composite photography and post-processing

Introduction

compositing is the post-processing of images to combine imagery into the one “photograph”
on many photography websites and photography competitions, composites are banned as they are deemed as digital art rather than photography

in many ways this mirrors how a great painter would approach their work
take into consideration how the image can be used as a narrative
- this may lead you to consider metaphors, allegories, historical contexts, cultural contexts, etc
develop the concept visually
- consider sketching your ideas out to determine what layout of concepts will work best
- consider creating mood boards of images of ambient moods, styles, lighting, colors that you think may work for the concept
re-visit your concept and review your narrative
- once you have your ideas more concrete, review the story telling aspect to ensure they will work well together in a narrative
build your concept composite using reference images
- by using reference images in your image edit you can better see visually how they will work together in a composite and what and how you will need to photograph to achieve your desired output
- analyze reference images to see what aspects are critical to achieve to give your image a sense of realism