Feedback please....

[jebus314]

I'm suprised my "Killer" album cover in the last contest finished 10 out of 12. I thought it was right on target with the concept of the theme and technically strong. I'd love to hear any thoughts you may have. Thanks in advance.

[babaloo]

The first thing that caught my eye when I viewed the image was the masking around the beard, you could still see the color from the old background that the head  image was taken from also you had a soft glow around most of the image but on the left side near the shoulder it looks like you used a hard brush to try to erase some of it.

[oblomov]

Well, apart from the text modification, it's just a head-swap. The beard cobwebs don't go with MJ clothes. Ben Laden is a cliché, unless there is something new to be said on the subject...or at least a different photo.
On the + side, this picture is square like a disc cover, unlike a few others.

[Keb]

Jebus, I agree with the above comments. Masking was the biggest issue IMHO. Don't get discouraged. You have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince.

[Hitspinner]

Yep, it had basic shading and masking issues, Jebus. Don't sweat it. Everybody here has made the same mistakes. There are a lot of steps involved in creating a seamless transition and that especially applies to hair.
On Bin Laden's beard, the crop lines are very evident. Getting rid of that crop line requires blurring the edges of the beard by at least 50%, fogging an underlayment of shadow and illustrating the hair lines back in with a pencil brush until a natural blend is achieved.
It would have taken me about 30 to 45 minutes to get a perfect blend.  It takes lots of time and experience to make a chop that will rise to the top. You'll hear it a lot, that "the difference between a first place chop and a last place chop is  30 minutes." That is so true. I reckon 90% of winning is in the details; the extra effort to remove a distracting speck or highlight an eyelid. A great measure is when you finish a chop, look at it critically with the viewpoint, does this look like a real photograph? I always keep in mind that I am not trying to fool Joe Public. I'm trying to fool experts here that will be looking for tell tale signs of goofs, LOL.  So, that in mind I can't make any and pay very close attention to details. Hang in there, you'll  be knocking them out of the park