I know this is going to sound crazy and probably has been asked millions of times before and maybe there are even books on it, who knows..but here's my question...

what techniques or methods work best when trying to create fake image of a person? For example....lets say I wanted to paste a head onto a different body and then take that figure and put it again a different background? Keep in mind that I want the final product to look believable. I don't want it to seem fake or not match up or otherwise look retouched. I want it to look as though that was the original image.

Now I'm not an expert in Photoshop but I do know about layers and using the lasso to cut and select various pieces of an image but how far can it be taken? Is what I'm discribing above really possible and if so how believable can it be? what must I learn to do it? 

Thanks!
Steph

One of the most important factors is lighting. Try to use two images where the strongest light is coming from the same general direction. Otherwise, you'll be touching up the "overlay" to keep the subtle shadows on the face from giving it away, and that's hard to do well.

Another is to use images that are as large as possible. A lot of times fakes like this are easy to spot because the head part is grainier than the rest of the picture.

Beyond that, do some blending where the body parts join, and make sure the proprtions and bend angle of the neck (or whatever part of the body you're joining) make sense. If the body seems to be bending in a way that would break a bone, there goes your believability.

That helps some. Unfortunately the quality of the images I'm working with isn't the greatest to begin with...mostly snapshots somebody took with a digital camera so I guess I have to find other pictures of the same quality and lighting conditions to make the match.

Its getting to be harder then I thought! :) well thanks for your comment. If anyone else has any ideas I'd sure be happy to hear them. All the best!

Steph

Yes, lighting, as well as photos from the same perspective.

I put together lots of images for other photographers where they did a handheld session with a client(s) and they like the "face from this one, the arm from that one, and the hair from this one" kind of stuff and the toughest thing to do is match it up.

Usually they don't move the lighting, but they change camera positions and now the lighting is a bit skewed, the hair is at a different pitch and the shine is now off, the face is turned just a little "off" and the highlight on the nose and eyes aren't right - get it?

This is not an easy thing you're asking about - this takes a lot of practice, but first learn to pick out images from roughly the same angle. This can be changed a little in post (like building lines - you can manipulate those, but faces and physical features are a PITA) but it's best to get them as close as possible from the start.

Practice practice practice - the first few times you try it they will suck - DON'T GIVE UP! You WILL get better - you'll see what doesn't look right and go back and figure out how to change it so it DOES look right - and keep going.

Learn Masked Adjustment Layers - not only to change the lighting, but to change colors, densities, gamma to match another image and blend it, etc. You can have perfect selections that blend together seamlessly, but if the colors and densities aren't right it'll stick out big time.

Hope this helps-

-Lew

Thanks Len,

Yeah, I think I see your point. Honeslty I'm really not familier exactly with what masked adjustment layers are but you can bet I'll start trying to find out everything I can about them now! so thanks for that tip!

I know initially, the person I'm working with was suggesting taking a snap shot that someone did with a studio picture and most of their snap shots were taken out doors or in public places. So they were totally different lighting conditions then the studio pictures.

Another problem was I guess the resolution and grainess of the snapshops, some weren't even fully in focus so somehow whatever I combine those with them has to be balanced properly to get the right effect. Like you said its not easy but its challenging so I'm going to keep trying.

Thanks again!
Steph

I almost got it!! ok, I pasted a face onto the pic of another girl but the hair isn't coming out right on the right side and there is a bikini line showing around her shoulder on that same side. So can anyone please give me any tips on how to correct that??? would rubber stamp be my best bet or is there another tool that would work better??

Thanks!!
Steph

oh also...her hair is a bit to light on that one side so I need to darken it. Would the dodge and burn tool be the best or is other something else that would work better??

Any other comments would be appreciated. I want this image to look as good as possible!! 

Thanks!!

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I useta do photofakes with poser and photoshop, and Addy has a tutorial on how to do 'em. I haven't read the tutorial, but she has at least one photomanip in their gallery here that's a good example of her technique.

well thanks, thats not exactly what I had in mind cause I'm talking about working with real images of actual people. But I did manage to come across some interesting information. There's two things in photoshop that seem very critical to doing this kind of work.

One is the adjustment layers, as thundering1 mentioned previously because that can be used to match up the image in terms of lighting, color balance etc.

The other thing is the extraction filter. Its a wonderful tool, especially when it comes to doing hair. I didn't know about it when I did the first image but now I think I'll be using it all the time. Its much better at pulling pieces of an image out then using the lasso or things like that and it doesn't require you to know anything about masking because basically its doing all the work for you. It even has a "smart select" which I haven't tried yet but it looks really awesome. Only problem is you either have to have a very steady hand or use a tablet which I got but never used much so I'm going to have to hook it back up.

But thanks again and if anyone else has any other comments or suggestions I'd be happy to hear them!

Steph