Hope anyone has an idea before I will become crazy *lol* I'm working on this picture since three days and it's all vue - without any postwork. But in the final render it looks like I've made the entrance arch with another programm - the contrast between the arch (black line ) and the background is too strong. I tried to avoid this with a light coming from the ground but this doesn't solve the problem. So what can I do? Thank you for helping!

Hmmm, I would try 2 things.

1. decrease amount of fog or haze - background parts will be more sharp and similar to foreground
   or
   2., try change camera settings - focus and blur, so that entrance arch will be little unsharp. That IMHO gives depth to image and pays attention to lovers.

P.S: Great image !

did u look at the texture/material ? maybe something wrong with them Laurent

The leaves? They look like a photography. Use bumps to make it more 3d. When you use lights in vue, the lights always comes from above. Unless you change the settings for the light. From sunlight to ambient.

ohh, the gate looks to clean....

Is the arch a boolean mapped with leaves? If it is a boolean, map the piece what you have used to cut off with the same leave material. Then go into the material editor for THIS "cut off material". Click the effects tab and increase the lighting. If you could explain how you created the arch... there is always a solution. Guitta

Thanks to u all - gebe: the arch is a untextured 3ds file which I converted to a vob file and textured it with a high resolution photo of a ivy-covered castle wall. deadhead: lol I tried nearly every camera position I can imagine - but the result was not really satisfying. The haze is near zero - perhaps it depends on the volumetric light that comes from above that it seems, there would be a lot of haze. Aleksander: sorry - the picture isn't yet finished and the gate is not the major problem - its this d... arch!

Throw it in the trash, Doro, and create a boolean insteed:-) Guitta

huuu - I'm not Alekssander! Thanks gebe - and I'll try to do my best!

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/viewed.ez?galleryid=93449&Start=13&Artist=tradivoro&ByArtist=Yes

Another way to make the arch more realistic is find a stone texture that you like and texture the arch with just a stone texture... Then, in something like Paint shop pro, photopaint, photoshop, create images of ivy and bring them in as alpha planes... Position them so that they look natural and you get the shadows of the ivy... If you look at my picture at the link, that's how I did it.. Great picture by the way... I would suggest maybe making the scale of the background ivy on he walls of the building smaller.. But other than that, it looks great... :)

You can also give the arch a stone texture and then bring in models of ivy... you can get plant studio for free now and make ivy models very easy.... Or you can get it at 3d cafe... That would probably work best of all...

hi, from my opinion the problem has to do, that you look directly (frontal) onto a flat surface. That always looks a little "unreal" and flat. I think you have to go back into the original model and try to bevel this element or even try to make it round. Or, if not possible, try to separate this element from the rest of the gate and map your leaves (or something else) onto this element so that you dont see the flatness anymore. :-) Walther

Not that easy to do, I suppose, but what I think this image needs is some leaves sticking past the edge of the arch, the way it would be in real life. But even so, this is an excellant image. Kevin

Part of the reason the arch stand out is because its at the front and there isnt anything to show it sits in the scene. It lacks context in the picture as a whole. If something that can seen inside, such as the flowers, were to also come in front of it the arches position would be clearer. Perhaps if one of the pillars or walls that holds it up could be seen at the side right the way down to the ground this would show where it is. Making the stonework a bit thicker might also help give it some depth in the picture.