Summer Lovin'

There is undoubtably no greater source of joy than watching kids frolic on the shore.    Those moments are spontaneous and fun!  Sometimes those moments suddenly present themselves when, perhaps, the only photographer available is the one behind the cell phone....often the parent. But if you're a photographer, imagine the surprise you can delight your clients with if you could provide them with the opportunity to hang a custom designed piece of art for their home. 

In this particular case, the client provided a high-quality cell phone picture.   An easy way to eliminate the distractions of other beach lovers, I composited this sweet boy onto a similar background which I purchased from Adobe Stock. iStock is another wonderful place to purchase stock photos. It's definitely worth the investment if you do a great deal of composite work, though other places such as Unsplash, offer free downloads which you are permitted to use.  The important thing is to ethically use the images. Never just "pull"  them from the internet! 

To add more interest to the scene, I also incorporated a whimsical sand castle as well as a crab to provide a center of focus for our subject.   

Using a bit of imagination can create a completely different image with the same feel as the original. 

Generally, I save the background for future use.   While I like doing this, I think there is something organic and natural that happens when you create a unique painting for each client. But there are many instances someone may want the same look.  The most important factor in this creation is being able to intuitively pull from the knowledge base of Photoshop in compositing and painting the image into the cohesive piece that it is. 

Enjoy, and happy creating!