Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/viewed.ez?galleryid=937737&Start=1&Sectionid=0&filter_genre_id=0&Form.Se

Here's another version of my 'Girl and her Ant' image. Is this any better? Sorry, I forgot to check "allow comments" etc, I've done that now. Off to Wales tomorrow, for a family party, back on Tuesday for a two day photography course on how to understand your camera - got a new Cannon EOS 20D and I could do with a bit of help. ggg Fran

Fran - try turning off the cast shadows on the bikini material to get rid of that floating off the skin look - it'll still be floating but the principle give-away will be gone. I would lighten the overall shadows tyo about 65-70%. One thing bugging me still is the sun light position. In the evening it should be low to the horizon not above like you currently have. There should be two parts to such a lighting setup - the first a slightly orangey/red sun from low in the sky. the second is a small blue-white fill for the opposite in azimuth from the sun and further up in the sky. Make this about 25% of the suns brightness. Lastly I would introduce small bounce (say 10%) light fills coloured to represent the light of what they are simulating the reflection off of. (you could add a caustic gel to the one for the light bounced off the water for example) Richard

Okay can do the bikini shadows bit, but I dunno what all the rest of it means. Like whats tyo? In the evening it should be low to the horizon not above like you currently have. But... but... I thought it WAS low, (see screen grab) the first a slightly orangey/red sun from low in the sky. the second is a small blue-white fill for the opposite in azimuth from the sun and further up in the sky. Make this about 25% of the suns brightness. Dunno how to do any of that, sorry. Lastly I would introduce small bounce a what??? (say 10%) light fills coloured to represent the light of what they are simulating the reflection off of. Wha??? (bewildered expression) (you could add a caustic gel to the one for the light bounced off the water for example) Now that sounds quite nice, dunno how to do it or any of the rest of it... Help?

Hi Fran- "Tyo" is my very badly spelled "to" (grin) In the skylab, set the sun to between 5 and 10 degrees anfd i would orient it such that the shadows it casts are not so much under the figure. With the cropping you have I keep getting the feeling the shadows are being cast down onto the steps. Your global sun shadow setting should be running below 75% in my opinion. In such cases there is also an ambient light that comes from the rest of the sky. It tends to be a lightly bluish white. So what I was suggesting was to use a large parallel light set to not cast shadows (or make them very soft) down from above. This light should be about 25% as powerful as the sunlight level. You would also see reflections off the ripples in the water casting a caustic pattern on the figure and steps. This light would also be much weaker than the sun's settings and would have a fast fall off.