One of the problems when trying to create the images we see in our head is that, in the real world, the constituent parts can be very difficult to get together in front of your camera all at the same time.
This is where compositing steps in. Sometimes, you just have no choice, and you may need to photograph elements separately and then blend them together in post.
I’ve been following the work of illustrator and retoucher Arun Kumar for a while now, and his videos rarely fail to impress me, and his latest two part compositing tutorial is no exception.
Post production is always in my mind while planning and photographing a shoot, although I tend to find myself not having the time to tackle complex composite images these days.
Whenever I watch Arun’s new videos, I always learn some new tip or technique, or see something that inspires me to try out new things.
While there is no commentary in either of the above videos, the pace at which Arun works is very steady and easy to follow for those with some basic knowledge of the Photoshop UI, plus you can always pause or rewind at will if you miss something.
The time in Photoshop to create a final composite from start to finish is often relatively short. The combined duration of the above videos achieves fantastic results in under 30 minutes.
The time that goes into planning, shooting photographs or sourcing suitable stock imagery, testing out different techniques in Photoshop to see what works best, then screwing the whole thing up halfway through and starting over from scratch usually takes a lot longer
If you’re thinking about giving something like this a go and are in need of some good water and rain elements, check out the Water and Rain texture package in our store.
Are composites something you do? Let us know and show them off in the comments below.
