Cameranoobie
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I think its wicked stuff and there is a reason why Composite photography is the newest hotness in the photography world. Anyone here able to do some pretty decent composite photography?
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Lets talk about Composite Photography: What are your thoughts?
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yardcoyote
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Nope, although I don't mind looking at it if it is well done and not dishonest. But remember thst while composite photography may be currently in fashion, it's hardly a new idea-- compositing is as old as photography. I once knew some art students who were pretty good at it back in film days, creating very entertaining absurd images in imitation of the work of Dada and surrealist photographers.
Chris Wolfgram
Veteran Member
As are all sorts of new digital technologies ☺ sometimes I like it lightly done, but I'm not afraid of heavily processed stuff either.
Anyway, I think what you will learn here, is that many of the serious amateurs, and certainly, the pros, will fall somewhere between "don't really care for anything that doesn't appear completely natural" to "absolutely hate it".......
Whereas, the general public just loves it ! And so do I ☺
I mostly do HDR stuff, which I guess could be called a composite (of shorter and longer exposures) but recently, I've been doing a little bit of compositing, of two completely different shots for some really crazy results ☺
As expected, this stuff hasn't gotten a lot of attention here, but the general public just loves it ! ☺
Check my gallery for all kinds of other regular hdr stuff.
Btw, lest anyone think I am just not capable of any "real photography" we could always compare all natural wildlife shots.... small birds, in-flight, up close, etc ☺
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Photos are my paintings. The camera is my brush.
DPreview gallery; http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/5075216809
Compositing has commercial value. I don't think it is revered in any other photographic department. There are times when taking a pic of the subject in the studio and taking a pic of the environment and combining them together, is cheaper than shooting the whole thing on site.
What is composite photography? It is a very wide term, and as with other techniques it can be done good or bad.
"Simple" composites can be changing the sky to make a shot look better, for instance a portrait, and it can look really good when executed well. Other pictures can be the result of merging many photographs, creating something completely new, not based in reality. This can be really really cool, and the sky is the limit! For documentary photograps it is a complete no-go!
"Simple" composites can be changing the sky to make a shot look better, for instance a portrait, and it can look really good when executed well. Other pictures can be the result of merging many photographs, creating something completely new, not based in reality. This can be really really cool, and the sky is the limit! For documentary photograps it is a complete no-go!
I'm not sure what you're saying about composite photography. On the one hand, you call it wicked, yet the tone of your post seems favorable. In any event, I don't do any composite photography myself, but I do enjoy the early pictorialist style from the mid-to-late 1800's.
"The name itself derived from the thought of Henry Peach Robinson, British author of Pictorial Effect in Photography (1869). In his desire to separate photography as art from the scientific ends to which it had been applied, Robinson suggested appropriate subject matter and compositional devices, including the joining together of sections of different photographs to form a “composite” image." http://www.britannica.com/topic/Pictorialism
My general thought is that photography is a very broad subject and people have different views on what they like to do and what they like to see. For some it is purely documentary for others the initial photo is merely raw material in something else they want to create. I love composites although I love other types of photography too. For me it gives you a much wider creative gamut. As I live in the middle of a large city it also gives me the ability to shoot in a studio and create whatever I want.
This is my son. I try and do one of these a month with the goal of an e-book for family and friends when he is 5.
This is my gf - think it is cute....
A girl I shot last week...
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This is my son. I try and do one of these a month with the goal of an e-book for family and friends when he is 5.
This is my gf - think it is cute....
A girl I shot last week...
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TacticDesigns
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Composite or photomontage has been around since at least 1857.
Oscar Gustave Rejlander did one back in 1857.
File:Oscar-gustave-rejlander two ways of life.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
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en.wikipedia.org
I remember reading about this photograph and thinking how that is basically how an artist would put together a painting. You'd rough together a concept of the whole, maybe do some studies of the elements and then composite it all together in the final painting.
I'll do this from time to time . . .
To me, since I used to paint and draw . . . it doesn't really feel like anything new.
To me . . . it's kinda like . . . I'm not really trying to capture what I see in front of me, but more so what I see in my head.
But, to me at least, this idea can be similar in what happens with double exposure (which my Pentax Q has a setting / function for that) or what happens when you use flash.
When you use flash, it's like taking 2 pictures at once. That which is lit by the flash and that which is lit by the ambient. So it's kinda like a composite image.
Take care & Happy Shooting!
What exactly do you mean by "composite photography?"
Do you mean HDR? Panoramas? Focus stacking? Multi-shot high resolution imaging? Photo montages?
DMKAlex
Veteran Member
If we accept photography as an art, and art is not science, then the objective of art is to present what the artist sees and wants his/her audience to see. You may like it or you may not, but that it is not "bad" just because it is a composite.
I laugh at the "honesty/cheaping" comment because I think it would be better without knowing the truth. Think about your first kiss. It can be so romantic and emotionally touching. But the truth is, thousand of germs could have been transmitted. Yak! To me, I rather not knowing the truth.
Here is my recent composite. But the bird in flight against a blue sky with beautiful cloud in the wild is what I want you to see.
Good bird posture, but bad background.
Feel the freedom and the uncluttered environment
I laugh at the "honesty/cheaping" comment because I think it would be better without knowing the truth. Think about your first kiss. It can be so romantic and emotionally touching. But the truth is, thousand of germs could have been transmitted. Yak! To me, I rather not knowing the truth.
Here is my recent composite. But the bird in flight against a blue sky with beautiful cloud in the wild is what I want you to see.
Good bird posture, but bad background.
Feel the freedom and the uncluttered environment
Most of the time, I do not like it. Sometimes though, it can be attractive. I like some images of Ruud van Empel (but maybe that's not exactly what you mean with Composite Photography?)
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web.ruudvanempel.nl
Chris Wolfgram
Veteran Member
Jrtrent, wicked is commonly used . / slang to say something like awesome or super or bombastic or anything really good !
knickerhawk
Veteran Member
Depends on what you mean by "composite" photography, but one of the hotest names in fine art photography these days is Stephen Wilkes. His Day-to-Night project has been very well received and the works themselves are amazingly well executed in terms of compositing. You have to see them in person (they're large) to really appreciate the effect, but you'll get a sense of it by looking at the images on his site here:
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www.stephenwilkes.com
tony field
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Indeed true. One of my favourites: http://www.uelsmann.net/
tony field
Forum Pro
good images ... showing the value of composite work. I occasionally tend to do the same ... rare, since I don't really have the art skills
DMKAlex
Veteran Member
Thank you for the link. Very nice transitioning.
yardcoyote
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Neat. That's the kind of thing I was talking about.
knickerhawk
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You're welcome. Yes, even up close you just can't find signs of the stitching. Really well executed.
Here's another fine art photography star of the moment, Nick Brandt. "Inherit the Dust" is his latest and, in my estimation, most powerful project to date. Again, you really have to see these images in person to fully appreciate them, but even online you can get a sense of the mix of the majesty of the animals and the despair of their placement in contemporary urban Africa. The juxtaposition of the subjects hits you like a sledgehammer, especially if you know the backstories that appears in some of the scenes (e.g., the glue sniffers congregated in the highway underpass). The pictures of the animals were printed and mounted on large panels and then set up on site. I'd call these "composites" but there's no Photoshop funny stuff involved. They're simply amazing!
http://inheritthedust.nickbrandt.com/
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