Project five: Adobe CC: Magic mushrooms

Craft a fantastical composite and learn key compositing skills in Photoshop CC with James Paterson

- James Paterson

The Mission – Bring together several photos into one scene with selection and masking skills

Time – 30 minutes

Skill level – Advanced

Kit needed – Photoshop CC

Composites are one of the things that Photoshop does better than any other image editor. With a few simple selection and layer skills you can combine a wide array of photos into one magical scene. We’ve used several free downloadable images from www.pixabay.com to create our fantastical composite.

If you want to follow the technique in full then download the eight start images (see box for reference numbers). Or instead, why not learn the techniques explained here then apply them to your own selection of images? Perhaps you could start by shooting your own ‘base’ pictures then overlaying objects taken from downloaded images.

When searching for photos to combine, keep in mind that some will fit together better than others. There are two important factors to look at. The first is lighting. If one image is lit with strong sunlight coming from the right side, while the other is shot on a cloudy day, then there’s a mismatch in the lighting that may be tricky to overcome.

The second factor is the backdrop behind the object, person or animal that you intend to cut out. If the backdrop is plain and uncluttered then the cut-out will be easier, but keep in mind the colour of the backdrop too.