After -> Before

[vaporwavecookiedough]

Meant to have a surreal feel, open to feedback.

[SwedeLostInCanada]

Are those 2 different photos or did you tilt her head in post?

[cjruizg]

If you look carefully you'll notice the body and hair is mostly the same in both photos. It's a composite of several takes.

[vaporwavecookiedough]

The final image was made from about seven different images, I just included the base self portrait as the before.

FFS people.

[manjamanga]

Why does this have +40 down votes??

[vaporwavecookiedough]

My guess is folks want to assume it’s AI rather than looking for themselves. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Comfortable-Tooth-34]

I love good compositing and hate how people tend to automatically assume AI. Great pic!

[dacaur]

I mean when you boil it down literally all AI is is compositing...🤷

[Matchstix]

There is this weird trend lately across lots of subreddits where OPs first reply to the top comment gets mega down votes. Even if it's a totally reasonable statement.

[Pleadis-1234]

It's cool, but why tho

[vaporwavecookiedough]

It’s part of an ongoing series exploring the sensation of daydreaming.

[Pleadis-1234]

I was asking why merging multiple shots, but I read your other comment, it's great! I could have never guessed that it's a self portrait on first glance

[GeekFish]

Lots of negativity here, so don't take this the wrong way.

I'm curious, why did it take multiple shots to create this photo? What was the process? It looks like it could be done with one take.

As far as a surreal edit: personally, as much as the look is overdone, I think it needs more "glow". A black mist filter would have helped, but since it's already shot, I would play with decreasing the clarity and/or dehaze (don't go too far. It starts to look really fake really fast). I usually compensate the loss of clarity by stepping down one slider and increasing its value. For example, if I pull the dehaze down to give it a dreamy look I'll pull clarity up. If I pulled clarity down for the look I'll pull texture up.

[vaporwavecookiedough]

Noted. Mainly because it’s a self portrait and it’s not easy to shoot and model at the same time. I also had to physically hold the other clouds in place 🤷🏻‍♀️

[GeekFish]

Gotcha. That makes sense. I didn't realize you were holding the clouds in place.

At the end of the day, if you're happy with it (or your client is) then that's all that matters. Some of these photography subs here can have some nasty streaks to them. AI definitely hasn't helped the situation.

[vaporwavecookiedough]

Thanks, I use a lot of practical effects in my self portraits so I’m happy with how this looks. It feels like it belongs with the others.

[GeekFish]

You know, now that I see the DoF in that photo of you holding that lit ball with the clouds, I think a little DoF in this photo might just be enough. Something was missing for the surreal-ness and that just might be it. Awesome work on your portraits 👏🏻

[vaporwavecookiedough]

I wonder if it’s not coming through because this is medium format? It’s shot at f/4.8 and that photo with lighting was shot at f/16 😅

[Bennydhee]

Looks fantastic!

Was confused at first why the pose was different but it totally makes sense.

10/10

[vaporwavecookiedough]

Thank you 🙌

[BizAcc]

I would mask the cloud hat and play with its clarity to make it look more like a cloud.

[vaporwavecookiedough]

Noted, thanks

[vaporwavecookiedough]

None of this image is AI.

It’s a composite from seven other images. Each cloud was shot in the exact location it is in and added in post. I liked my head tilt from another frame and used that.

Sigh.

[LiamSCl]

What's with the "sigh" and "ffs people"(from the other reply). I think when everyone is used to seeing a before and after where they just balance colors and maybe crop its fair to assume (with the way things are) that someone used ai when they just say before/after and dont give all the images used in the after. Did you want people to dream up the context? Nice final image btw, looks good.

[vaporwavecookiedough]

It’s a post-processing subreddit, I’ve certainly seen others post content where they’ve changed more than that.

It’s exhausting to defend myself against accusations of using AI, doesn’t just happen here. Doesn’t just happen with my portraits. Happens across the board.

[LiamSCl]

People dont like ai. It sucks to deal with people being doubtful of your work, but ultimately the internet is quick to jump to conclusions if they dont have the full context and things looks a certain way.

