PHOTOGRAPHY EXPOSED

by John Peters A.R.P.S.



  

COMPOSITE PHOTOGRAPH

Composite photography in its basic form is the combination of two or more different images to create a new one. Although it sounds fairly simple, the creation of a new image using the composite method is a process that can take hours and there are many photographers that specialise in this type of photograph. Composite photography happened long before digital photography, with the likes of Louis Daguerre already creating composites.

TOP TIP Lighting and shadows must be similar in quality, strength and direction, with the combined subjects being believable too. It's a definite skill and it often makes for a good result. It's not a beginners task and should be attempted only by experienced editors. People often shoot subjects purely with composites in mind.

A composite image

A W-I-P with the hair still to be finalised. I thought I'd try combining a Fringe photo taken at Edinburgh, with a photo taken at Dunbar cement-works. More of an exercise really but hopefully you'll see the intention. There are a few bad points about this image but as I said, it was more of an exercise for me. Affinity Photo has a special feature for hair, I just need to learn how to use it. Composition is still important, carefull placement of the objects or subjects is still very critical to the success of an image. Combining photographs is an advanced technique and is covered in detail in PAINT.NET under 'P'.