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| Compositing is the combining of elements from several photos into one final picture. Above are two digital photos of flowers. Below is the final result. I did a whole lot more besides just combine two photos--I was curious to see just how much you can do with the new Photoshop Elements 2. As you can see, it is possible to get some pretty astounding results, all with a $100 program and a little knowledge (we know how dangerous that can be). | |
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First you need to select the part of the image you want to be on top. In this case it is easy, since I want the zucchini flowers on top, then the purple clivia bloom, then the green foliage. Because the zucchini and the foliage are completely different, you can use the magic wand tool. I set the tolerance to 50, unchecked contiguous, so it would select all the yellows everywhere, and clicked on a yellow area. Did it a second time, changing to Add in the toolbar (you can see it selected below), then used the lasso tool to finish adding a few strays that weren't included. After you have your selection, copy it and paste it back in. You'll now have your original layer, plus a second layer that has only the flowers. Next you need to select the item you want to add from the second picture. Again you will copy your selection, then switch back to your original and paste it in. |
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 You can add some fancy effects to a layer by selecting the Layer Styles palette, select one of the effects categories, then click on the one you want to use. You'll notice a little f in a black circle appears next to layer name. If you select something like a drop shadow, you can edit the way it works by double clicking on the encircled f, then drag the various sliders around. |
| If your background layer is the one that is selected, then when you paste your new layer in it will appear inbetween the background layer and your pasted flower layer. If you forgot to change the selection, so that the flower layer was still selected, the new pasted layer will come in as the topmost layer. New layers arrive directly above whatever layer you have selected. To move a layer, just click to select it in the layers palette, then hold the click and drag it up or down to position it where you want (the background layer is always fixed as the bottom most layer). You will now have three layers: your original background layer, then your added object, and then your flowers as the topmost layer. | ||