PS Experiment

I'm practicing with layer masks in Photoshop and have used this idea as a trial for the merged (3 in 1) shot for Photo Tech II. I originally wanted myself to be getting into a fancy dress although my unwillingness to expose my whole body and face on camera increased, until I decided to work with the sweater idea instead. I find this image has a lot of problems with lighting consistency as I moved my light source around in between frames to capture the best 'mood' lighting as possible on my face and arms. The two back people are full of volume and have a medium amount of contrast between highlights and shadows although the front face (fully clothed) lacks depth and volume (i.e. flat light) so it breaks the mood and continuity of the image. I'll have to watch this shifting, changing light pattern for my final shoot!
The composition is effective as the folds of the sweater guide the eyes around the frame in a clockwise direction. I enjoy having myself floating in space (i.e. black background) because it enforces the idea of surrealism since it's unlikely that photographers could capture, within 1 frame the movement of dressing, without the image being a long exposure- therefore soft focused with trials of motion. I also had issues with soft focus, on the front face, but for another reason- being forced to use a slow shutter speed, due to lack of light, and my inability to hold still for the length of the slow shutter speed caused a soft-focused face.