What is a dreamscape photomontage?
Art for Art's Sake vs. Art For Your Sake
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What is a Dreamscape Photomontage?
Thanks to the transformative power of digital photo manipulation, I'm able to create artistic portraits that feel, in the words of a friend of mine, "entirely seamless and yet seemly at the same time." Instead of superimposing photos or arranging them into jigsaw puzzle arrangements on puff clouds, I strive to make your photomontages as true to life as possible. I aim for true proportions, natural shadow play and lighting effects, and uniform complexions.
These dreamscapes, as I call them, are a kind of hybrid object. Almost any scan-able image can find itself in a dreamscape, including people, pets, objects or landscapes, but also memorabilia, personal artwork, as well as minutiae and backdrops from my own image library. Even prior to making your photomontage, my work includes everything that restores your photos to its original glory. Your images are scrubbed and groomed of any visual noise (dents, discoloration, scanner lint, etc.). This includes:
- Photo retouching (color and complexion correction)
- Photo restoration (repair of severe cracking and obliterated features)
- Photo augmentation (recreating missing parts)
- Digital manipulation (flipping orientation, changing scale, adding shadows, motion and lighting effects)
From a water-damaged photo blown halfway down the street by Katrina to a seriously bent photo of newlyweds from the 1920s, my goal is always to repair a photo to its original condition - or else we choose another photograph. Before any photographic image is placed into a photomontage, it's scrubbed and groomed of any visual noise (dents, discoloration, scanner lint, etc.). This is especially important when a 4" x 6" photo may be scanned at a high resolution and then enlarged to prints 8" x 10" or larger. For example:
Missing parts, missing objects missing parts, missing objects
Sometimes body parts are missing (like the little boy in Peter C's dreamscape, who originally sits in waist deep grass, but then needs legs to kneel on the photomontage). No problem. Missing knees, sneakers, tips of fingers - anything that's been rudely lopped off by the photographer - is happily reconstructed one of two ways. Either I grab the missing part from another photo of the same individual, or I work like a portrait painter, inferring color or texture from similar photos so that I can "clone" the missing part onto the spot in need.
Other times there are missing objects (like the Japanese Obon lanterns in Kane N's tribute of gratitude) that are imperative for lending a feeling of authenticity to the dreamscape. To find these cultural, historical or geographical objects, I do an extensive photo search worldwide, and ask amateur and professional photographers for permission to use their photos for a one-time use.
fuzzy, damaged or overexposed photos
Sometimes the blurriest photo is someone's favorite photo.
Take the dreamscape portrait of Samantha L, whose mom and dad dearly loved an overexposed, out-of-focus shot of their prima ballerina on her belly, daydreaming in ballet class. The problem was that the picture was clearly out of focus. I needed some illusionary device that made Samantha appear to be as sharp as the other surrounding objects I added into her photomontage. When I came across a tondo of cherubim, I knew I hit the jackpot. This classical porthole is meant to reside high in the sky, and so it places Samantha at the farthest distance from the viewer. In short, it cleverly turned Samantha into a dreamy angel!
Art for Art's Sake vs. Art For Your Sake
That's Art For Your Sake. Inside this studio lives a passionate artist. From your personal photos, I create real art, not just art effects. I give you wishful reality; not just photos stitched together by a special effects software program from some online graphics service. Your personalized and artistic collage art - really, a digital photomontage - looks like nothing you've ever dreamed of. And if that doesn't excite you, this will. Your pictures and stories inspire me to try things I've never tried before, which makes your photomontages look even more outstanding. All for a really reasonable price, too!
Now, if that doesn't excite you, this will. From a technical rather than commercial standpoint, only an artist for your sake makes an estimate based on:
- critically selecting your photographs on the basis of quality, not quantity
- extracting and re-juxtaposing elements for aesthetic and conceptual reasons
- giving special consideration to hierarchies of lighting, scale and skin tone
- searching for fresh images for geographical/historical accuracy
- injecting meaningfulness, humor and a goal into the artistic composition, and finally
- taking your custom artwork to the next level, by configuring it as a framed print or super-sized wall hanging; as a photo-purse or as a 3D photo sculpture; as an invitation, poster or holiday card.
Engaging me to make your customized photographic portrait is like hiring a world class artist, fine art photographer, and curator, all rolled into one.
Not quite ready to give the gift of collage art, but afraid you'll forget to send me your photos in time? Send yourself a RemindMe email. It's absolutely free and easy to set up. Not sure you really need it? Just press the cancel key.
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