Just a little boy and his friend enjoying a lazy Autumn day...

Have you ever taken a photograph where the main subject turned out incredibly well, but other graphic elements kept you from sending it out to your family and friends? This is exactly what happened in this instance. In this project I was given the task of salvaging a photograph of main subject. 

The Problem:

Issues with the original photograph included (but are not limited to) the following items:
- Severe Scan Lines from a very poor quality scan
- Part of what appears to be a denim dress behind the boy.
- People off in the distance, creating a "distraction"
- Badly overexposed background (which is alright if done intentionally)
- Poor composition of image elements

Complicating matters was the requirement to preserve as many elements from the original photograph as possible (feasible?).

The Solution:

I created a new background for this image. Large portions of the original photograph where then cleaned up and layered into the new background, although not necessarily in their original locations. Where needed, artificial elements where also layered in. The end result is another one of my hybrid "part photograph, part 3D" backgrounds. The boy was then re-inserted. As a finishing touch a Fairy with a red Popsicle was added to the foreground.

Helpful Hint:

Have reference photographs available when you attempt this type of work. You need to use reference photographs which display a similar depth of field. This allows you to recreate the "look" using various blurs and the like. If you do not do this, the resulting background will be readily identifiable as a fake. 

Judge for yourself the end result, your comments are always welcome!