HOW TO CREATE A PHOTOSHOP

COMPOSITE?
When I decide to create a new Composite, I generally follow a few initial steps in
preparation. These steps should improve the process of creating a new composite. I
will be sharing each of these steps with you in detail:

STEP 1: CHOOSE A CONCEPT FOR YOUR

COMPOSITE

Get inspired. Brainstorm ideas. Sketch some designs. Go for the extraordinary;
anything is possible. My inspiration for the “Rainy Days” composite was from a quote I
found on Pinterest.

The quote said, “I’ll stand with you in the pouring rain, even though I know I could be
dry, that’s what happens when you love someone, your happiness just doesn’t mean as
much without theirs – JmStorm”

STEP 2: PULL THE IMAGES TOGETHER

This is the fun part. The images needed could come from photos you have
taken. However, your photography skills need not limit your imagination. If you don't
have the photos you need to create a surreal composite, I recommend stock images. A
wide range of stock photos available on the net can be purchased or downloaded for
free from amazing stock image galleries/photographers worldwide.

STEP 3: CREATE FOLDERS FOR THE

COMPOSITE

In preparation for a new composite, I recommend creating a separate folder where the
photo and stock images will be stored. In more detail, create the folder with the name
of your composite and create subfolders as shown below. This process provides quick
and easy access to your photo and stock selections.

For my composite, the stock images I selected were a bear, dark gloomy clouds, and a
leafless tree.
 STEP 4: TAKE A PHOTO OF THE
SUBJECT/MODEL

I mostly use models in my composites. Once you decide on your concept and
have pulled together the images you need for the final composite image you have in
mind, you can dress and pose your model accordingly.

Personally, I prefer to use my own photographs of models to give it my own

special touch and also to bring out the magic of childhood. However, the composite
world is broad and you definitely do not need a model to proceed. Should you choose
not to use a model, you can stitch together a few separate elements and still create
magic in your own way.

In this example my subject was posed in a sleeping position.

Once you have your concept, images (stock/photos/backgrounds) and subject in place,
you should proceed with the cut out (removing background) or color and exposure
adjustments for each image. I usually start with the cut out.

STEP 5: REMOVE THE SUBJECT FROM THE

BACKGROUND IN PHOTOSHOP

This process is only required if you have images where you need to remove any
background elements. Some images you can purchase are already PNG files with the
background already removed. In the case of my “Rainy Days” example composite, both
the bear and child required that I remove them from their backgrounds. The tree
and sky were both ready-made PNG files. Both these files only required exposure,
saturation and color balance tweaks.
To do this In Photoshop, I opened the sleeping child image, chose the Quick Selection
Tool, and made a selection of the child only as illustrated in the below image. This is
the only part of the image I need for the composite.
Once I was satisfied with my selection, I want to refine it even more. In older versions
of Photoshop, you can right-click on the selection area or press the Refine Edge button
on the top tool panel. In newer versions of Photoshop, you can right click on the
selection and choose Select and Mask or press the Select and Mask button on the top
tool panel.

The options that open up will allow you to refine your selection and make it as accurate
as possible. Your selection will hardly ever be 100% perfect and that is okay. My
selections in this panel normally look similar to the settings shown below.
I increase the Radius slider to between 3 and 4. I increase the Smooth slider to 12-
14. The Shift Edge slider is generally moved to between 20-30%. You can also use the
brush directly on your image to refine your selection even more. As you can see, my
selection has included pieces of the background, nothing to be concerned about this
early on in the process.

Once I made my adjustments, I hit okay. Now my subject is selected. I then right click
again and select “Layer via Cut”.

By selecting this option you will be cutting your selection from the background and
your selection will become a new layer on top of your background layer. Usually I
delete the original background layer as I will no longer need it. Because the selection
has been copied to a new layer you will be able to work on your selection separately.

Now that I have my selection on its own layer, in order to keep track of which layer is
which, I rename it accordingly. Next, I will work to clean up my selection even
more. To do this, I add a mask to the layer by clicking on the Vector Mask tool at the
bottom of the Layers Panel in the Layers window (shown below).
Next I select the brush tool, I then make sure that the foreground is black as I will be
masking off the excess selection. Using the brush tool along with fair amount of
accuracy I zoom in and gently remove all excess edges clicking and dragging as shown
below.
If I mask off something that I want back in my image, I change the foreground color to
white and paint over that area. Remember: Black will CONCEAL areas I don't want
to see and white will REVEAL areas I do want to see.
Once I masked off all extra edges, I save the image as a PSD or PNG file as it will be
used at a later stage in the composite.

