IYM #2: Set Your Light Source

Hello my dear readers,
I´ve decided to create short set of articles called "Improve Your Manipulation" about some basic topics related to creation of photomanipulations.
When I started doing manips three years back I had several problems with creating realistic looking picture. So in these articles I want to mention some of these problems to help you to improve your work.

I would appreciate if you say your opinion about the article in the comments or on dA and let me know if you´d have some ideas for a new topic.



IYM #1: Everything Has Shadows

Set Your Light Source

Before you start looking for stock photos (or taking them) it´s good to decide what type of the main light source will be used in your manip.

You should consider that if you want e.g. strong midday sun as a light source you should look for some pictures with strong shadows. There is simple rule - the softer the light is the softer also shadows and transition between lighs and shadows will be.

Another thing for consideration is the direction of the light. There will be different lights and shadows if the main light soure comes from the top, back, left...

Interweb Info

If you want more about lights and shadows I can recomend you one from the Gnomon Workshop videos.

The workshop is called Practical Light and Color. It costs $49.00 but it´s worth spend money. You can take a look at more info about it here. 

If you would prefer something free I can recomend you to read following tutorial. 

 Click to see it bigger.