Composite Photography

Some images can't be captured in a single frame — they have to be built. Composite photography combines multiple exposures, elements, and layers into a single convincing image, and doing it well requires both technical precision and a strong eye for light matching and realism. This section covers compositing from the ground up, including the shooting techniques that make post-production easier.

How to Create Fantasy Composite with Your Photos in Photoshop

Peter McKinnon is back with another video, this time to show how to create a fantasy composite in Adobe Photoshop. A composite image is an image made up of various photos which are placed and blended together to make one image. When it comes to fantasy, it’s just that... fantasy.

Create a Portrait Composite Using Simple Techniques

Take a few minutes and look up Photographer Joel Grimes. His portraits infuse a unique and identifiable lighting style that is edgy, dramatic, and often shot in studio with fairly simple lighting setups. Even more interesting is the fact that most of his shots are taken with the intent of compositing them into different backgrounds. 

How to Convincingly Composite Images in Photoshop

Compositing images well is one of those skills that can really flex your photographic prowess by calling on a multitude of techniques, all of which you have to have a sound basis in to create a convincing final product. This great tutorial will show you all the steps. 

Fstoppers Interviews Dave Hill, Professional Commercial Photographer

I started my journey in photography back in 2011. Since then, there are only a handful of photographers that I have really paid attention to in terms of actively keeping up with their work. One of those photographers is Commercial Photographer Dave Hill. His work has taken a more drastic turn in just a few years than any photographer that I’ve followed.

Techniques to Improve Your Composites from Film

Many photographers have that one muse who inspires creative projects, knows exactly what the direction is, and is always the perfect collaboration. One artist found his own muse in himself when he set forth on a project to capture every stage of emotion of his own work.

Adding Stars to Your Nighttime Photography

Taking photos at night can be an incredibly creative and rewarding experience. Unfortunately, increasing levels of light pollution in cities and urban areas makes it virtually impossible to include any detail in your sky which is often a major aspect of your composition. Adding stars is an easy and effective answer to this problem.

Using Textures to Enhance Your Images

Using textures to enhance photographs is a creative technique that is often overlooked. The best part is that it can be achieved completely free and usually in a matter of seconds.  A texture is essentially an image of anything with a relatively continuous surface. Examples include brick, scratched wood or metal, dirt, or even older film image like in my first example.

Photographing 24 Hours of Le Mans on a Miniature Scale

For some of us photographing the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a dream that would be a peak in our careers in the world of Motorsports Photography. The images created at this iconic race have been some of the most powerful images in the genre.

Create Seamless Selections Using Luminosity Masks

Creating selections in Photoshop can be a painstaking process, oftentimes with mixed results. I learned about luminosity masking by way of exposure blending for landscapes, but its applications are varied. 

Two Small Tips for Solid Bookings in 2017

At the end of each year there is is always the hustle mindset of pushing harder for the upcoming business actions. More bookings, solid client interactions, and in many cases the push to top the previous years' finances. So how does one start off the new year with client bookings already on the calendar? By simply not forgetting those who booked you the previous year.

Erik Almas Asked to Recreate a Famous Vermeer Painting Using Stock Photos

'The Concert,' a painting by the famous artist Johannes Vermeer, is one of the masterpieces of the Dutch painter. Unfortunately it was stolen in 1990. All his paintings are so skillfully created with quite remarkable understanding of light as intensity, shape, direction, size, and color.

Create an Eerie Nighttime Photo in the Middle of Day

Sometimes you just want to shoot midday with a speedlite, in the middle of the forest, on a balmy 80-plus degree day in Florida. OK, those last few statements are purely hypothetical, but as a traveling photographer, I work with what I’ve got. 

Turn That Super Moon Photo into Something Creative

Now that the Super Moon has come and gone, just about every photographer has a bunch of great moon shots sitting on their hard drive. With help from Andrei Oprinca over at PSDbox.com, you can turn those images into creative graphic designs for various uses. I turned mine into cell phone wallpapers and gave them to friends and family.