Because you are combining unrelated images potentially containing many different
exposures for both stock images and photos there will be some adjustments
required. Once I am satisfied with my cut out image selections and I have saved them
in their relative locations, I then shift my focus to the background image for my
composite.

STEP 6. PREPARING THE BACKGROUND IMAGE

My primary background for this composite is the moody clouds stock image. My vision
for the “Rainy Days” composite was dark, watery, gloomy and emotional. Because this
is only my background and I don’t really require much detail. Using Gaussian blur in
Photoshop is a great way to control what level of detail you would like to include in
your background.

To do this, first I open the image in Photoshop, then duplicate my layer using Cmd/Ctrl
+ J. Next go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and apply some blur to the image copy. For
this image, I set it at 5.7.
For this particular composite background not much blur was required. It did however
require more adjustments to fit in with my vision for the composite. Once I was happy
with the outcome, I then merged the layers and duplicated the background again. As
for adjustments, I usually play around with curves for a lighter or darker feel, this does
change constantly throughout my composite edit. I always start with brightening just
to see what I am dealing with. Once done, I merge again.

Now that the background is blurred and adjusted to my liking, the next step will be to
prepare it for the flood (water) plug-in. I first need to extend my image. There are
many methods available to this; I just normally use the crop tool which is quick and
efficient.
I didn’t want to lose any part of the clouds, so I selected my crop tool and only
extended the bottom a bit; it did however create a white crop extension but that will
eventually disappear when you use the flood plug in. Should you not use the water
plug-in on your composite then you can ignore this step.

All of my stock images are now prepared and ready to use, the cut outs are made and
saved, the minor adjustments have been made and the background has been prepared
for the flood (water) plug in. Initially when combining the images in Photoshop for Step
7 (below) the result will look scrambled and confusing. Do not be alarmed - this is
where the fun part starts!

STEP 7: COMBINING THE IMAGES INTO A

ROUGH COMPOSITE

I will now combine my cut out images with the background in a rough composite, just
like a puzzle. This step is probably the most exciting step. It is when you start
seeing your vision come to life!
The sky image which was blurred and extended for the flood (water plug-in) will be the
background image in Photoshop. I then place all the cut out images as layers on top of
the background in order to move around and adjust as needed.
The tree image was selected as the platform for bear and child to sleep on. I placed the
images in a centralized manner on the background. This was done to avoid as
much negative space as possible. All of the images are in position. All that is required
now is a few final tweaks and adjustments to finalize my composite.

STEP 8: ENHANCING THE DETAILS OF THE

COMPOSITE

This can be tricky and will be completely dependent on the images you are working
with. Usually my first step after placing all of the images together is to see where the
light is positioned. In my example, the light is positioned in the top left corner. Now
that I know this, I will start adding some shadows to the image.

There are a few methods for creating shadows. You can use your dodge tool, curves,
or levels to achieve shadows. Because composites are a little time consuming, I
generally use what I believe to be the quickest possible method to create shadows.
I have all of the layers stacked on top of the Background layer. In this composite, I
want to create a shadow for the bear and sleeping child. Starting off with the bear, I
hide all my layers except for the bear. I then highlight the bear layer, duplicate the bear
layer by pressing Cmd/Ctrl +J, and then rename the new layer "bear shadow".
This will be the start of my shadow for the bear layer. I hide the original bear layer to
reduce confusion in my layers panel. I then go to Levels>New Adjustment
Layer>Levels to create a levels adjustment layer. In the dialog box that opens, I pull the
left slider completely to the right in order to darken the image. The bear is now in
a silhouette form. Then I select my levels layer and second bear layer and merge them
together by right-clicking on one of the layers and choosing Merge Layers.
To complete the shadow layer I select Filter>Blur>Gaussian blur and adjust it to
taste. I used 46.9 for this image. Once I have applied the change I merge the bear
shadow layer and the new gaussian blur layer using the same method above.
And there it is, shadow layer created! I then unhide the original bear layer and move it
on top of shadow layer - placing the shadow layer behind bear layer. Once I am
satisfied with the shadow layer I then select the shadow layer and move it around until
I find the best and most natural looking area for placement.