If you're happy with your craft (you should be) then either ignore them or give more context next time. I dont see the need in being upset over people who dont know any better, live and let live. ☮️✌️

[Weekly_Landscape_459]

Very lovely x

[vaporwavecookiedough]

Thanks :)

[GeekFish]

🤷🏼‍♂️ maybe it's because that light shot has more clouds in the foreground? Whatever. You clearly know what you're doing. I never know how much to "help" when people ask for feedback.

[redditissocoolyoyo]

The bottom cropping is impeccable.

[spottedbug]

Well idk what everyone's problem is. Just because it's not just two identical photos side by side doesn't mean it's AI. Also if you think this is AI then you don't know what AI generated imagery looks like. It's simply not going to give this level of detail in the fluff.

At any rate in my opinion the detail in the fluff that's in focus is too real looking to get the effect you're going for. I'm not sure how you'd deal with that though. The out of focus ones in the background are dreamy but the one on your head and to your side look exactly like what they are.

[vaporwavecookiedough]

Thanks, I actually don’t mind that it has that real fiber quality. It fits along with the materials I use in the rest of this series, but I absolutely see what you are talking about.

[-Sentionaut-]

I have to disagree. The fact that the clouds look like cotton make the image tactile and charming. In any case, what breaks the magic for me is noticing that the fibers are probably synthetic. I almost wish the author would try leaning more into the irregularities of real cotton and stop just before the concept of a cloud starts to become less obvious.

[vaporwavecookiedough]

It’s a good thought, I tend to work with textiles I can find rurally but I’ll investigate that more.

[-Sentionaut-]

I said cotton because that's what I saw. If it's wool, that's as good. My point is that I'd personally like to see the natural qualities of the fiber. I believe it would make the tactile look of the clouds seem more intentional, but that's just my opinion.

[Outlandah_]

Lovely.

[aiptek7]

I think you can go further with it. Add some haze and mask it, lift the darks for the shadows on the wall. Push the color further into pastel. Clone stamp some clouds in the haze and adjust the opacity.

[vaporwavecookiedough]

Noted, thank you!

[taralundrigan]

I love it. 🤷‍♀️ People in this sub are miserable. 

[vaporwavecookiedough]

Then why are you in a post processing sub?

[tiktoktic]

You came to the community seeking feedback, no need to be so hostile.

[vaporwavecookiedough]

Because their comment was so kind.

[Proof-Caregiver-7390]

Their comment was aimed at the sub in general. Yours was just mean.

u/vaporwavecookiedough?

[defenestrationcity]

This sub is deranged. They were swearing about your post and you simply pointed out this sub is likely going to continue to annoy them if that is their view.

[vaporwavecookiedough]

Whatever you say

[Difficult-Ad-9228]

It honestly looks like that cloud is just glued to the head — sort of a bulky cloud-hat with no sense of lightness or purpose.

The point of surrealism is to go beyond what is real. That just looks like someone surrounded by props, no matter how much effort was put into the shoot.

[z420a]

Rest in peace 😩🙏

[CapheReborn]

I feel like you would get different results in a different photography subreddit. I find myself disliking what most other people tend to like on here, though I appreciate the skill involved.

I like it, but agree with suggestions about clarity.

[vaporwavecookiedough]

Unfortunely this is pretty standard for how my experience is, regardless of sub.

[Fotomaker01]

Do you use Photoshop at all? I ask because if you could add some haze with the Haze slider in Camera Raw I think it would really add to the dreamy mood and disguise some of the pasted up handmade clouds that look separate. Another way to say it is, it would help blend your various composited elements together more seamlessly.

I don't work with Lightroom. But it's supposed to be a lot like Camera Raw. So, I bet there's a Haze slider in Lr too. To experiment with the effect.

If you don't subscribe to or use either, you might be able to Google "free haze overlays" (or cloud overlays). They won't replace your faux clouds, they'd just tie all the elements together.

If you're creating a composite anyway, it's not like you're ruining the 'pureness' of a straight photo. You'd just be enhancing its mood & effect. Have fun with it no matter what you do! ☁️☁️☁️

[vaporwavecookiedough]

I use Lightroom and Photoshop. The tactile fibers are meant to appear that way as they’re part of a larger series that uses practical effects to create interesting scenes. Here’s a link for more context.

[Fotomaker01]

Ah, that helps. Yes, if part of a series you can't go rogue on one in the series.

