i've been trying to use suggested techniques on combining pictures whcih have different settings. i think i am missing still something, as the man and the woman still look like they are from separate pix. especially the hair.
any suggestions? i have them in more raw forms if that's better.
To my eye, a quick look shows that the male, in the photo, has more light and less contrast than the female.
(But then I may be blind, too )
The thing that strikes me (as a photographer) is the light sources aren't the same. For the man the light's coming from straight on, while for the woman the light's coming from her left (our right). You can see it in the shiny gowns they're wearing, as well as the highlights on their faces. That to me is a dead giveaway any time composites are built. Let's pretend we don't see that. ;)
But that said - I'd adjust the contrast in each separately, aiming to get them in the same range at least before ever putting them together. Tone curves (Ctrl-T) and the eyedropper are your friend. You need more darks without turning the few things that are already dark muddy. Play with it, and avoid the auto balance tone option. Make each piece look good, and only then combine them. You can do a final adjustment on the combined pic if you need to, but you shouldn't need anything major.
yeah, i saw the difference in light soiurce and started to try to shadow the man's face on 1 side. i wasn't sure if there was some other way or mask trick.
so how do u set the range of contrast so both pics match?
jimlau said:so how do u set the range of contrast so both pics match?
Adjust / Brightness/Contrast/Intensity or Adjust / Contrast Enhancement.
I am also seeing that your cutting out the images is very coarse: the edges of the people are completely jagged. You should work with more precision if you want a tad more realism. It seems to me you used the Wand tool and then hit the Delete key. Try the Eraser tool with either a softer edge or work with it gradually with a low opacity setting.
jimlau said: so how do u set the range of contrast so both pics match?
I played with a copy of your photo, and while I could make one look better or the other, I couldn't adjust both at the same time to where I was really happy with them.
You can use contrast adjust, but I find tone curve to be more flexible. You want a range of light to dark from white to black, of course, but the nice thing about the tone curve is you can adjust individual points that you set.The program doesn't know what's important to you in the photo, but you do.
So I would set the important points (click on the eyedropper and then ctrl-click on the photo) and then bend the curve (literally), adding more points till I was happy with the result. That way you can make the man's gown darker without turning the features of his face muddy. Then do the same for the lady (it's likely to be a different curve since the exposure is different), and only then put them together.
That explanation's probably clear as mud, but if you play with the tool I think you'll see the possibilities. It's easy and intuitive, and if you mess up you can always cancel and no harm done. :)