I will then replicate the above steps in order to create and position the shadow layer
for the child layer. Once the shadow layers are created for the bear and child, I unhide
the tree layer and background to make sure that the shadow placement is as accurate
as possible. I then add a layer mask to each shadow layer and brushing off any excess
shadows. I also adjust the opacity of the shadow layer for a more realistic effect.
For a more realistic out of focus feel I then blend in and blur specific areas like arms,
legs and feet.

Once all of the shadow layers are in place I then merge the original layer and shadow
layer together. Next, I select the Blur Tool (this tool looks like a rain drop) and change
the Strength or Brush Opacity to 50% (try different percentages to achieve the look you
are after). Then I paint blur on the outlined edges of the child and bear layers to blend
in and blur these a touch. Once I am satisfied I merge these layers together.

The composite is now ready for the water (flood) plug-in filter. If you do not have this
specific filter; you can purchase a flood (water) plug-in filter on the internet. I found
one I really like from Flaming Pear. If you do not want to purchase the water (flood)
filter you can install the trial version.
Once you make your selection on which flood (water) filter to purchase the installation
should be quick and easy. When I purchased Flood from Flaming Pear I received a
download folder which included the filter, license key and installation
instructions. Once the filter was installed I went to my filter tab and the flood filter
was automatically listed under the filters tab. I clicked on the filter and was presented
with a welcome screen where I keyed in the licence key to activate.

As shown below, this is what the flood (water) plug-in from Flaming Pear looks
like. This plug-in is user friendly, on the left you have sliders that can be adjusted and
on the right the filter illustrates what each slider represents. The view section sliders
is where you set the horizon, offset, perspective, altitude and spin of the water. The
next section is where you set the waviness, complexity, brilliance and blur of the
water. Your last section is where you adjust the size, height and undulation of the
water ripples.
For this example composite I made minor adjustments to the view and water section
sliders. I only required a still, slightly blurred water reflection to the composite. Once
the flood (water) filter was applied, I then merged all layers together. The final step in
completing the filter is to duplicate the background layer and to blend the horizon with
the blur tool.

STEP 9: FINAL COMPOSITE EDIT AND ADDING

CREATIVE TOUCHES
The final step to this Photoshop composite is adding some creative flare! In each
composite creation, when reaching this step I select the curves adjustment layer to
brighten or darken tones. I tend to brighten the subject and darken the
surroundings because it creates more focus on the subject and gives a
semi vignette feel to the composite. I then enhance the light source of the composite,
which in this example is the top left corner.

Next, I select the levels adjustment layer where I set output levels to about 10. This
will brighten the black tones and create a softer effect to the composite.
With the final edit or retouching step completed I wanted to enhance the composite by
adding rain and fog. For this, I used the Fog and Rain Collection from Pretty Actions
which I really love. They also have some other really great ones you can use to add to
your own composites like beautiful clouds, bubbles, fairy wings, leaves and more!

What is a Photoshop Action? Actions are a series of steps that have been recorded by
the creator. When purchasing actions/overlays from Pretty Actions, you will receive a
folder containing the actions/overlays and installation instructions.
Photoshop Actions are easy to install. Open Photoshop, then go to the folder, double
click on the .ATN file and Photoshop will install automatically. Once done, you can find
the actions purchased by selecting Actions in the Windows tab as shown below.

To run the actions I simply opened the actions panel, chose the Rain Applicator action
and then clicked the play icon (shown below).

When selecting play, you will be applying the overlay to the image. In the play process
a screen will open asking you to find the overlay you want to apply. For my composite,
I selected Rain 1. I also ran the Fog and Smoke Applicator action and chose Choppy 8
when asked to place that overlay.
Once the fog and rain overlays are applied to the composite, I select the brush tool and
make sure that the foreground color is set to black. I then go to the mask layer next to
each action to brush rain and fog off of my subjects. Once done, I merge the layers,
save my work, and my Photoshop composite is complete!

Here is the composite image after the rain and then the fog are added:
HERE IS THE FINAL PHOTOSHOP COMPOSITE
IMAGE ONCE AGAIN!