Traveling the world by replacing the background

Without any discussion, there is not a cheaper way to go around the world than replacing the background of your pictures. 

I know, you may think that I'm cheating, but I'm clearly explaining every time I post one of these altered pictures, that the background has been replaced to avoid any confusion. 

I'm getting old, and the odds of me taking our grandsons to all these places are getting lower with each passing day. So I decided to dream a little bit and pretend that we are doing that.

 I have experimented with two different ways to do it. One is very simple: taking the picture I want to modify, uploading it to Google Gemini or ChatGPT, and asking them to replace the background. The results using this method are good, but from time to time, these AI tools change the faces to match the lighting from the background, and I'm not that pleased with that.

The second method is to create the background using these two AI tools or to use a picture you have taken of a place to replace the background. In this second method, I have been using Luminar Neo, a tool that is very simple to use and allows you to remove the background of any picture. Then you use a new layer behind the subject layer to introduce the new background. The most difficult part in this second method is that you need to match the light and mood of the layer that contains the subject with the one in the background layer. I'm not that good at that part, but I feel that I'm getting better with every new picture that I edit.

Another difficult part of this second method is creating shadows under the subject. This is the main reason why, in some of these edited pictures, you’ll notice that I cropped out the subjects’ feet. Here’s a little bonus trick.

Besides having a lot of fun doing this, altering these pictures allows me to improve my editing skills. Replacing the background is a skill often used by photographers in newborn photos and weddings.

 

 If you have any ideas for a new place where I can take our grandsons, please let me know, and I'll do my best to create this new scenario.

This is exactly why editing matters

The following image is the original wedding photo.

A distracting object was touching the bride’s dress. It was real. It was there. It pulled attention away from the moment.

Here is the edited version.

The object is removed. The dress looks clean. The focus is back where it belongs, on the bride and the emotion of the day.

Editing is not about changing reality. Editing is about protecting the memory.

Weddings do not get a second chance. Moments happen once. Photos are what remain.

If a small distraction breaks the story, it is my responsibility to fix it with care and accuracy.

This is the difference between taking a picture and delivering a finished photograph. 

I enhanced this image by shifting the green tones of the leaves for an artistic purpose, guiding the eye toward the bride and the emotion of the moment.

This type of editing is valid in photography when it is used intentionally to support the story, not to change the truth of the scene.

Photography is not only about recording what was there, but about expressing how it felt.

Nano Banana

 I asked Nano Banana to create versions of this photo:

And here are the results:

 

I was not pleased with the second photo because, by rotating the subject, it looked like a different kid, in my opinion. Here is the prompt that I used to get the first picture edited by Nano Banana.

"An expressive, natural portrait of a subject, bathed entirely in warm, directional golden hour sunlight. The light should be low, highlighting the texture of the skin and hair with a vibrant rim light. Camera/Settings: Captured on a Canon R6 with a 85mm lens, f/1.8, shallow depth of field (bokeh) in the background. Composition: Leading lines from a distant fence drawing the eye to the face. Style: Cinematic realism, saturated gold and orange hues, high dynamic range. Do not change subject position. Do not edit the face of the subject." 

In my experience, Nano Banana tends to always edit the face of the subject, which is the reason why I do not feel it’s a tool that can be reliably used for editing. However, you get decent results if you try to replace the background or use other tricks in that sense. If you do not put both pictures, the original and the one edited by Nano Banana, side by side, the results look nice, but if you compare them you can notice the AI editing right away. 

You can find other prompts and test them yourself here.  

 

Editing your wildlife pictures

Sometimes, people assume that you should not edit your wildlife pictures, that editing is only for human portraits and landscapes. They are wrong. You can enhance any of your pictures, no matter what the subject or topic is. Here is an example of how a wildlife picture, in this case of a bird, is edited to achieve better and more appealing results.

 

The secret that many do not know

 You can get a MacBook Air for a fraction of the price—and still enjoy Apple’s 1-year warranty!

Refurbished laptops may come with minor scratches or cosmetic imperfections, but they’ve been thoroughly inspected and repaired by the manufacturer. When you buy through this link, you're purchasing directly from Apple. And here’s the best part: when I bought my MacBook Air M3, it arrived looking just like a brand-new machine—no scratches, no defects. It was packaged exactly like a new MacBook Air. Honestly, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference!

Stop struggling with your old laptop or trying to edit videos on your iPhone. And just so you know—this isn’t a sponsored post. This is not an affiliate link. I'm not getting paid by Apple. I’m simply sharing my personal experience, nothing more. I’m sharing this to show how happy I am with my purchase after three months of using it to edit my photos and videos. 

DXO PureRAW 5

DXO PureRAW 5 has been released. I tested it a bit, and the new denoising engine seemed a little too soft for my taste — faster, but soft. Still, it’s a must-have for any photographer out there. Combining DXO PureRAW with Topaz Photo AI for sharpening can result in almost perfect images.

Here is a video explaining the main differences in this new version.

 

Pastel Color grading

 I recently shot an event where I decided to apply a pastel color grading to all pictures. 

The picture above is one of several taken during the event. You'll notice a pastel color tone, which is quite unique compared to unedited photos. This effect was achieved through careful color grading. Judging by the number of "likes" it received, it seems that people appreciated the results of this creative approach.