Creating Backgrounds

The most important thing you can do when creating PhotoArt is get a great picture to use through your photography. The background comes second but can be an important piece to bringing it all together. There are several you can download from different sites, but truthfully it is easier to make your own. Almost everytime I take a pic, as I snap through the viewfinder I am immediately building my scene in my mind so when I get to the computer I just get started. Here are the steps I take.

1. Pick the main color you want to use and on a clear layer paint it a solid. I chose gray!

2. Next you will want to find pics or parts of photos, .psd, .pngs, whatever you think might work in a photo or an idea. I just throw them all on the canvas the start moving them around in different areas until I find the sort that works best for my vision. All of ours are different so play, experiment and have fun doing this.

3. Once you have them arranged start to erase the parts you don't want and start to blend them all together. Use curves, brightness and other adjustments until you  start to see what you vision all come together.

4. Once you get the background looking the way you like copy the layer and the top layer at 20%-30%, then using the eraser brush start to erase from the foreground to keep the detail intact. Possibly add lighting if you want!

5. Color the result to your desire. Here I went with yellows and gold colors.

You can see the blur here and how the light changes a little but adds a more dramatic effect

6.Add your photo. Find a place in the scene that works best for you!

7. Blend the subject into your background. Also blur the subject. Try to make your blur even with the overall scene. This takes practice and you have to eye the whole picture. It will eventually come, Also at this poing add your gradiants and use the burn and dodge tool to create accents, even little ones, and you will see how the subject will start to blend and become one with the project. In the pic below notice how it is all blurred to match.

 8. Your PhotoArt is pretty much done. The last steps you take are more personal. What I call the finishing effects and you can do so may different things with own vision that it is really limitless. Never worry about having it look perfect, worry more about the overall composition and what exactly you are trying to express.

I know this is real condensed and there are many small steps to learn as well. This is just an example of the workflow I use. If you have questions please reach out!