Balcony in the morning

[civicesi]

What I am going for was something that looks natural as if not PS.

 

[ibclare]

Interesting concept, but not so successful. Still looks photoshopped, yep. Doesn't mean it's not a good manipulation, but it needs some adjustments.

And don't get me wrong. I like it and I am just wanting to help as so many have helped me.

Green sunspots? Diamond shaped? And what is the blue diamond. My eye goes right to it. Out of character. If you even use a sunspot at all, make it much more transparent.

The rug, the lady and the screen need color adjustments, curves or levels -- too dark, too dissimilar in color and range of tonality -- or the landscape needs hue adjustment and sat increase to come closer to the objects. And perhaps the lady and the screen should come forward and be a bit larger, maybe having the screen overlap the rug a bit.

What is happening to the edge of the carpet? It's a mystery and there's no clue, nor is there any shadow. The lady and the screen should have shadows also.

Take a look at some of Inkz's manipulations. These are recent and a couple of his simpler ones:

http://www.photoshopgurus.com/forum/before-after-showroom/41320-waiting-sun-%7C-inkz.html

http://www.photoshopgurus.com/forum/graphic-design-showroom/41325-basking-woods-|-inkz.html

Here is one of my favorite of Drejs's:

http://www.photoshopgurus.com/forum/show-board/34027-moment-time.html

 

[Inkz]

This is the whole purpose of a manipulation, is to get it looking as real as possible. Clare has given some great constructive criticism that hopefully you will take onboard to your next piece.

For me the shadowing and lighting needs more work. Here I've indicated where you could possibly improve on these.

Red arrow indicates the light source direction.
Green for where extra shadows are needed. Also the screen needs a shadow.
White is for extra lighting.

​

These are just a few pointers on creating a more realistic feel.