What’s wrong with this picture?

It doesn’t take much imagination to figure out what the problem is with this image. The 1936 Auburn is spectacular, and the 24mm wide angle lens exaggerated the perspective of the car nicely. The grass environment works well, and I even like the sky.

However, the other people in the shot are distracting and unattractive, and the building in the background doesn’t add to the ambience of the shot. This is typical of what you see and can photograph at a Concourse d’Elegance. These are car shows that exhibit the best and most expensive cars in the world, and they take place in many locations throughout the U.S.

What this picture needed was a new background. Because the Auburn was on grass, adding a new environment was relatively easy. I just had to find a

photo from my files that had grass that could blend with the grass under the car. I ended up choosing a shot from my subdivision in Tennessee taken on a foggy morning.

I used the pen tool to precisely select the vehicle -- including a small selection within the rear window -- and then used Edit > paste special > paste into to place the landscape behind the car. I then used the clone tool on various opacities to blend the grass from the car shot with the grass of the landscape.

Photoshop enables you to see subjects and scenes in a new light. I operate on the ‘what if ’ principle. For example, what if the background were perfect. What if . . . anything? With Photoshop, most creative ideas are possible. §