Halloween is fast approaching and the internet is starting to fill up with Photoshop horror tutorials, so why not throw my work onto the pile. This week I was inspired by a video tutorial on Phlearns youtube channel adding x-rays over the portait. I really liked the idea and decided to create an image of my own using an x ray. In the video they used a side profile back light portrait, I don’t have a portait like this and decided to use one of my self portrait images. Finding a good x-ray of a skull was a little difficult, many of them were 3d images and I wanted something more authentic. In the end I found one on wiki commons with the license to adapt and share the image.
I converted the skull image to black and white, I placed my portrait on a layer above and blended the images together using the overlay blending mode. I used a split toning to create the blue shadows and yellowish highlights. The final touch was to add a vintage wet plate texture to give the image some age.
Although the image may not be to everyone’s taste, I think it looks interesting, possibly an image that could inspire a horror story.
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X-ray skull attribution © Nevit Dilmen [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) via Wikimedia Commons
I like the effect. It’s an interesting and creepy look, but not as gory and gruesome as some of the other images I see (which are a bit over the top for my taste).
It is easy to go super gory with these images because you are creating something unreal, but too much gore for me breaks the barrier of realism. Glad you like the effect.
Nicely done. I thought my post was spooky, this is another level….
Thanks Victor, another level of spooky is always good.
This is creepy….but well done! I have some MRI scan transparencies, maybe I’ll see what I can come up with!!!
Sue playing around with MRI images would be a cool idea.
I like the effect.. Can I ask a question- what is the best workflow for stock photography processing?
THe best work flow is to follow the license of the image, if you buy the image you are buying a license to use an image but there are many stock images that have a creative commons license.
My understanding is that if you buy the stock image, once the image has been edited and has been adapted into a new work then this new image is yours, but with creative commons license it completely depends on what that license says.
Editing workflow is the same as with any image, if I am making a composite then cutting pasting cloning.
Wow cool!
Thanks Laura, i think it is pretty cool as well.
You’re welcome Ben 🙂
cool but creepy!!
I like photos like these and I’ve been playing with it myself numerous times.
I think you’ve just created a new category of “selfie”! I love it and wish someone would write a story to accompany it!
I would also like someone to write a story for the background of the image since I am not a creative writer I don’t think I could do it justice.
this is awesome Ben…
thanks Heather,
Very cool – creepy looking selfie. I like it!