As photographers, we are constantly searching for opportunities to create unique, impactful images. To achieve our creative vision, we learn and practice techniques in lighting, posing, compositions, photo editing and more. One of these techniques is composite photography. In the following article, we’ll discuss the concept of composite photography and provide you with some basic tips to get you started.
What is Composite Photography?
Composite photography is a genre of photography in which the artist combines two or more images to create a new, final image.
Simple Composite Photography – On one side of the spectrum, composite photography can be as simple and subtle. For example, a photographer might combine images to remove undesired objects in a scene as you see in the example below. (See the full tutorial on simple composite photography for more information).
Digital Art Composite Photography – On the other side of the spectrum is are complex, mutli-layer composites that cross into digital art. Below is an example from an article on Photoshop Composite Photography by Arthur Ward.
My Beginnings in Composite Photography
I began dabbling in composites. I turned to resources such as Phlearn to soak in as much information as I could on the craft. I looked for inspiration from the some of the “greats” – Adrian Sommeling, Robin Chavez, and Joel Robinson. There was something about taking multiple images and blending them into one creative art piece that really fascinated me!
I began doing research on stock images; where to find them, rights of usage (very important), etc. Some of my favorite sites so far are: DeviantArt, MorgueFile, and Shutterstock.
I needed to test the waters, per se. I began posting the images on my Facebook page around Christmas time to see if local potential clients had the same appreciation for them as I did. The response was wonderful! Comments and messages started pouring in. Parents were really interested to know how we could make something like this happen for their children! I chose to get more practice in before offering them to clients, but made note of all who were interested so that I could contact them when the time came.
This particular image is what sparked the interest amongst my Facebook followers:
I also shared the images in several photographer’s groups on Facebook. I quickly realized that some photographers viewed composites as making you less of a photographer, or cheating. I disagree with this opinion, and here is why.
As photographers, whether working with natural light or artificial lighting, we have to know how to see/manipulate the light. We need a deep understanding of depth of field and things like composition. When creating composite photographs, these are a few important things to keep in mind.
What Makes A Composite Believable? .
- Perspective: Whether you are combining two images or ten, the perspective must match throughout the image.
- Depth of Field: Placing just the right amount of blur in just right the right places is crucial to keeping the depth of field accurate when combining multiple stock images.
- Lighting and Highlights/Shadows: The direction of your source light, whether it be the sun, the moon, a lantern, or a combination of light sources, needs to be spot on. It can make or break a composite, and it was something I spent a lot of time trying to master. Highlights and shadows must also match your light source.
- Tones: The tones in a composite should be fluent throughout the image. If the background is warm, your foreground should be as well. I have learned several tips on blending tones that I will share in future articles.
I can honestly say that without my experience as a photographer and an understanding of the basic fundamentals of photography, I would be lost with my composites. Composites are tedious, time consuming, and require skill. Is it digital art? Sure it is. Does that make me less of a photographer? Absolutely not.
Below is my latest composite. And you best believe I will be doing many more, whether for personal use, or for my clients.
How to Do Composite Photography
Now that we’ve discussed the usage and the capabilities of composite photography, let’s walk through a full example to teach you how to do it.
It’s important to remember that we don’t need awe-inspiring backdrops to create amazing images. More often than not, the beauty of our surroundings needs only to be recognized. It’s up to us to visualize what’s possible and then make it happen rather than focus on our surroundings as is and limit our own potential.
Step 1: Scout locations inside & out
We suggest getting to know your location before the shoot begins. Search for the venue online to see how others have captured it before you, and then show up early on the day of the shoot to look for great scenes, both indoors and out (if possible). Even if you’ve already shot at the location, it’s worth exploring the space again to find angles you might’ve previously missed.
Step 2: visualize the final image
Michelangelo once said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” This concept transcends sculpture, really, and is applicable to other art forms, including photography. The image we see in our mind is there before us. We just have to use the tools available to us to bring it to life.
