Got the Shot!

I saw this really cool idea in a UK magazine and have been wanting to try it since I bought my Jeep back in May.

I finally convinced Gordon to come out with me and set up the tripod. Eventhough the weather was not as warm as once promised he braved the elements to humor me. He reluctantly stood around while I repositioned myself through six shots. He grumbled and groaned about the remote shutter release doo-hickey.

But, I got the shot! Here's how:

I brought a tripod and a remote control shutter release. Set the camera up on the tripod and angled it where I had the car in full 3/4 profile. I took a test shot and made sure everything was fine. I planned out the five different spots so they don't overlap each other.

At home I opened all six shots in Photoshop CS3. I dragged them all onto one document. Gave each a layer mask and filled it with black at the beginning. Then at the top of all this, I added a levels layer that brought the light up and added a little punch to the darks. Next was a hue/ saturation adjustment layer that brought out the greens more.

Then I clicked on the brush palette, made sure the first layer mask was clicked and NOT the picture box. I knew I had the right one because the brush colors changed to black and white. I changed the white to the foreground and with a feathered brush I started painting in my first 'self' onto the original Jeep shot.

I continued to brush on a new 'self' until each one was uncovered and made to look like it was all one shot.

Fun, eh?