I’m planning to create a still image of a particular person, sitting beside a camp fire.
Purpose of image : CD cover and other promo materials.
Instead of setting up the physical scene and attempting to capture it with photography, I’d like to bring the elements together by compositing.
My main concern at this point is : how do I convincingly have the glow from the fire appear on the person ?
Basic up-sum on my ideas so far :
Smoke + embers + fire simulation, in Blender. (I’m alright with this aspect of the project).
Maybe a 3D model of the person, in Blender, created using photogrammetry (a method I’m new to).
Still photo of the person, posed as if beside the fire, introduced convincingly.
Am I think along the right lines, or wide of the mark ? Any better suggestions or ideas for enhancing my ideas gratefully received. Thanks
Yes definitely try and get the lighting close to what you need, then supplement that with specific spots of light. Remember that light won’t reflect off of your model correctly anyway as the materials must behave the same way that the real person’s does.
Setting up a light for the fire for the shoot would be the ideal solution but it is also very possible to paint the light from the fire if the rest of the lighting is close, otherwise it will get a little messy but not impossible if there is not other way for some reason.
Depending on your scene you’ll want to have a dummy for the person in your render to simulate the effects on the lighting.
To go into more detail a quick sketch clarifying the composition and lighting would help a lot.
Shoot the actor facing an off-camera light “of plausible color and fall.” Try to be sure that the intervening space between the light and the actor is “clean” – with no “light spills” – leaving a pristine open space in which you can “comp” the remainder.
Now, go shoot a real campfire.
In both cases, “take your tape-measure with you, because it matters.” You need to be sure that in both cases the position of the camera is exactly the same, the same lens-settings are used (don’t try to do this with your phone …) and so on.