 

Artist Photographs Toy Figurines to Recreate Scenes From Star Wars

I have a confession to make: I’m not a huge "Star Wars" fan. In fact, it’s best that no one ask me any questions about the series because I’d likely embarrass myself. Sebastien Del Grosso on the other hand may be able to provide more insight, or rather, some impressive images that pay tribute to the iconic series known across the globe by so many. 

Fascinating Jarred Landscapes by Photographer Christoffer Relander

Ansel Adams once said “you don’t take a photograph, you make it.” I have always thought that what he meant by this quote was the process involved in reaching the final image. It has never been about clicking a picture simply, but it involves the creativity the photographer pours into his image.

Photographer Creates Eye-Catching Organic Portraits Using Plant Life

French photographer and digital artist Cal Redback has been creating images that bring new meaning to the term, "organic portraits." Sparked by a fascination with double exposures, Redback began to photograph friends along with local plant life, blending the two together to create a unique set of portraits that seem to take on a life of their own.  

Fstoppers Interviews Photographer Who Recreates Your Childhood Nightmares

Once upon a dark and stormy night, the chills ran up my spine as I clicked the mouse, seconds seemed more like minutes while I nervously awaited for the page to load. Ok well it wasn't that dramatic, however I'd be lying if I didn't say Horror Photographer Joshua Hoffine's work didn't give me the heebie-jeebies.

Animeyed: Human-Animal Hybrid Portraits By Flóra Borsi

Hungarian photographer Flóra Borsi is not your average self-portrait artist. Many of us are satisfied with the regular glamorous makeup and looks, but Borsi shapes her own perception of the perfect selfie through her exceptional creativity.

Part 2: How to Have Only Dream Projects in Your Photography Portfolio

Remember that first time you've looked at those dream portfolios? How did they happen? You've probably compared your portfolio against those and thought, "How would clients put their trust in me for something as big as that?" The hard truth is, those dream-portfolio photographers had a great website issued by the hospital they were given birth at.

Planespotting: Photographing Luxury Jets With Pepper Yandell

When you think of photographing jets above rising cityscapes, some of you may think initially of a "Mission Impossible" type of situation: a daring photographer in a flight suit and goggles strapped to the back of a military-looking plane with the cargo ramp down, snapping off shots as they fly through the air. Sure, it's been done, maybe not to that extreme, but you get the gist.

Unbelievable Behind-the-Scenes of the Greatest Deconstructed Food Shot

For me, food photography has to be one of the most complex and technical types of photography in the industry. The ability to bring life and attraction to something you need to convince other to eat is pretty impressive. Steve Giralt has done the impossible by creating one of the most outstanding examples of a deconstructed burger I have ever seen.  

Budapest Captured From Day to Night in One Shot

Photographer Greg Florent has made images that capture Budapest in a new light. The images are made by taking them at the transition of daylight into sunset and then nighttime until the lights come on and the city's evening starts.

Learn How to Create Proper Shadows in Photoshop

If you ever do any sort of composite work, chances are that you'll need to add shadows. They're one of the biggest aspects of making a composite image convincing, and yet, they're also very subtle and tricky to pull off. Phlearn is here with a great tutorial to get you started. 

Are Photoshop Plugins Still Relevant?

As Adobe’s Creative Cloud continues to grow, so does its most loved software, Photoshop. Over the years, Photoshop has single-handedly expanded its offering of creative tools to thousands of people across the globe, serving all types of industries from photography and design to forensics and astronomy. 

Watch the First Full Lesson of 'Photographing the World' for Free

Last year we teamed up with Elia Locardi, one of the most followed landscape photographers in the world, to film "Photographing The World: Landscape Photography and Post-Processing." This is a 12-hour video tutorial on landscape photography, and today, we are releasing the first lesson for free. 

