# Special effects portraits



## Conrad (Aug 25, 2009)

I recently purchased a green screen for some fun. 1st photo was using the green screen (of yours truly). 2nd photo was just more special effects practice.


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## MelissaMarieImagery (Aug 25, 2009)

These are cool. I don't know much about "green screening" though, how does it work exactly?


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## musicaleCA (Aug 25, 2009)

Put the subject in front of a green screen, and have them not wear anything remotely green. The screen is of a colour that doesn't appear in skin tones, or hair, or what-have-you (unless you dye their hair or have body paint/make-up, but that's the exception, not the rule). The green is incredibly easy to remove from the image, or video (as it's a technique used quite often in cinematography). Bam; instantly, you have the subject and no background. You're then free to put whatever you want as a background.

Anyway, these are freaking cool. In the first, did you just use a brush with a lot of scatter, or something else? (Oh, and did you light yourself with the knowledge that you were going to do that effect, or start with even light so you could create whatever you wanted later?)


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## Conrad (Aug 26, 2009)

MelissaMarieImagery said:


> These are cool. I don't know much about "green screening" though, how does it work exactly?



What Michael said above. 



musicaleCA said:


> Anyway, these are freaking cool. In the first, did you just use a brush with a lot of scatter, or something else? (Oh, and did you light yourself with the knowledge that you were going to do that effect, or start with even light so you could create whatever you wanted later?)



Yup a brush on a path with a bunch of scatter.

I lit up both of us with the intent to do those special effects.


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## ocular (Aug 26, 2009)

Damn, I like the first one.. Reminds me of that dude from mortal kombat.


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## musicaleCA (Aug 26, 2009)

Conrad said:


> Yup a brush on a path with a bunch of scatter.
> 
> I lit up both of us with the intent to do those special effects.



Sweet. That's kinda what I suspected. Doing side-lighting in the second in post is not something I'd want to do.  (This also reminds me that now that I have a tablet, I really need to try some stuff like this.)


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## enufced904 (Aug 26, 2009)

Awesome pics man! The second one remind me of DBZ.


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## Cely (Aug 26, 2009)

That is pretty amazing. How do you add special effects like that? I understand the lighting aspect, but with the swirly lightning bolts and such, how did you create those?


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## boogschd (Aug 26, 2009)

Cely said:


> How do you add special effects like that? I understand the lighting aspect, but with the swirly lightning bolts and such, how did you create those?




pen tool and lightning brushes in photoshop ?


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## musicaleCA (Aug 26, 2009)

...*blinks* Read. The. Thread. :lmao:



Conrad said:


> musicaleCA said:
> 
> 
> > Anyway, these are freaking cool. In the first, did you just use a brush with a lot of scatter, or something else? (Oh, and did you light yourself with the knowledge that you were going to do that effect, or start with even light so you could create whatever you wanted later?)
> ...



The other lightning in the second I'm guessing is a combination of paths or brush strokes. Such brush strokes are a piece of cake if one has a tablet. And possibly sampled images of lightning to save time. On the bottom hand, lots of smudging or liquify on the bottom hand to push around those paths.

Again, cool!


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