Photo Live Issue 3

Q: Composites, why are they so
hard (for me)... I mean why
do you think getting a good
composite is so hard. Perhaps
share a bit about how you
got into them, what they are
and perhaps a few tips for
beginners.
For some people, they think with
a composite mind naturally, and
others do not. That being said, I
think most people can learn it. I got
into it because I was involved in a
motorcycle crash and I couldn’t walk.
I wanted to be anywhere other than
where I was, so I would Photoshop
myself into places that were not
the bed I was stuck in. Composites
are like entry level painting. You’ve
got to understand perspective,
composition, color balancing
between images used, masking, lens
distortion, depth of field, and so on
- also just making something with an
interesting story.
There’s so much effort put into
making compositing faster and more
efficient, and I really think there
are steps being skipped by taking
the easy way out early on. My best
composites don’t come from using
quick mask... They come from being
accountable for every single pixel in
the image, and taking my time with
each one.
Q: Finally where can we find out more
about you and tell us about your
training...
My website has a blog which is a
lot of my brain thrown into words.
You can also search on Creative
Live, RGG EDU, and SmugMug
Films for more education and some
longer versions of how I got started,
although I don’t recommend my
method. :)
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