How to create Giraffes at Dawn

• This image was created using two original photographs that I took. They are composited into the final image.
• Image No. 1 is a dawn landscape of the Beaver Pond wetlands' area in the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation in Ohio.
• Image No. 2 is of two giraffes photographed at the zoo.
• The original images are 35mm transparencies that have been transferred to a Kodak Photo CD Disk.
• Image No. 1 -- Landscape
• The landscape is opened in Adobe Photoshop in the LAB mode.
• Sharpen using the Unsharp Mask Filter only on the Luminence Channel.
• Convert the mode to RGB.
• Correct the color and density using Image-Adjust-Levels.
• Fine tune the color and/or density using Image-Adjust-Variations.
• Image No. 2 -- Giraffes
• Open the giraffes and follow the Image No. 1 steps for sharpening, color correction, and density adjustments.
• Select the giraffes.
• Fine tune your floating selection and then save the selection.
• Invert the selection and delete the background. It can be distracting.
• Clean up the edges of the giraffes.
• Compositing Image No. 1 -- Landscape with Image No. 2 -- Giraffes
• Select the foreground grasses. Be sure to follow the edges of various stalks to achieve a realistic foreground. Remember that the feet of the giraffes will be partially obscured by some of the foreground grasses.
• Copy and Paste Behind the giraffes.
• Resize the giraffes using the Scale Tool.
• Fine tune the color and/or density using Image-Adjust-Variations.