By Kat Knuth, Longmont Newborn Photographer

If you go on Etsy and look through the photography backgrounds, you’ll eventually end up in the composite area. Compositing is a Photoshop technique that combines several image elements to create a final image. This can be as simple as inserting a baby into a set or as complicated as turning a child into a fairy riding a unicorn.

There’s a lot that goes into it. You need the background, of course. You’ll need an image to pull a subject from. The light should match or be easily matched. Maybe you’ll need extra digital props to tie it all together. Who knows? It all depends on what you’re trying to create.

For me, it was the little mermaid.

Like many 80’s/early 90’s babies, I worshipped at Ariel’s fins for most of my childhood. Turning my daughter into a version of a mermaid was the ultimate dream. I bought her a little knit mermaid outfit online and couldn’t wait to put her in it.

This composite was very simple and while definitely not perfect, I like that I was able to learn a new skill to create a new image of my sweet girl. Especially one so close to my heart! For this image, I bought a background on Etsy and took pictures of my daughter in her crib. I then used the lasso tool to cut her out (if you have a green screen background, this is a great time to use it!) and place her on the background. There’s some more to it than that, messing with tone, highlights, shadows, etc. But that’s the gist!

I tried again with this background:

Also, an imperfect but good attempt at a composite! Same techniques used for this one to create a fun, silly image!

As I continue to work on and improve this skill, I intend to focus more on babies, especially newborns! That way, I can offer digital sets to my clients as well as the traveling studio I bring with me to each shoot in Longmont, Colorado.