Remember when as a child you’d watch a magician make a woman float in air and you’d be left in awe, wondering how he’d managed? Fast-forward to today and you can work that magic yourself with your camera and a little Adobe Photoshop editing! The technique is called levitation photography and it’s a great way for any photographer to get creative.
Just open a browser, go to Google Images or Pinterest, run a quick search for ‘levitation photography’ and you’ll find ample shots for inspiration — original wedding photos, moody and sinister shots in the woods, indoor shots using objects rather than people, and cool studio shots of food. These shots can be really eye-catching and enchanting, making your work pop and giving you the perfect avenue for creating some cool outside-the-box concepts.
What’s more, levitation photography doesn’t necessarily require hours of editing and is relatively easy to get a good result from, if you prepare well. There are two main methods:
The Jump Method
Tools you need: Camera, tripod, remote trigger and model (or yourself).
Your model needs to jump as high as they can go and you capture that jump as fast as you can. Play around with your aperture and shutter speed before you start shooting. Setting the camera to continuous shooting mode will help you get as many potential frames as possible.
The trick is to get your model to make the jump look like it’s not a jump — the point is for the subject to seem as if he/she is floating in the air. Although this is the easiest method in terms of processing, it can be a little limiting and can turn into a workout for the model as they need to keep jumping until you get the shot you’re happy with.
The Support Method
Tools you need: Camera, tripod, remote trigger, model (or yourself), a stool or something your model can rest on.
The advantage behind this method is that you can plan your composition, help your model set the pose right without the need to sweat through all those jumps, and use as many props as you like in whichever way you like.
Once you’ve decided on the setting, type of lighting, and pose: set your camera on a sturdy tripod, set your settings manually (you’ll need to keep using the same settings for your second shot), then take a shot of the background without the model and stool. Keeping the camera in the exact same position, have your model pose on the stool. Use a remote trigger — even the slightest camera shake can ruin the final result.
Lessons learned from my own shoot
Two mistakes I made in my shot: the lighting and the type of support I used for my model. I used two diffused flash guns that didn’t blend naturally. And short of time, I used a small ladder instead of a stool — which showed in the image and meant extra editing. The wind, while adding to the effect, made it difficult for my model Steffi to keep her balance.
Plan, plan and plan! Think of every single detail: the material of the dress, the type of support (not just for it not to show, but also for your model’s comfort and safety), the additional lighting, weather conditions, and a backup plan. These might sound obvious, but a little more planning always makes the editing easier.
Post-processing
This can be very easy if you prepared well. Open both images (background only, and background with model) in Photoshop by going to File → Scripts → Load Files into Stack. In the Layers palette, the top layer is the one with the model. Select the top layer and click the Add Layer Mask button. A white mask appears to the right of the thumbnail. Select the Brush tool, set the colour to black, and select the mask. Paint over the stool and any other item you want removed — you’re making those areas transparent so the background layer shows through instead.
Then apply your usual edits: exposure, colour, clean-ups of details, etc. The important part is to make sure the final image doesn’t look unnatural or unrealistic. Good preparation makes the biggest difference in creating “magic”.
Article first published in Tech Sunday, Sunday Times of Malta, May 17, 2015