Using Subtle Compositing Technique To Enhance A Photo

When the term "compositing" comes up, one often considers it a destructive, transformative process that involves frankensteining a myriad of images into a single, completely new, composition. This method can draw as much ire as it does praise. Personally, I love great composites, but many feel that they are too fake. Not all compositing has to be a metamorphosis creating a brand new image, however. By leveraging compositing technique to make slight alterations to your image you can, instead, create a shot that is much more true to reality but still creates a sense of fantasy or surrealism.

Removing Distractions

When shooting at a real location you are often slave to what is available. A clever photographer will work to adjust his or her frame to minimize elements that he or she doesn't want. Sometimes, though, you find that angle that is almost, nearly, perfect except one, unchangeable, thing.  By allowing yourself to replace that element in post you empower freedom about how you tell the story.

For example, in this image I was thrilled to be working with an amazing seamstress. We found a fantastic sculpture at the local university that looked almost like a dungeon, only problem was that at virtually any angle there was always a gap through the thing that revealed the brick of the university building. Accepting that this was unavoidable I photographed textures of the stone that I could later use to fill in the hole and complete the dark, dungeons, look that we were going for.

Augmenting The Story

Sometimes the addition of a subtle element can expand the story you are trying to tell without fully transforming the photo. By compositing a subtle addition into your image you can create a sense that an impossible location may be real.

For example, in the same image as above a stock photo of a snowy wall was added to the outside of the dungeon. The snow was added because the character, who my lovely model was portraying, lives in a fortress deep in a snowy mountain range which isn't something I have access to, especially not in late spring. The snow was added in post production to give the viewer a hint of the story.

Selective Grading To Create Mood

For the most part, we color grade images as a whole. It is pretty common to use tools such as On1, Alien Skin, or adjustment layers to creatively alter the tones of your photo. Often, however, a scene benefits more from selectively color grading rather than washing the entire photo with the same effect.

Using another shot from the above shoot as an example, you can see how color grading was applied piecemeal to transform a relatively cheery scene into a torch-lit castle. No special or fancy techniques were used to accomplish this, rather, it was simply a series of curves adjustment layers strategically masked to only alter certain regions of the photo.

Rules Of Thumb For Realistic Subtle Composites

1. The composited aspect isn't the subject, it shouldn't be what the viewer notices first.
2. Make sure that the lighting and depth of field of your composited elements match the scene you are adding them to.
3. Don't composite to hide lazy photography. Composite to augment story or create things impossible to capture while shooting.
4. Be mindful of how the element you are compositing would effect the scene if it were present in real life.
5. Make sure the perspective of composited elements is close enough that the viewer is unaware that the element has been added.
6. When in doubt, always lean towards less rather than more.

Conclusion

Don't be afraid of compositing, more than anything compositing should be a tool to enhance your creativity and better reveal your artistic vision. Practice is key, don't expect to be a master compositor overnight. I've been compositing for a decade now and still think of myself as mediocre at my very best. Like any skill compositing takes a tremendous amount of determination to master so make sure to have fun and flex those creative muscles!