8 Steps to Create Composite Images

The concept is simple. Combine two or more images into a single, undetectable composite. I’m sure you’ve seen this done in most media. When experienced, the effect can be stunning. To composite images successfully — seamless to the extreme and with no trace of where one  image ends and one begins — requires a sharp eye and a bit of digital sleight of hand.

Compositing workflow

Here is a typical step-by-step workflow for selecting source images and compositing them to a new document.

Step 1: Select

Start by making an accurate selection on the source photo. (Fig. 1A)

Step 2: Mask

Choose Select and Mask and then choose the appropriate viewing mode from the pull-down menu. (Fig. 1B)

Step 3: Refine

Control the edge of the selection by refining its edge using one of the Select and Mask controls. (Fig. 1C)

Step 4: Feather

Add a feather radius that will gradually blur the edge into transparency. (Fig. 1D)

Step 5: Output

Set the Output Options to New Layer with Layer Mask. Click OK. (Fig. 1E)

Step 6: Move

Choose the Move tool and drag the content (which is on a new separate layer) to the destination document. Position the new content over the area you want to replace.

Step 7: Transform

Scale or rotate or otherwise transform the contents of the layer.

Step 8: Correct

If necessary, apply a bit of dodging, burning, cloning, and/or color correction to get the images to look natural.