Halo Diorama - How to add a Background in Photoshop

Kathy Millatt

Published on Thursday 24 August 2017 by Kathy Millatt

Every time I take a photo of a diorama I think about what's behind it. Is it a sky, a building or a jungle? Most of the time, if I need a sky, I can take the diorama outside and take a great photo in real light. However, many of my models don't want a UK sky or can't be taken outside (especially if stuck on my layout). That means I have to use photoshop to add the missing details.

I love playing around in photoshop and it is a really powerful tool but the downside is that there is a huge learning curve.

The main three things that you need to consider are:

Position - is your model at the right angle/perspective for whatever backdrop you are putting in?
Colour - do the colours match - are your photos the same tint as the backdrop e.g. are they blue in the shadows but the backdrop is more yellow?
Exposure - have you a moody dark photo and you're trying to put it into a bright sunny backdrop?
Once you have all of those considered, you need to drop everything into a photo editing programme - I use Adobe Photoshop and then manipulate the files to match.

Often it is easier to find the backdrop photo that you want and to match the lighting and angle in it when photographing your models. That's much quicker than trying to find a backdrop to fit afterwards!

Materials

Adobe Photoshop or equivalent
Background that matches in perspective
Visor detail
Diorama photo

Index

00:18 Method
18:00 Final Result
18:10 Mini Kathys

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www.kathymillatt.co.uk/blog/2017/08/24/halo-diorama-how-to-add-a-background-in-photoshop

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