Real World Compositing is all about the ability to put multiple images together to create a new, composite image. It is aimed at creative professional or serious amateur Photoshop users who want to gain the skills to bring images from different places to create something entirely new.
Because this book is for the more experienced Photoshop user, it makes the assumption that you know how to use Photoshop, and also does not show you step-by-step project instructions on a specific composite except a couple of examples at the end. Instead, the book is organized by process type to better show you techniques that you will need to accomplish tasks. Real World Compositing is 288 pages in length and divided into 11 chapters.
Chapter 1, "System Considerations" begins by looking at what you need in computer power, memory, and other equipment to do quality compositing. This also includes information about additional software beyond Photoshop that can be used for additional effects. Chapter 2, "Brainstorming" is a very important part of compositing. For an image to look right you really need to plan your layout so that it doesn't look contrived.
Chapter 3, "Choosing the Scene and Subject" is an important first step. The scene is usually comprised of the backdrop of the final image, and the subject is what the focus of the scene is. Here you will look at various methods of coming up with images as well as working out complications that may arise in the acquisition of the images.
Chapter 4, "Using Stock Images" is helpful when you cannot get the exact shots that you need. But stock shots may not always be the end-all of your images and here you will examine some of the issues that accompany stock photos and license agreements. Chapter 5, "Capturing the Scene and Subject" focuses on the photographic elements in your composite images. Here you will work with light and deal with reflections, as well as other compositional elements like perspective.
Chapter 6, "Organizing and Evaluating Images" is as important as anything in compositing so that when you need a specific image you can find it. In this chapter you will see how to work with Adobe Bridge and the use of keywords to locate files quickly. Chapter 7, "Processing Raw Source Files" explains the benefits of using RAW (or DNG) files as the starting point for your composite images. You will also learn about the difference between RAW and JPEG and what the difference may mean to the outcome of your composite.
Article comments
1 - Scott Valentine
Thanks for posting your review! Dan and I appreciate your comments, and will consider them on the next revision.
-Scott