Have you ever wondered how people do those cool shots that seem so impossible?

Balancing on the back of a chair?

Painting their face, including eyes and eyebrows with flag colors?

Turning into a different race?

 Having two heads and three arms? {Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy}

Having a strange reflection in the mirror?

 

Well, today I am going to tell you most of my tricks : {sigh!}
Pretty much all of them can be explained with two words: CLONING and LAYERS.

Once you accept that and wrap your head around it, you can start seeing how these images are done.

Let me explain on my last week’s Fan shot!

First, you HAVE to have an idea in your head. You cannot start shooting and expect to wing it. Because when it comes to manipulating images this way, you have to have a formulated plan. What will move, where you’ll stand/sit/levitate and how you can accomplish it using layers and the cloning technique (which we discussed in Selfie Saturdays Week 6 ). This shot above was very carefully planned and executed.

All the variables ( the items that are flying around) were very set in my head, so the only unknown was my pose. So I went ahead and arranged  the flying items they way I pictured them in a windstorm in my head. Plants were easy- I just tipped them over. Everything else had to be triggered. I also knew exactly where I’d be standing, so I made sure those items didn’t overlap me, or if they did it was in a manner that would not present a problem for me later. The canvas had to be as clear as possible for at least one of the shots.

So I first took my motionless base shot.
Then I went frame by frame:

Magazine: It got thrown around until I got a few acceptable shots.
Yellow Hammock: I held it the back (you can’t see me) and also pushed it forward for another shot {just in case I needed it…and it turned out I needed it}
Orange Hammock: Also held by me standing out of the frame.
Flower Pot: I had to hold it in a way that would look like it was being blown by the wind but careful not to overlap my fingers, so that I could erase myself later. Don’t mind my weird pose, I was keeping the hammock from swinging in the way of the flower pot by holding it with my leg, hence the weird pose lol I swear I am not trying to flash you my coochie.
Scarf:  It got thrown in the air a few times, until I was sure I captured a nice fluid motion.

 So now that I got all my miscellaneous shots out of the way, I had to get on the most important one: the actual self portrait. The goal was to be floating in the air looking like I was being blown away. At first I started with standing on a little mini table since that is how I pictured it in my head. However after a few shots I realized that it was almost impossible to maneuver on it without breaking it or myself while keeping my toes in front of it. So I tossed that idea and tried doing a contorted jump. It worked out wonderfully.

For the second part of the shot, I brought out a fan to blow on my hair to complete the windblown look. Let me just say I fell on it a few times
{don’t mind my skinned knee, obviously I photoshopped it out in the main photo}

 Later, in post-processing I simply cloned all the shots together, using layers, the eraser tool and the cloning technique I described a few weeks ago.
I cloned the fan OUT of the shots and cloned all the items INTO it.

Similar logic was used on most of the shots above I gave as an example above.

Chair Trick: I found a piece of furniture that was similar height, added a thick book to match the chair’s height, stood on the dresser and then combined it with the shot of the chair alone.

USA flag: found an image of the  flag, layered it over my face and erased all around it.

Hitchhiker’s Guide shot: Took two separate shots of hubby looking in different directions, cloned my husbands 2nd  head in and smoothed into his neck. Did the same with his three arms.

Levitation: Same deal as with the chair. Find an object you can sit/lie/stand on, make sure your toes and legs are clearly and fully visible. Take the shot without the object or you in it, combine using the cloning technique.

Mirror Shot: Classic Clone. If you want your reflection to be something different, take two shot making sure non overlap and clone them together.

Na’vi: Not my invention but I thought it was cool. Here’s  NA’VI tutorial ,but I am warning you, it’s time and skill intensive.

Magic Dust and Oranges shots: Do I need to say anything more? Cloning technique and cloning technique.

If some of you still have questions, don’t hesitate to ask in the comments below.

So this brings me to this week’s assignment and this should be the most fun and creative one so far. So those of you who have gone by on simple face shots, that will no longer do

I want you to create some magic with your camera and Photoshop, using the techniques above and anything else you can come up with.
If you don’t have Photoshop CS5 or Elements, download a free 30 day trial. Though I am 100% a Lightroom  girl, I do go to Photoshop for layers when I need to.

I encourage you to come up with ideas on your own or take inspiration from my shots here.
Don’t worry I won’t think you’re copying me, so if you like a shot, do one yourself and mention where you got the inspiration.

Also I’d love to hear which type of Magic Trick you love the most.

P.S.: I really love seeing the same girls come back and do their selfies each week. You’re getting SOOOOO much better, it’s amazing! {you know who you are}. I can see the improvement in skill, in focus, in posing and specifically in CONFIDENCE! I love that you’re trying out new things with your portraiture and are no longer afraid {almost?} to be beautiful!

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Selfie Saturdays Weeks:
Week 2: Basic Full Body Shot
Week 3: Couple’s Selfies
Week 4: Arm’s Length Selfie
Week 5: Conceptual Selfies
Week 6: Me Myself and I: Multiplicity
Week 7: Portrait Selfie + Squinty Model Eyes
Week 8: Self-Love
Week 9: Focus
Week 10: My friend, the FAN
Week 11: Magic Tricks
Week 12: Jump Shots
Week 13: Family Portrait
Week 14: Collaborations
Week 15: Stop Motion Photography (non-selfie week)
Week 16: Me now, Me then
Week 17: Anonymous: Shooting Body Parts
Week 18: Perfection: Editing Selfies
Week 19: Suprise!

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