Step 3: Set up camera angle on tripod
After you’ve chosen your location, set your camera up on a tripod, and use the appropriate lens for your desired focal length. The tripod will provide the stability you need to capture multiple images for the final composite, which you’ll create in post.
Step 4: Dial in ambient exposure
Before adding lights, dial in the ambient exposure on your camera. The overall exposure for silhouette portraits tends to be on the darker side, so set your aperture, lower your ISO, and adjust your shutter speed to taste.
Note: We chose to stop down the ambient light to minimize location details and draw focus to the subjects as silhouettes and the wall art that framed them.
Step 5: Set up lighting
Here is a list of gear you can use to create amazing composite portraits:
LIGHTING GEAR options:
- Profoto B2 250 Air TTL To-Go Kit
- On-Camera Flash with Focus Assist or Speedlite Transmitter
- Off-Camera Flash with Built-In Radios
- Flash Grid/Snoot
- Flash Gels/CTO/CTB
- Flash Stand
Position the flash so that it is concealed behind your subject(s). It should be somewhat low, and the direction you face the flash will vary depending on the background and look you’re going for. For this image, the subjects stood fairly close to an art wall we wanted to highlight, so we directed the light away from the subjects. The spill of light on the wall also helped define our subjects as silhouettes.
Step 6: Pose couple as individuals & as a couple
Begin by posing each subject on his or her respective side. Because you’re photographing the subjects one at a time, be sure they’re facing the correct direction, which should be toward the center of the image. Also, as this particular image involves silhouettes, position the subjects so that their profile and features are clearly defined with separation between the arm and waist for the female subject, and a shoulder-width stance to add depth to the male figure’s pose (see image above). Without clear separation, the subjects will appear wider and less defined.
Step 7: Edit as composite in photoshop
From there, take your images into Photoshop and layer them on top of each other. Then, it’s a simple as masking in or out the desired parts of each image. You can find a full tutorial on simple compositing here for more information.
Conclusion
Despite our best intentions for creating amazing images, however, circumstances beyond our control sometimes get in the way. Whether it’s rainy weather or timelines gone awry, many factors can throw us off course and cause us to blank out creatively. The truth is, shiz happens, but we can overcome.
If we truly prepare, which involves studying the work of others, practicing our technique, communicating with our clients to know their needs, and taking the time to scout the locations at which we shoot, then we can create amazing images regardless of the circumstances. Remember, stunning scenes may be hiding right before our eyes; we need only to recognize and then reveal their potential.
We offer a number of tutorials for SLR Lounge Premium Members that cover topics like OCF techniques and creating composite images in Photoshop. These tutorials range in difficulty from beginner to advanced so that you can expand your skillset with our workshops and grow at your own pace.
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I’m an author working with a digital artist to do composites with my photos. He will purchase/license stock photos for certain backgrounds needed… Should he be listed on the book cover as ILLUSTRATED BY or DIGITAL ARTISTRY BY….. ? And I guess the copyright page inside the book would give attribution as required by any of the photographs?
It does make you less of a photographer, but more of a digital artist. You can create these shots without taking the photos yourself, but you can’t make theses shots without the digital art component. The real problem is not disclosing that the images were in fact digital composites and not actual photos. As long as that disclaimer is highly visible you’re fine.
Um… No. It doesn’t make her less of a photographer. It means she has another skill in her repertoire as a digital artist. To gain another skill does not take from another. I think what you MEAN to say is that it makes these images more digital art than photography.
And that is up for debate…
I personally wouldn’t dare to tell someone like Gemmy Woud-Binnendijk that she didn’t belong in the photography world.
About a year ago I felt pretty much the same as you did and started making composites to create imagery that was more unique and to tap more into my creative side. I don’t see this as cheating at all. If that were true then illustrators would say photography is cheating. Composite photography is just another variation of visual imagery.
What a great article :-) I have just joined this great community because of it, thank you :-)
What has always amazed me with people’s perception of Composite Images, is, they don’t seem to “get it”. Taking a great photo can be difficult in itself but to then take that and many other photos to create an “artwork” takes a lot of time, energy and skill. “They” only see it as a “nice” picture and really not understanding what is involved. Yes, we do this because we absolutely love it, but I have never really understood why people don’t seem to think it’s as good as a “single photo”? Ha ha does that make sense?
