The Who, Why, When, What, and How of Composites

BAPC Program NightApril 2009

Peter Janecke

Who

• Best known artist is Jerry Uelsmann– He does it the hard way, in the darkroom– Ordinary mortals need digital!

• Maggie Taylor typically does digital fairy tales• John Paul Caponigro has done some images• Others out there too

Some Jerry Uelsmann Images

More of Jerry Uelsmann …

Maggie Taylor

John Paul Caponigro

Why

• To tell a story• To depict a dream• Social commentary• Humor

When

• When you feel creative… and don’t have enough to do… and need to look busy

• But don’t be surprised if few people “get it”

What

• Your mother was right– Two wrongs don’t make a right

(putting together two bad images doesn’t result in a good one)

• Composite elements must be:– In correct focus – Well exposed– Nicely lit

• I collect skies, misc objects for use later …

What else

• Lighting must match– Direction– Hard vs soft– Shadow

• Color temperature must match – warm vs. cool light• Depth of field must match• Angle of view must match

Tip: Try a black and white with flat lighting and everything in focus first

How

• Decide what the background image will be• Use layers for each of the elements• Use selections and masks• Use blend modes and opacity adjustments

Cut and paste Selections vs. Masks

• If you cut out a selection and paste it in– Its permanent– If you cut too deep have to start from scratch– But minimizes file size

• A layer with a mask– Can go back and change it– Can adjust it independently using a clipping mask– Use a smart layer if you expect to resize a lot

Blend Modes for layers

• Opacity slider can/should be used with all modes• Most useful Blend Modes:– “Normal” is the default– “Overlay” to increase contrast– “Multiply” to darken– “Screen” to lighten– “Color” to change colors

• Try one by one, sliding the opacity, to find the best

Demo