Backgrounds

The picture that I have modeled my picture of is an image of Taylor Momsen. This picture clearly shows her with a dull, angry expression on her face which depicts that it is probably an image for a rock magazine.

My image is similar so the only thing I need now to achieve my look is the right background. I have removed the background of the picture so that I can place it onto a similar colour to this one.

The first one I have tried is a gradient background from black to white. This one does not look very professional and the very dark black at the top makes the lines of the image on top look un-neat and unprofessional. I need a lighter colour near to the hardest parts to remove the background, eg. the hair.

The next one I have tried is similar but the black and white are mixed on the background making patches of black and white. This looks more professional compared to other magazines who use similar, not block-coloured, backgrounds. Some of the dark black colour near the hair still makes the line look messy, however I am willing to spend a bit more time improving the edge of her hair in order to keep this background.