Recent Composite Articles

Blending for Composites in Photoshop

What do you think of when you hear the term "composite"? Lots of hours with the Pen tool cutting out elements or fiddling around with the Refine Edge tool?

The Making of a Composite With Mario Olvera

Mario Olvera is a photographer, digital artist, and friend from Mexico. He creates surreal conceptual composite images and commercial works.

Unify Composites With Color in Photoshop

When creating composites using various images from multiple photos, each part has its unique color balance. This is where most beginners tend to fail when creating a composite.

Do Not Be Afraid of Using Stock in Your Creations

Being a freelance photographer and digital artist, I have resigned myself to the fact that I will not always be able to use my own photography in the images I create for clients.

Will Artificial Intelligent Software Hurt or Help Your Photography?

We are living in an exciting time, where software and machine learning are rapidly changing the way we approach work. For some industries, artificial intelligence will destroy job opportunities, but for other industries, it will revolutionize productivity. How will photography and the retouching world fare as editing software begins using this exciting technology?

Create a Cyberpunk Scene on Photoshop

Cyberpunk is very "in" at the moment. With the impending release of the video game and the rise of Synthwave music, a lot of cyberpunk art is being created.

Topaz Mask AI: How Much AI Is There Really?

AI has surely become a catch phrase, and we are seeing it all the time in photography applications. Luminar touts AI and Topaz, and even Adobe is jumping on the AI Bandwagon. Topaz Mask AI is one of the latest apps using AI, and I put it to the test.

How to Easily Remove Light Stands From a Shot Using Compositing and Photoshop

Light stands are not known for being inconspicuous, and as such, if they are in your shot, they can be a real pain to deal with. However, with some careful planning, you can make it super easy to quickly composite the light stand out in Photoshop, and this helpful video will show you exactly how to do that.

How I Mixed Strobes and LED Lights in This Fashion Photo Shoot

In today's Fstoppers video, I set out to create some conceptual fashion images with Puerto Rican model Krystal Xamairy. Using the brand new Tamron 35mm f/1.4 lens, a few strobe lights, and a couple colored LED panels, I will walk you step by step through the entire process.

How a Photoshop Noob Composited This Series of Action Photos

Having completed what proved to be one of the most challenging shoots of my career, I was then faced with the task of editing and compositing the images. Due to my inexperience, getting the results that I wanted using Photoshop proved to be a steep learning curve. Here’s how I went about it.

How to Add Mood and Style to a Composite

Colin Anderson is a composite photographer from Australia whose work is super stylistic and conceptual. He has worked with many large companies including Adobe, the Discovery Channel, and IBM.

How to Match Colors in Photoshop

Nemanja Sekulic has amassed a huge following on YouTube with his fantastic photo-manipulations and tutorials.

Photographer Creates Her Own Spacesuit for Fantasy Portrait

Anya Anti is an internationally published photo artist from the Ukraine who now lives in the Big Apple. If you have never seen her work, you are missing out on a whole series of quirky, interesting, and fantastical images that stir up emotion and imagination.

How to Add Realistic Smoke and Snow to Images

Over the past 7 years since I first bought my camera, I have been lucky enough to meet a fair amount of the people that I looked up to in the industry. Some of them I have become very good friends with.

How to Add Quality Typography to Your Images in Photoshop

If you have dipped your feet into the movie poster or book cover industry, like me, you will know that one of the most underrated aspects of the poster and the cover industry is typography. The typography you use can make or break an image. Most digital artists, think of it as an afterthought but I guarantee you it is one of the most vital pieces of the puzzle to publisher or distributor.

The Art of Composite Photography: Part One

As you can probably tell by my work I am a huge fan of composite photography. I chose the path of the composite warrior for a couple of reasons in the beginning.

Conceptual Advertising Image Photoshop Walkthrough

In this composite walkthrough, I take you through the various processes it took to create this advertising image. Throughout the video, you will hear my thoughts and why I decided on certain aspects.