Its just another form of photography, another way to express your vision. period… you know what they say about beauty…
i myself dont do composites however i find it just as another form of photography focusing on a target market group. weather you shoot for yourself or someone else you are catering to a market that will make you money. if someone wants elephant with your child in the ocean you cant hand them snapshot of an stuffed animal on your shelf.
Digital art is clearly a branch of the visual arts, and can be an expression of great skill and creativity. It is a constructing, synthesising art akin to painting and the other ‘mark-making’ arts. Artists use photographic material to build a picture, whether digitally or by collage or fixing it to a canvas as part of a painting; but the resulting picture is not itself a photograph.
The two key features of a photograph are indexicality and instantaneity. Composites have neither.
I think composites are great if the image is great. Art is art. http://www.mypodshots.com .
Your composites are beautiful! I love the magical quality of them. My children have the most amazing imaginations & your composites capture what might be in their minds’ eye when they play. I would love to have photos like your examples of my kids; they would love them as well.
I’ve used composites on newborn photos for poses that make me nervous. Like hammock pics… I really don’t want to dangle a baby from a branch. And I always HOPE that the pics I see on Pinterest of newborns in glass candy jars are composites! So composites are absolutely photography, and art, and very challenging! Beautiful work!
I actually got into photography by messing about in composite imagery first, then learning portrait retouching, then finally picking up a camera and taking photos myself. I actually feel that path of progression has improved my final images – I was able to edit even my ‘beginner’ shots, which in theory should be the worst ones I’ll ever take, to a standard I was reasonably happy with. Composite photography’s brilliant. My best performing pic on 500px was a composite, and nobody knows. :)
Definitely! I am a huge fan of composite photography and am trying to get better at it. Those who say it isn’t are the same people who think Ansel Adams didn’t do anything to his photoshop except click the shutter.
“Those who say it isn’t are the same people who think Ansel Adams didn’t do anything to his photoshop except click the shutter.” So true. :)
To be honest though it doesn’t even matter what Ansel Adams would or wouldn’t do. The technology and options out there are far more advanced and accessible than they were for him. Also you are your own person. Go do what you want to do, you don’t need to be the next Ansel Adams just the best version of you that you can be!
I tell my students if it isn’t fun don’t do it.
I started dabbling in simple composites back in the film era, one of the things that got me to abandon the darkroom for a film scanner and Photoshop 3. Everything I could image doing in the darkroom — but couldn’t figure out how — was now possible. Of course it’s still photography!
Gorgeous! An absolute artist. An illustrator of photographs. You will bring a story book alive with your imagery. Just the little I see here you are on the top of the game. Simply fun
Of many composite images I have seen I really like yours.
Thank you for your kind words, Peter!
You’re welcome and thank you for the images.
It takes so much more skill to create composites than sooc images. I love the work of Erik Almas. Such vivid imagination could never be captured in the “traditional” sense. The main issue I have with composites is the poorly done ones. It’s like hdr. We are now starting to see some beautiful natural examples of hdr but when someone doesn’t know what they are doing they ruin the image by going too far.
Aaron Nace has some good pro tutorials on compositing where he goes in depth about luminance, hue and saturation and the role they play in making a convincing composite. I recommend that people check out those videos.
I think the issue in this topic is that there are photographers who have a poor knowledge of photoshop that are going to feel more and more out of the loop if they don’t start learning soon. Even if you’re more in the traditional camp it’s better to have that knowledge and not need to use it often than it is to have no idea. Not saying that all photographers need to learn photoshop. Just that they have no right to tear apart others work if they don’t have the skill themselves to do such art.
Well said.
And I second Aaron Nace! I have learned a lot from his tutorials. I literally learn something new in Photoshop every day. I think everyone who uses Photoshop will agree with that. It’s a never ending learning process. It’s a beast. :) But I love every minute of seeing just what it is capable of. Fun stuff!
