Found Outside / Sculpted Inside ~ Praying Mantis Exoskeleton

[JBW]

Sony Alpha A 58 ~ Tamron 90 272E ~ ISO 100 ~ F/14 ~ 1/6s ~ Natural Light ~ ImageJ

[Werner]

Makes my skin crawl - nicely done.

[JBW]

Makes my skin crawl - nicely done.

It just seemed to create itself

[madcrow]

Fabulous image and great capture. Well spotted.

[Mike Buckley]

I like your idea of "sculpting." You're essentially sculpting with light even when you use only natural light as in this image. Great composition!

Notice that your background is not a true black. That's evident to me just looking at it on my calibrated monitor and it's confirmed when viewing the histogram that there are no true blacks in the image. I strongly recommend that you select the background color and darken it until it gets to true black. You can even get it so dark that the histogram indicates that you've lost all detail in the background, as most people would actually want to ensure that there is no detail in a background made in this style. Just make sure that your mask is properly done so as to prevent any change to the subject. Once you've done all of that, let us know whether you like the change and the increased pop that results from making the change.

[NorthernFocus]

Looks like a good candidate for B/W conversion, Brian. It would look even creepier

[Shadowman]

Very nice.

[JBW]

Looks like a good candidate for B/W conversion, Brian. It would look even creepier

[JBW]

I like your idea of "sculpting." You're essentially sculpting with light even when you use only natural light as in this image. Great composition!

Notice that your background is not a true black. That's evident to me just looking at it on my calibrated monitor and it's confirmed when viewing the histogram that there are no true blacks in the image. I strongly recommend that you select the background color and darken it until it gets to true black. You can even get it so dark that the histogram indicates that you've lost all detail in the background, as most people would actually want to ensure that there is no detail in a background made in this style. Just make sure that your mask is properly done so as to prevent any change to the subject. Once you've done all of that, let us know whether you like the change and the increased pop that results from making the change.

I took your suggestion to 0 the black and threw in some highlighting in the mantis as well. I think it looks better.

[Mike Buckley]

I think you accidentally uploaded the first file twice. The background luminosity value in both files is 20. The background in the revised color file should ideally look the same as the background in the monochrome file. That file's background luminosity value is 0.

I prefer the color version because the subject has an ideal translucent appearance lacking in the monochrome version.

[JBW]

I think you accidentally uploaded the first file twice. The background luminosity value in both files is 20. The background in the revised color file should ideally look the same as the background in the monochrome file. That file's background luminosity value is 0.

I prefer the color version because the subject has an ideal translucent appearance lacking in the monochrome version.

Still working on my morning coffee. This is definitely the added pop shot:

[Mike Buckley]

Yes, that background is a true black.

However, I want to bring your attention to the quality of your mask. Open the last version in the Lytebox and toggle back and forth between that one and the previous one. Notice that the skeleton's legs and torso become thinner because your background didn't just get blacker, it also encroached on the subject. As another example of that, notice the brightly lit, sharp tips on the skeleton's right "claw" (I have no idea what the proper term is) that almost completely disappear in the latest version. You've lost some other really nice detail around the edges of the torso because of an imprecise mask.

[JBW]

Yes, that background is a true black.

However, I want to bring your attention to the quality of your mask. Open the last version in the Lytebox and toggle back and forth between that one and the previous one. Notice that the skeleton's legs and torso become thinner because your background didn't just get blacker, it also encroached on the subject. As another example of that, notice the brightly lit, sharp tips on the skeleton's right "claw" (I have no idea what the proper term is) that almost completely disappear in the latest version. You've lost some other really nice detail around the edges of the torso because of an imprecise mask.

That was Gimps quick mask. Obviously need to find a better way.

[Mike Buckley]

That was Gimps quick mask. Obviously need to find a better way.

More to the point, the fine quality of your image deserves using a more accurate masking procedure.

[bnnrcn]

This version looks best and I like it a lot Brian

Still working on my morning coffee. This is definitely the added pop shot:

[JBW]

This version looks best and I like it a lot Brian

the true black bg does make a difference.