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Post by Bailey on Feb 3, 2018 10:20:56 GMT
I am going with this one.  |
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Post by Peterj on Feb 3, 2018 13:53:59 GMT
Thank you for your feedback hmca and Peter. This morning I played around trying to create a nebula cloud. I'm still not 100% happy with the edge around the nebula but I am getting close. Not being an "arty" person or designer I could spend days playing with this whereas an experienced designer could come up with a background much quicker. I will tinker with this a bit more as time permits in the next few days and I'm sure I will come up with something I will be happy to print.  FWIW I prefer this over the next one you posted. If this were up to me (which obviously it isn't) I'd soften the rather hard edges on the lower portion of the nebula and arrange the layer so the red/orange strip points between the blood moons on the right. |
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Post by Bailey on Feb 3, 2018 23:37:22 GMT
Thank you for your thoughts Peter.
The latest version I posted here (the one I said I am going with), I also posted over at 500px. It got a lot of positive feedback. As I am sure you are aware, one can tinker with something like this until the next total lunar eclipse, super moon, blue moon combination and each iteration will have things that people like and dislike. I'm not sure I will be able to justify spending anymore time on this one.
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Post by Bailey on Feb 4, 2018 0:33:20 GMT
I have been asked by Peter in a PM if I created the nebula background. Peter - rather than reply in a PM I am replying in a post in case anyone else is interested. I have never created a background like this before so I searched Google and found there are hundreds of tutorials on creating outer space scenes. The method I used to create the background in my latest version of the eclipse sequence is loosely based on this video tutorial on how to create a nebula in Photoshop. The tutor talks about painting different colours onto a layer to create the nebula's colours. I used a colour gradient instead and then used the Warp tool under Filter->Distort->Liquefy and Filter->Distort->Shear to mix up the colours a bit so that the nebula didn't look too layered in colours due to the gradient I used. There was a lot of experimenting by trial and error until I came up with something I was comfortable with. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2018 14:52:32 GMT
FWIW, and I agree with you Bailey, you could tinker with it all day, however, I think the different colours detract from the main subject of your composite, which is the moon. I actually preferred the one with just the stars (minus the light trails), it just makes the main subject pop I feel. However, as always, these things are subjective.
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Post by Bailey on Feb 6, 2018 0:21:45 GMT
Hi Simone and thank you for your thoughts. I can see very well where you are coming from because I had the same concerns when I was creating the background. Yes I totally agree the 4 moons are the subject of the photo and they are what I want people to look at mainly when viewing the photo. However, the moons with just the stars as the background made the entire photo dark overall which makes it more difficult to catch the attention of peoples' eyes from a distance and make them come over for a closer look. I wanted something in the background to catch peoples' attention from afar. Creating the nebula was a balancing act between the foreground (moons) and the background. I agree with you totally in trying to not make the background the subject of the photo. I deliberately didn't place much of the nebula behind the blood red moon as the nebula's bright colours would have camouflaged the moon to a large extent. The curved path of the nebula background also helps lead the eyes to where the curved path of the moons intersects, hopefully then leading the eyes onto the path of the 4 moons. I played with the brightness of the nebula, adjusting it so that it is bright enough to catch eyes from a distance but not too bright to make it the subject. The main job of the nebula is to catch the attention of eyes from a distance. Last night we had 2 couples over for dinner. When they saw the photo hanging on the wall they both asked if they could have a print. I printed 2 copies while they were having dessert and they all went home well fed and happy with their prints. This is the final version now hanging on our dining room wall.  |
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Post by Bailey on Feb 10, 2018 2:35:34 GMT
I have been asked elsewhere how did I make the point and "twinkling" stars in the background.
For anyone here also interested this is how I did it.
Firstly, there are many tutorials on the www on how to make a stars scene. Many use a noise layer and then a Levels adjustment layer and a couple of more steps to control the number and look of the stars. I found this a little to cumbersome for what I wanted on my photo.
The method I chose is quite simple and gave me much more control to get the look I wanted.
1. Create a blank transparent layer.
2. Select a small soft brush and make it black in colour.
3. Paint some random black dots on the layer.
4. Change the size of the brush (bigger or smaller) and paint some more random dots on the layer.
5. Repeat step 4 a few more times to create a range of sizes for the stars on the layer. This will give the background more depth compared to stars of all the same size.
6. Make a selection (I used the marquee tool) of some of the stars on the layer. Make sure your selection contains stars (dots) of various sizes.
7. Select Edit -> Define Brush From Selection and give it a name when prompted.
And that's it. You can then use your newly created "stars" brush to paint stars on a layer in any other photo.
The "twinkling" stars were even easier to create. In PSE 14 I used brush 25 named Crosshatch #1 in the Assorted Brushes category.
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