Oh, and I forgot to say beautiful images Sparkle Hill. I love the magical quality they have.
I can’t get behind that thought. I find creating an image through post manipulation far easier to get the results I need. Mainly, it’s because there are fewer time constraints— I can do and redo as many times as like. It takes more time, and perhaps more effort, but I find it “easier” to get to the final image.
Getting a fantastic image SOOC is incredibly hard. I know people who do it, but man, that’s a skill I haven’t developed yet.
Jim, I completely agree that getting an image as close to perfect SOOC is crucial, and definitely requires a skill of it’s own.
Composites, at least for me, are more about creating images with environments and elements that I do not have access to. Also, mine are aimed more towards children so imagination plays a big factor. Children riding lions or leading an elephant to the edge of a cliff.. things I could not possibly create SOOC.
But for traditiional sessions/photos, it is “easier” to fix things in post. And I feel many use that as a crutch, and as a result, do not take the time to slow down while shooting and get it right in camera.
My “Bringing Imagination to Life” composite series is more about creating, not about “fixing.”
I think its fair to draw a line in the sand.
On one side there is “traditional photography” that aims to capture a real, honest living moments, weddings, portraits, journalism… etc being examples of such. I think we would all agree that it is dishonest to present a composited image as a pure “traditional photograph.” Of course there are grey areas like color grading, skin retouching… etc, but I think there is a definitive line where you present an image in the context of “this is real, this actually happened.”
However, once you openly and honestly cross that line and say “I am creating an image I am not bound to the context of depicting an actual living moment” anything becomes fair game. At that point it truly does not matter if its a “traditional photograph,” hanging on to such stigma is like trying to build a house and saying you can only use a hammer. If you choose to place such limitations on yourself that is fine but the tools you use to craft the image is pretty much irrelevant.
A digital image is just pixel soup, arranged in a defined pattern. How those pixels are created does not matter in the slightest. Use whatever tools are best suited to create the image. The success of the image at that point lies in the skill of execution to achieve a goal, create an emotion, sell a product, make a social/political statement… whatever.
I love the images
Wrote small article about the same thing some time ago. I think it is still photography, for me it is easier to call it Digital art to make a difference and “stand out”. So what ever we call it .. it is still a form of art and there is no right or wrong saying it is photography, or digital art, or what ever. It is all good as long we just create these beautiful things by what ever means.
http://anttikarppinen.com/2015/02/photography-vs-digital-art/
Good article! Nice work!
Wonderful article Sparkle. I have always been amazed at the composites people put out there. It’s so much work and time consuming. Don’t know how anyone can’t say it’s not part of photography. Very envious here lol
Thank you, Dawn! I would suggest starting simple. Perhaps just a sky overlay? Then work your way to adding more components. Composites can be as simple or elaborate as you want them to be!
If people still count using photoshop and lightroom as photography, composites are definitely still photography. It’s just more work. I don’t understand the thought process where people only want to see photographs like they see their real world. Personally, I want an image to take me to a place that I can’t see with my naked eye.
It is definitely time consuming! I enjoy them because it gives me so much more creative freedom than a regular session.
i agree 100% that composite photography is what it is .Its Photography. back in the film days it was called multiple exposure printing . you took several negatives and used masking techniques to form a single image back in the dark room days .Harry Callahan comes to mind. He was a master of multiple exposure printing.
He was known to use seven enlargers in his dark room to do multiple exposures. just to achieve one single image . one image comes to mind. it was of a sofa with 7 leaves hanging in mid hair over the sofa for the life of me i can’t remember the name of the image .has far as i know all of his multiple exposure printing were done in b+w. So yes composite photography is photography.
Absolutely. What some fail to realize is that the same techniques applied in processing a composite come from the same fundamentals of taking a properly exposed/well composed photograph.
I was showing a coworker, my “New to Me” used Canon F-1N film camera when I heard the shutter fire and motor drive advance. That weekend, I went to the lake to take some photos. The first photo on the film was a double exposure of her superimposed on a lake scene. That was sheer dumb luck!