Source Files:
Before doing anything to the pictures, I saved them all as PSD files and adjusted the levels. I began with the background picture of the White House. I used the magnetic lasso to select George Bush from the photo of him speaking. I moved it onto my background and used the Free Transform option to resize it. I had to use the rubber stamp to cover up the microphone cord. Next, I got the martini using the magic wand and selecting the inverse. I used the martini to cover the microphone in his hand. I then erased the stem of the martini glass to make it appears as though he is holding it.
Next, I used the magnetic lasso to select John McCain, and I moved him into the picture. I also had to resize him using Free Transform. I partially covered Bush's picture with McCain to make it look like his arm is around him. This also allowed to to hide some of the areas that were harder to get a good selection. I had to be careful to make sure it looked like they were standing on the same plane.
I used the rectangular marquee to select the Ron Paul sign. I tried to erase most of the grass from that picture, but the legs of the sign were hard to see, so it did not turn out perfectly.
I made a copy of each of the layer of the objects I moved into the picture, and used the color overlay option to make them black. I used free transform to manipulate the copied layers to match the shadows in the background picture. Once I had them placed where I wanted them, I reduced the opacity to around 67%. I also used the burn and dodge tools to create highlights and shadows on the objects that were consistent with the light in the picture.
Finally, I added the "Lunch on the campaign trail" caption with a drop shadow.
One of the hardest parts of this project were selecting the images of George Bush and John McCain. It was especially difficult to get a good selection on their hands. the dark background of the door behind McCain was hard to separate from his dark suit.
I had to go back several times and add more to the selection or use the eraser to reduce a halo around them.
