The family photograph

The family photograph is something many families like having in their collection. Most often, they’re taken in a studio, at a restaurant or a family gathering. There, they’re all grouped together and someone takes the photo.

Sometimes however, this doesn’t go according to plan. In this instance, some of the members of the family weren’t able to be present, so the original photo was incomplete.

I spoke to the client and explained that if they provided appropriate photos of the missing family members, I could create a picture of them all together.

So the client provided me with the initial photo along with four photos of the missing members.

Down to business

The “missing” members were first extracted from their photos.

There then needed to be a decision as to where they would be placed in the main photo. This was dependent upon the photos provided. Upon seeing them, it became easy to decide which of the missing members could be placed in front of those in the original photo and which would go behind.

In this image, only one could be placed in front.

The lighting

Where the family photo had been taken, the lighting didn’t match that of any of the other family members’ photos at all.

So, once I knew where those extra family members would be placed in the photo, their shadows and highlights could be altered to fit with those in the initial photo. Skin tones also needed to be altered to one degree or another, to fit better and “seat” them in the photo amongst the others and not look out of place.

Overall

This was a complex job and one that I thoroughly enjoyed doing. Having so said, even I was surprised how long it took to do to get to the standard that I did.

Thankfully, the client was super happy with the result and yes, the chap at the back really is that tall!