Floating Frog Illusion

Don't believe your eyes.

When lights are evenly distributed and shadows faked right, my toy frog could float, well, at least on photographs. It's shot on a miniature setup on an experimental basis. There are other factors to consider such as the reflectiveness of the print material as well as the elimination of overcast (real) shadows to make a convincing illusion.

In the left-hand-side shot, the seam lines were artificially removed without fanfare through PS to test for results. The shadows were faked too (see attachment). Compared with the right-hand-side shot (no illusions), the difference could be observed. The setup was cursorily assembled at home. See the attachments for the behind-the-scenes pictures.

The illusion was conceptualised with a 3-piece setup. The "floor (X/Y axis)" and "side (Z/Y axis)" panel were digitally manipulated. The "main (X/Z axis)" formed the main background. The 3-piece artwork originated from a single photograph and "cut" into it's 3 respective components. The idea was to "pull" the frog into the scene as if the photo took place at the real premises. The experiment tells us that issues with seam lines and shadows need to be addressed in actual production/setup to maintain believable illusionary realism. The angle of the shots had to be precise and staged from a prescribed perspective too.

The experiment was later printed into a life-size photo booth for a private sales event.

Any thoughts to share?