Happy and Friendly Sunflowers

• The two sunflowers' heads were photographed against a plain blue background.

• In Photoshop, the Blue channel was used for selecting the flowers to make the cutting out easier.

• Individual petals had to be selected and used to fill in gaps and tidy up bent petals.

• The best leaves from different plants were also photographed separately.

• Everything had to be joined together and matched for tone and colour.

• The sunglasses were photographed separately and put into position over the sunflower heads.

• Copies were made of the sunglasses and turned into shadows.
  To make the shadows ripple over the flowers, the Displacement filter was used.

• The glass areas of the sunglasses were cut out and replaced with a darker version of the part of the sunflowers behind them.

• Highlights made with a white brush were put on the glasses to represent the sun.

• Parts of the petals near the sunglasses' supports were reshaped with the Liquify tool.

• Two leaves overlap where it looks like they are holding hands, a new shadow was made.

• One layer contained a complete sunflower without glasses and a second layer contained the sunflower with glasses. This way two versions of the completed image could be made.

• It was a simple matter to add a sky scene as a background and extend the blue to the top of the image.

  The fact that the sunflowers and leaves were photographed against a blue background meant the new sky blended in better with the subject without the risk of a unwanted line around the flowers and leaves.

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