetic Lasso tool and Refine Edge selection, 3 pixel feathering. Toad positioned and accurately sized using Free Transform; crop.

While my wife and I were relaxing in a spa by our swimming pool, this toad swam from the pool and hopped onto a spillway connecting the pool and the spa. Yesterday, we went to Longwood Gardens at Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, in search of a lilly pad for our toad, to free it from blue and white tiles on which it was photographed. The result is attached.

Your comments and suggestions are as always welcome!

Norm

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Norm,

Greetings. Hmm, placement doesn't work for me. The toad is a bit too crisp for next to the softer blossom and the lighting is inconsistent. You might try darkening the underside of the toad and creating a slight shadow on the leaf along with a very slight Gaussian blur. Individually the toad & lily look good.

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Norm Dulak]

Norm,

Greetings. Hmm, placement doesn't work for me. The toad is a bit too crisp for next to the softer blossom and the lighting is inconsistent. You might try darkening the underside of the toad and creating a slight shadow on the leaf along with a very slight Gaussian blur. Individually the toad & lily look good.

Cheers,

-Michael-

Thanks, Mike. I think I understand what you are saying about the crispness of the toad but am uncertain whether I could make the adjustments you have suggested. Would you please repost the image showing the changes you have in mind?

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Norm,

Greetings. Okay... a quick repost:

Curves for darkening - use probe and pull down, fill mask black and paint in desired area
I used 3 curves:

one for broad light darkening on underside an leaf for shadow
one for deeper shadow on leaf close to toad
one more for right underside (imagined light from upper left)


Gaussian blur just at .2 radius (masked black and painted toad, painted eyes white on mask)

Color sampled pink flower, color fill layer, black mask, painted 15% opacity right side of toad, low opacity soft light blend for a little reflective pink on right side (er, maybe just showing off here ;-)

Not quite there yet, but you can see where I'm going... Looking at the reworked version now... I think the white balance of the toad is off for the scene. Would cool it down a bit.

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Ah, the wb was part of the problem (for me anyway):

Used Lab mode curve pulled right endpoint down on both A and B channels to taste.

Masked black and painted in toad.

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Norm Dulak]

Very interesting, Michael. And I do thank you for all of your efforts. The only problem I see is that the toad was much lighter in color, as in my OP. A copy of the toad as captured against the spillway tiles is attached here.

[Judy Howle]

Norm, instead of using curves and masking, after you place the toad on the leaf, go to Layer, Layer styles and click on the WORDS drop shadow, not the checkbox, so that the options will open, then adjust it to your liking. Once you get the size, angle and opacity set you can just click on the shadow right on the frog actually and move it where you want it with your mouse. You can always add more with a curves adjustment layer later if needed.

Michael's 2nd version looks good. He is right that the toad is too light and too warm for the scene and looks better to me after his adjustments. (Even though that may be it's real color.)

[Norm Dulak]

Norm, instead of using curves and masking, after you place the toad on the leaf, go to Layer, Layer styles and click on the WORDS drop shadow, not the checkbox, so that the options will open, then adjust it to your liking. Once you get the size, angle and opacity set you can just click on the shadow right on the frog actually and move it where you want it with your mouse. You can always add more with a curves adjustment layer later if needed.

Michael's 2nd version looks good. He is right that the toad is too light and too warm for the scene and looks better to me after his adjustments. (Even though that may be it's real color.)

Thanks, Judy. Although I still prefer the true color of the toad, I've applied a slight shadow as you suggested, with the result shown here. I think it adds depth and warmth to the image.

[Anita Bower]

You have a stunning water lily and a cute toad. To my eye, the toad does not look natural on that lily pad. It seems there have been helpful comments above. Glad to see you on this forum.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Hi, Norm, the last repost is my favorite although I think of toads living under rocks so I do think he looks a little out of place. Great input and suggestions from everyone:S3:

[Norm Dulak]

Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions for improvement! And for Cheryl, I agree that my little toad is a bit out of place on a lilly pad. But hey, isn't this the Out Of The Box forum? :bg3:

[Jackie Schuknecht]

Somehow the toad looks more natural to me in Michael's reposts. I like the addition of the drop shadow to anchor him on the leaf.