54 Images of “World Travelers” – Dallas Portrait Photographer
Being a Portrait Photographer in Dallas who specializes in creating One-of-a-Kind Portraits using the power of Composite Photography, my clients frequently me, “what was the hardest thing about our Portrait?”
Today, I’m going to breakdown my “World Travelers” Photillustration, so you can see the 54 images it took to create.
Each Photillustration I create comes with it’s own unique list of problems to solve, making me feel more like a manager than a photographer or artist, and today’s Portrait is no different.
So, start packing, cuz you’re about to take a wild ride into the world of the Photillustrator breakdown.
World Travelers
As I mentioned, each Photillustration comes with it’s own unique list of problems, and for the commissioned Portrait I created for Michael and Emily, it was their CATS.
They wanted their cats in a Portrait that was set at the airport.
At first, I played it safe and thought we would have them sitting next to Emily, waiting for Michael to cross the street, but that just didn’t sit well with me.
After all, why would a cat be sitting on the curb at an airport?
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Instead, and with some creative thinking with my wife Taren, we decided to place their cats in an ad for cat food.
This gave me a great place for the cats that made sense, and allowed me the flexibility to use any pose I could get.
Which, BTW, was important sense Michael and Emily were super protective of their cats and didn’t want to stress them out.
The cat problem was solved, and Michael, Emily, Smokey, and Bandit were all happy.
Breaking Down World Travelers
One of the things I love most about creating the Portraits I create, are the people I get to connect with and work with.
I always feel a very close connection with the people and families I’m lucky enough to work for.
This connection is so important in my opinion, and is one of the core reasons I’m able to capture the true essence of a family and their personalities.
Michael and Emily are those people.
#1 Emily: It only took a few images to capture the perfect image of Emily.
#2 Michael: I had Michael’s right foot up on a brick to make it look as though he’s walking.
#3 Black Bag: I photographed Michael with the black bag separately so I could get it in the perfect position.
#4 Timberland Case: I photographed the Timberland Case separately so I could have my wife hold it up to give it some action.
#5 Brown Case: I photographed the brown case with my wife and Emily holding it up to make it look like it’s flying through the air.
#6 Fizz: For this, I shook up a bottle of Dr. Pepper and had my wife open it as I photographed the fizz coming out. Needless to say, my wife was covered in Dr. Pepper by the time we finished.
#7 Dr. Pepper Cap: Shot so I could place it exactly where I wanted and at a believable angle.
#8 Calculator: One of Michael and Emily’s 10 Hidden Items, with their wedding date typed on the screen.
#9, #10, #11, #12, #13, & #14 Tax Papers: I actually used an old set of tax returns to fly out of Michael’s brown case.
#15 Pink Suitcase: Photographed with my wife holding it in that position.
#16 Texas Tech Logo: One of the 10 Hidden Items for Michael and Emily.
#17 Black Hat: Added in so I would have a place to put the Texas Tech logo.
#18 Leopard Print Bra: Added because I thought it was funny and would make people laugh.
#19 Shirt Sleeve: I used one of my blue dress shirts so I could add a sleeve coming out of the suitcase.
#20 Spyder: Michael has owned a few Spyder’s, so I went down the dealer and photographed one with the sales guy on it.
#21 Emily’s Bag: I photographed this bag in many different angles so I would have the right one for this Composite.
#22 Llano Wine: Emily’s and my wife’s favorite wine had to be in the Portrait.
#23 Crosswalk Sign: Added to give the Portrait some 3-Dimensionality.
#24 Guiness Beer Bottle: One of the 10 Hidden Items for Michael and Emily.
#25 Mazda: I used my wife’s Mazda for this Portrait.
#26 ME: I made a cameo in Michael and Emily’s Portrait as the driver of the Mazda.
#27 Niko: My sone Niko also made a cameo because of the awesome faces he makes.
#28 Cow Bell: One of the 10 Hidden Items in Michael and Emily’s Portrait.
#29 Crosswalk: I had to add this crosswalk in because the original just didn’t fit.
#30 Airport Terminal: I had to flip and cut up the airport terminal for it to work in this Photillustration.
#31 Airport Terminal Roof: Roof was added to extend the terminal through the Portrait.
#32 Sign: This is an actual sign from the DFW Airport.
#33 London’s Big Ben: One of the 10 Hidden Items in the Portrait.
#34 Windmill: One of the 10 Hidden Items in the Portrait.
#35 Baseball Glove: One of the 10 Hidden Items in the Portrait.
#36 Bandit the Cat: Photographed in the window since that’s the only place we could get him.
#37 Cat Food: Stock image of cat food.
#38 Smokey the Cat: Also photographed in the window.
#39, #40, #41, #42, & #43 Airline Logos: I added all the airlines to the places Michael and Emily love to travel to most.
#44 Plano Building: One of the two locations for Michael’s company.
#45 Company Logo: The new logo for Michael’s company.
#46 Dallas Skyline: Adding the Dallas skyline gives this portrait an anchor.
#47 Trees: Stock footage of trees I’ve collected.
#48 Fort Worth Building: One of the two locations for Michael’s company.
#49 Company Logo: the old logo for Michael’s company.
#50 Southwest Airplane: Photographed as it was taking off from Love Field.
#51 & #52 Airplanes: Stock images of airplanes.
#53 Chemtrails: Added to make it look like the planes were actually moving.
#54 Sky: Stock image of the sky.
ADDITIONAL ARTWORK: Along with the 54 images I used to create “World Travelers”, I also created the smoke coming up from the Mazda’s tires, and the graphics for the cat ad and ads on the airport sign.
Behind the Scenes Photos
To give you an even better idea of where “World Travelers” came from, here are a few of the RAW images I used straight out of my camera.
That’s a Wrap
I know I’ve mentioned the topic of Problem Solving in previous Photillustration Breakdowns, but it’s important to know, I am really good at solving problems to create an Amazing Portrait.
With Composite Photography, the more images you include, the more problems you’ll have.
Remember, “The only limitation you have, is you own imagination!”
I hope you enjoyed the breakdown of “World Travelers” as much as I did creating it for Michael and Emily.
