This is a guest post courtesy of Dyana of Ingemi’s Ultimate Studio
Composite photography opens the door to a world of endless creative possibilities that would be impossible in real life. Creating magical fantasy, or “fantastical” images not only takes imagination, preparation, and inspiration but sometimes hours on end of editing to make your vision come to life. With that being said, the time put into these unique pieces of art is worth every minute. Following a few simple steps can make the creative and editing process easier.
• Concept
Creative inspiration and conceptualizing an idea are essential parts of composite photography. Use a dream journal, sketch ideas, and get inspired by the artwork and other photographers. Personalizing an idea to the subject is also a good way to start brainstorming. As with this Four Elements theme, my daughters and niece used to play this all the time. So, being able to create this piece will help a part of their childhood live on forever.
• Background and Subject
Collect images that you can combine to create a seamless background ready for your final image. Using pieces of your photography, as well as stock images and overlays like those offered by Summerana, you can bring your image beautifully together. Consider similar lighting and perspectives for your background image and your subject when taking your photos.
• Photoshop Tools
Using the quick selection tool and being precise to cut out your subject is always an important step as well as layers and layer masks to brush elements on and off. Here is where the beauty of composite photography is, if your perspective or lighting was not quite perfect, it can all be modified using free transformation and blending tools to get the correct color temperatures and angles that are key to making an image look seamless.
Whether you are new to composite photography or just have self-doubt about your creative concepts or feel like your work is not good enough – like me- it’s important to tell yourself that practice makes perfect, and creativity is something everyone struggles with at times. I say try something new, l be different, and remember that this is your artistic journey. You are only limited to what your mind can come up with.
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