Baseball Composite - DPChallenge Forums

09/26/2007 11:28:05 AM · #1

I was recently asked to create a composite of five baseball shots for one of the player's parents. I didn't know which player at the time, and for some reason I assumed it would be a pitch sequence. After all, what other five shot sequence would someone want? Well, here are the shots I now need to composite:

I'm having a hard time coming up with ideas. I'm comfortable with extraction (thank you stock), and I can get through just about anything (eventually) in Photoshop. If anyone has any ideas to get me started, or if anyone can point me to a similar composite shot somewhere, I would be greatful.

PhilipDyer

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

09/26/2007 11:49:39 AM · #2

If you're trying to make a single image out of those five, then it looks like you're going to have to overlay them, line them up (in chronological order) to make sure that they all match perfectly, then crop out the excess (or use closing to make the background a bit larger). After you do that, you can just mask out everything but the people in each subsequent layer until they all stack up nicely on top of each other.

09/26/2007 12:00:53 PM · #3

Thanks Philip!
I've done similar "single image" comps a few times before, but that's not all I'm considering. I'm just not sure that a layered comp (single image) will look right here. Besides being a ton of work, it seems that it would look really cluttered. I'm still considering that route, but I'm also considering a sort of side by side arrangement with a created background, or perhaps, using a single shot as a BG and inserting the others in sequence. I just can't come up with an idea that sounds right. I'm sorry I wasn't too clear in my original post.

PhilipDyer

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

09/26/2007 12:16:18 PM · #4

Ah, you're right that a single image of all 5 would be very cluttered and a lot of work. If you go that route, maybe cut it down to 3 images? I kind of like how they look side-by-side, so that would be my preference. You could also have the last photo as the full-screen image with the other four images running down the left side of the page. Good luck putting this together!

09/26/2007 12:59:06 PM · #5

Here's what I came up with so far. I like the left side sequence, but this seems to scream for a title or some other text, any ideas? I also wish I had missed that darn stop sign and fire hydrant in the BG. Oh, well, at least there aren't any cars.

PhilipDyer

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

09/26/2007 01:03:55 PM · #6

If you need a title, you could just go with "Safe" or "Safe at Second" or something like that. You could even put it over the offending stop sign, which is definitely distracting enough to consider cloning them out. I think it looks pretty good. You might also consider leaving a bit of space between the images so we can see the underlying image beneath. Also, if you ran the images across the top, they would cover that sign without covering the main action. Lots of ways to play around with this.

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon

09/26/2007 01:14:16 PM · #7

Thanks so much for your help Philip. I have a few days to work on this, so I guess I'll try a few different arrangements. I'll post the results.

levyj413

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max

09/26/2007 01:28:24 PM · #8

Since the most important instant is the fourth photo, I'd make that one big. I'd also consider cloning out the stop sign, but only in the large photo; I don't think it's as distracting in the small ones.

NstiG8tr

Canon EOS-5D Mark IV

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM

09/26/2007 02:11:57 PM · #9

Originally posted by nickp37:

I like this composite. It's also a great candidate for background replacement with that nice line of the fence.

NstiG8tr

Canon EOS-5D Mark IV

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM

09/26/2007 02:29:26 PM · #10

Originally posted by PhilipDyer:

If you have CS3, it has a new feature that might make this easier. They added an auto-align and an auto-blend feature that works well. Also you could reduce the clutter by replacing the background via smart-objects.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

09/26/2007 03:01:06 PM · #11

That's a decent and effective composite; it ought to fill the bill. If it were mine, I'd crop the entire BG above the glove off the main image and make it larger/squarer in relation to the other images. It's a very nice shot, focus it in on the action.

R.

09/26/2007 03:37:42 PM · #12

Ok, making progress, I think. Taking some of the suggestions, I removed the BG above the fence and cloned out the signs and hydrant. I'm still not sure about the text, but something has to go up there.