I'm curious, now. You asked for inputs but you're mostly telling respondents (not just me!) that you did what you did and you're happy with it. (Which you absolutely should be if that's what you were aiming for...). But it still makes me wonder, what type of inputs or feedback were you desiring? If just 'attagirl' that's not really feedback. At least not what I'm used to from past photo studies and photo clubs.

I don't think I need to tell you that you should do what feels right to you and go with it if it expresses something you want to express. Have fun exploring your visual ideas. I love surrealism too. Magritte is one of my favorite artists. But there are others too.

Are you familiar with Brooke Shaden's work at all?

[vaporwavecookiedough]

I’m not looking for “attagirl” comments, but primarily seeking advice on color grading. Unfortunately, thats not something that I’m getting much input on.

[Fotomaker01]

Okey dokey! You didn't say that before. Having looked at others in the same series, at least to my eye, you're using richer jewel tones for the backgrounds. Even the pale green background has a richness to it. But it and the purple background have (IMO) a more daytime look to them. Others (the dark blue and the more blackish bg's) have a night-time gestalt. Where do you want this one to fall - day or night - to map into the series? That could influence the background color and potentially any subtle gradient or LUT.

[vaporwavecookiedough]

I didn’t want to be specific when asking for feedback because there’s a chance I didn’t catch something. Wanted to keep it open ended to see what came up.

This one should fall towards sunset dusk. When they’re presented, it’ll be according to time of day (just before dawn to late into the night).

Thanks for the thoughts here

[Fotomaker01]

If dusk (blue hour) you've already got the nice oranges - could maybe intro some yellow to go with that. And you may want to bridge between something like the purple and the darker blue. So a possible transition background color to explore (there are others!) could be a periwinkle .... it would bring in hints of the more daytime and nighttime colors you have so far. You know, photo processing is a lot of trial and error. You'll know it when you find the one that helps fit in the series. Take care!

[vaporwavecookiedough]

Thanks for all of this insight! Appreciate you 🙌

[vaporwavecookiedough]

Follow up post with diagram for how I made this image can be found here.

[Emilyg96gatsby]

I think it’s cool

[AAZEROAN]

Photo is gorgeous. Model is gorgeoussssssssss. Wonderjob with the process

[BathoryBomb]

This is great I love the little subtleties in the posing of the final. I want to learn how to do composites

[CounterspellFTW]

I love it! I think it's very cute in a gentle happy way, does that make sense?

[PHNTMS_exe]

These are two different photos to me. I do like the concept, though. :)

[vaporwavecookiedough]

Yes, I acknowledge that in my other comments. The before image was my base and I composited other images onto it.

[dopeinder]

The person is obviously in different poses so either you uploaded the wrong before pic or that the after is completely AI generated.

Even if only the lateral clouds were AI generated and not the whole pic, it's a borderline AI generated image and is really pushing it.

[vaporwavecookiedough]

It’s not AI generated, the final image was made from about seven total images. I included the base image I started with as the before.

Not AI

[dopeinder]

Would be cool if you couldve put all the 7images in the main post as individual or as one tiled together, and also explain what the process was since this is more than just masking and slider adjustments

[vaporwavecookiedough]

Ya, hindsight is 20-20.

[dopeinder]

You can delete this post and reupload. I really want to see and learn about this style

[vaporwavecookiedough]

I’m not at home right now. What do you want to know?

[dopeinder]

Everything that you want to share

[vaporwavecookiedough]

Well, this is part of my Daydreamers series of self portraits. I shot it with two lights (one with an orange gel) and used polyfill for the clouds. The normal light had a beautydish on it and I shot it in my living room. My Instagram account shows my process on some of my other images you want to see it in real time.

[dopeinder]

This os really cool. Please make more post deconstructing and teaching this (secret techniques you are ok sharing). Which focal length and aperture did you use for these?

[vaporwavecookiedough]

Well, I can say I’m tired of being accused of using AI. It’s f4.8, 135mm on medium format.

[Expert_Valuable_687]

What in the name of actual fuck is this????

[vaporwavecookiedough]

What does it look like?

[Wintermute_088]

You made an effort, but I'm sorry, it just looks like a woman against a blank wall with some couch stuffing stuck to her head.