10 Things to Keep in Mind When Stacking Time-Lapse Images

Shooting time-lapses can be a good skill to have as a photographer and as a video producer. I like shooting nighttime traffic. It gives me an urban energy, with the lights dragging over the shot to give an indication of motion, power, and electricity.   

Photographer Steve Brown Recreates 'The Last Supper' Using Star Wars Characters

From Star Wars to Rogue One, we just can't get enough of this series as it continues on to the new generation. I know that I myself can't get enough of the Star Wars saga, let alone the numerous examples of fan art out there, including photography concepts. Photographer Steve Brown has created an amazing Last Supper with The Emperor, Darth Vader, and Imperial Stormtroopers.

Behind the Scenes: Photographer Composites Incredible Underwater Restaurant Shoot

Last year, we shared Andreas Varro's popular photo series 'The Condom Challenge' here on Fstoppers. Varro has now pushed the limits, or in this case, the deep depths in his latest project. He was called for a commercial shoot for one of Sweden's most exclusive restaurants. How he came to his final composition is something you need to see to believe!  

The Photography and Design Process for a Fantasy Book Cover

Hello, I'm Steven Meyer-Rassow. I was contacted by Wise Ink creative publishing, who wanted a photographically based cover image for an upcoming fantasy title by A.M. Justice. The following is the process of photography and design that went into the creation of the final cover. 

Why Your Story Matters: A Filmmaker's Dream Come True

When it comes to art, being creative is always a good way to stand apart from your competition. One day, I was browsing through something and saw that Airbnb put up an ad for a film festival. In the ad, Matty Brown was there talking about what it was all about. I was interested in seeing why Airbnb chose him to work with them on a project like this, so I checked out some of his work.

The Real Versus the Beautiful (Part 4): The Future of Photography and the Moral Compass

The previous article about the processed image ended with similar arguments both for and against digital manipulation, and the artist’s disclosure of such actions. But how does the motivation for creating art through both photography and creative editing arise? I’ve gathered a panel of fellow international landscape photographers to expatiate on the power of the processed image.

A Few Tips on Astrophotography and How to Capture Stars at Night

Even though I am not a landscape photographer and I have never attempted any sort of astrophotography, I have always appreciated beautiful photographs of nightscapes. Recently, I borrowed the new Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD lens and tried to photograph an interesting night scene here in Charleston. Truth be told, it was quite the learning experience.

Photographing Hong Kong With Elia Locardi / Behind The Scenes Episode 13 and 14

Our second tutorial with Elia Locardi: Photographing the World: Cityscape, Astrophotography, and Advanced Post-Processing was all about different types of cities. We started in Cinque Terre, a region of Italy where cities are basically built into the side of a natural landscape. We then moved on to Rome to shoot ancient architecture.

Create Noise-Free Images Using Exposure Stacking

Current cameras' sensors are getting better year after year. Unfortunately, they cannot create noise-free images at high ISO just yet. I am sure the day will come soon, but in the meantime, there is a very simple technique using Adobe Photoshop or Affinity Photo to create the illusion of a clean file. 

Check out These Amazing Inception Styled Cityscapes

Flatland is a project created by the Turkish photographer Aydın Büyüktaş. These images resemble scenes from the hit movie Inception, where the city seamlessly curves upward into the sky. Each image takes months of planning, and because of the complex scenery, Aydin must constantly reshoot locations in order to get the perfect alignment.   

How to Create Simple and Elegant Product Photos with Minimal Gear

Product photography is a great way to experiment with lighting and editing techniques. For me, it’s a chance to shoot in a relaxed environment where I have complete control over the subject, lighting, and camera. I can set up something small in the living room and find solutions that can be applied to my portrait work or professional product photography. It also requires a lot of creativity.

Critique the Community Episode 13: Composite Photography

Last week we had the Fstoppers community submit their best composite images for the latest episode of "Critique the Community." There were some awesome composite submissions, including a wide range of genres. We chose a total of 20 pictures for Lee and Patrick to give feedback on. Add your comments and ratings to the pictures below.