It's OK to Make a Fake Photo, Just Don't Be Fake About It

You hear it all the time from photographers across the entire range of experience: “I don’t Photoshop my photos.” That photographer is most likely afraid of Photoshop or afraid to disclose that they Photoshop images, and so instead they wrap themselves in this puritanical line as cover.

How to Create 3D Photos for Facebook

Over the past few days, you may have noticed an influx of 3D photos in your Facebook feed. That's because this feature was previously limited to dual-camera iPhone devices, but on April 16, Oculus introduced new features allow users to create 3D photos and upload them into their feed from a computer. Here's how you can create your own.

The Results of Our Puerto Rico Cave Shootout Are In!

Last week, we continued our exploration of Puerto Rico with our second shootout challenge. This time, we mixed it up a little bit with a guest photographer, and the results were pretty interesting.

AI Turns Sketches Into Photorealistic Landscapes

Do you need to put together a mood board or share some ideas with regards to the location you're looking for? Soon, it'll be possible to draw some lines and have it generated by AI. This video shows what's to come.

Vote for the Winning Image in the Fstoppers Puerto Rico Photo Contest Challenge

This week we continue our Puerto Rican Photo Challenge. In our second challenge, two photographers explore the elaborate cave systems hidden deep within the central hills of Puerto Rico. In the full article, you can vote which image was the best and later this week we will reveal the winning image.

Five Tricks For Accurate Selections in Photoshop

Getting a pinpoint selection of an object in Photoshop is one of the most basic skills but also can be one of the hardest tasks to do. Here are five tips for getting accurate selections on even the most difficult details.

Fantasy Composite Speed Tutorial

In this composite walkthrough, photographer and digital artist Clinton Lofhouse shares how he created this striking composite and gives several tips for how to make a fantasy image like this one believable.

How I Improved My Photography by Ditching HDR

If you rely heavily on HDR for your image processing, I have some news for you: It can be a lazy approach, and you may be using it in the wrong applications. It's time to learn about the limitations of HDR and far better alternatives at your disposal.

A Guide to Creating Stunning Sunbursts in Your Landscape Photography

Nothing says sunrise or sunset like an explosive sunburst. The geometric pattern can double the interest in your photos when composed soundly, but you need to get a few settings in order. Here’s a guide to picking the right lens, mitigating flare, and composing the shot just right to create crisp, gorgeous sunbursts!

Why I Mainly Photograph in Portrait Orientation for Actors' Headshots

Many people have asked me over time why most of my headshots are taken in portrait orientation and so tight? I used to joke around, saying I shot that way because I am a Virgo and my style of shooting is very much “in the box”. I then realized I could simply sum up three main reasons for why I shoot in portrait.

Exposure Bracketing: What It Is and How to Do It

How many times have you snapped a beautiful scene, only to be disappointed when your images don’t adequately represent the reality? Though the camera’s images sometimes fall short, have no fear, because bracketing is here.

Santa's Photographers Get a Jump on Spreading Happiness and Joy to Hospitalized Children

The Christmas holiday brings to mind images of children in their home, opening the gifts Santa left the night before. One pictures the entire family in their pajamas sitting around the living room as wrapping paper flies and the children’s faces light up with surprise. However, for too many children, this image is replaced with the hard, cold reality of celebrating Christmas in a hospital. But The Heart Project along with Santa are out to change those images for a few lucky children.

Beautiful Oasis in an Otherwise Hectic World: A Unique Photo Series

Art is a huge form of self expression. We use it to push through a traumatic experience, to pull us out of sadness, or even to express the intense happiness we feel when we are overwhelmed with the beauty that surrounds us. Sometimes, we can also have this same effect on others maybe without even trying .

Unique Holiday Gift Idea: Photograph Your Own Pet Calendar

The holidays months can bring extra leisure time, and there's nothing more rewarding than spending that free time on a challenging photography project. During last year's fall holidays I decided to turn my available energy into something creative and fun: a pet calendar for 2018.