Levitation photography test shoot – What and why?

Once you have the ability to fly, you have the ability do everything… or so someone says.

As some may know, I’m not a naturalist! I like to change things, I like to photoshop and I love to alter the reality. Although I like things to look real, and I don’t want people to think “Wow, that’s so Photoshopped”, so I’m always seeking to extend my knowledge about Photoshop and enhance my processes to create a even more flawless edit.

I’m pretty much self taught, or rather, the internet taught me. A while back I stumbled upon Phlearn, which was by far the best Photoshop tutoring I had come across, and most of it is even free on their YouTube channel. I have bought a couple of their Pro tutorials and really enjoyed them, and most importantly I learned A LOT!

During Photoshop Week 2015 I was watching a live session with Phlearn founder Aaron Nace and I saw the most amazing trailer! I knew I had to get that tutorial. And that tutorial was Levitation Photography.

What is levitation photography?

In short levitation photography is a photo where you make the subject float in mid-air – levitating. They shot is achieved by layering multiple exposures and a lot of masking – but the biggest challenges, in my opinion, isn’t in the postproduction. It’s really in the planning and execution of the shoot.

I really wanted to do a series of levitation photography after I watched the tutorial, however I though I needed to do a test shot to try out the whole editing process and what potholes to avoid along the way. I did the shoot in my living room trying to do the concept of “student floating way from the books”. Yeah, I know, it’s not a good concept.

Here are some screencaps of my editing process!

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