My first two submissions as a 5+2 contributor have really pushed me out of my comfort zone.
I am far more the "lucky shot" kind of photographer as opposed to the "plan it out ahead of time" type of photographer. This required some brainpower to figure out lenses and angles and lighting, etc.
Plus, the composites I HAVE done have been few, far between and a LONG time ago. I have really had to reacquaint myself with some features I don't normally use in Photoshop.
I am not complaining though! I have been wanting to experiment with compositing for a while now so this has been a great shove in that direction. Also I LOOOOOOVVVVVe doing post processing. It is my favorite part of the process and I believe where the magic really happens with my images.
***The table scape was taken with my Canon 100mm macro at f2.8 and the image of little me was taken with my Sigma 20mm at f8.
I had hoped to use my 35mm to shoot myself so I could avoid lens distortion but there wasn't enough space. I made sure to center myself in the frame because the most distortion is around the edges of the lens and I did use the lens correction feature in LR before moving into PS.
Wow! You should move out of your comfort zone more often. This is terrific! Also, I hear you on post. I love shooting but I also really love post. As you say, that's where the magic happens. I never tire of watching an image come to life on my monitor. As Ansel Adams famously said "The negative is the score, the print is the performance." Easily applied to the digital age.
It would be easier to achieve the second time around. I made it more complicated than it had to be.