How to Use Photoshop to Create Multi-Image Composites

Photography Tips

Some people see image manipulation as a sort of cheat to get a good a photograph, and in some cases they are correct. But, in terms of composite photography, which Sean Duggan talks about in the presentation below, it gives photographers the ability to take everyday objects and turn them into something much more magical:

Composite imaging is the process of taking multiple images and layering them together to sculpt a new, sometimes imagined scene. Some composite images are very obviously composited–even despite masterful Photoshop skills, while others may be hard to recognize.

Duggan shares a lot of insights into the entire process of creating composite images–starting with the thinking process that begins before you even take an image–and continuing on all the way through to post-production, where the image that you imagined begins to come together.

“I think the idea of story add a lot to composite photography. It makes it more than just a well executed blending of images together if you can add elements that suggest a story or little bit of intrigue or mystery, I think that elevates composites beyond just being a really good assemblage of pixels.”