Do you have thousands of images hidden away on multiple external hard drives? Have you edited and shared the ones you loved the most? What about the others? What are all those little pixels doing, besides taking up space?
Well, here is an idea… use pieces and parts of those images to make an entirely unique image! That’s right… compositing images together to create something uniquely you.
This image was created using images from Iceland, Death Valley, Oregon, and DC. There are 10 unique images in this composites… well some part of 10 unique images. In each and every case, I had a friend standing right near me, shooting the same scene. But this image, this composite is uniquely my vision. Sure I shared images from each of those trips, but this work is a creation of my imagination and there will never be another like it, even if I tried to do it again, it would be different (different settings and adjustment layers, different mood).
This image is a combination of 9 images; from Seattle, to the Palouse, WV, Iceland, and the Shenandoah. Because each image was its own full size raw file, the level of detail in each component of the composite is clear and can be explored for its detail. For example, the lady driving the car; dive in and check out the schmirk on her face!
The possibilities are endless. Also, the pixels hidden away on those drives now have a totally new purpose!
Compositing takes practice and patience. In and of itself, it is actually not that difficult to do once you learn the techniques to separate parts and pieces of images and how to blend them together. You have to have Photoshop (Elements or higher) to composite, because you need to be able to use layers and masks.
If you are intrigued by the idea of compositing images or blending textures with your images, then you might want to join me for a couple of workshops. You can register for these workshops, and my Introduction to Lightroom workshop on the Road Runner Photoshop Tours Meetup.
Learn to use Photoshop layers and masks. There are so many ways to select and mask, each one has its upside and downside… learn how to decide which is best for your needs in my Introduction to Photoshop – Layers, Masks, and More. This workshop will be held on Saturday, Feb 28, 2015.
Learn to blend textures, as well as images (compositing). This workshop will focus on blending techniques. Workshop on Textures and Blending Techniques. This workshop will be held on Saturday, March 21, 2015.
The combination of the Photoshop workshop and the Texture/Blending workshop, will give you all the skills you need to take your art to the next level of creativity.
