Sometimes to properly present and advertise a product, we need to create illustrative composites – images that would be impossible to shoot in one shot. These surreal worlds can be comical or serious. They’re really a series of photographs that have been painstakingly blended together into one final image. Each separate part is photographed to match the lighting and angles of the final image, and then digitally mixed together, with each piece being blended in to create the illustrative composite image.
Using this technique, I can combine the clean, crisp commercial studio lighting needed to make your product pop, with unreal backgrounds. The results are eye-grabbing illustrations like these below. Some of these examples were created by combining of over 50 separate images. And some include a simplified animation to give you a brief overview of what’s possible.
Magazine Work
This image was created for a national photography magazine article promoting an event in Las Vegas. I wanted to capture the feel of Vegas for this image that would go across two pages. Because this shot doesn’t exist in real life, the individual parts had to be individually photographed, and combined in just the right way to create this composite image.
The animation below it shows the various parts and how it all comes together.
These commercial images for South Mill Champs, were originally shot in a parking lot with studio lighting. Because truck drivers are always on a time crunch, we had only a small amount of time to photograph the truck with the new trailer showing off the company’s new snacks. But the company needed images of the truck in various driving conditions, out delivering the new snacks.
Here’s a video showing all the photographs and parts that came together to be seamlessly blended into one photograph. Every part of the truck was individually lit, then the scene was shot and put into the shot, then other elements like snow, shadows, and atmosphere were added.
We only could get the truck for a limited amount of time, but I was able to photograph it from various angles. All of those angles were able to be turned into composite images for the company. It meant minimum time requirements on the company and driver, as I was able to go to them and photograph on location quickly with lighting. But then they were done and could get to work. The major composite work was then done through digital artistry later.
Composites for Bands
I use this technique a lot for bands. We always need impactful images for album covers, posters, and visual pieces for banners and social media. I’ll often shoot the parts separately, then digitally build the final image afterwards.
Ideally, this would be shot at night, on stage, during a show, with all the stage lights on. But that’s not possible. We can’t interrupt a live concert for a photograph on stage. So this was set up before the show, in the day time. Studio lighting on location to make sure everyone looks great. I then painted in lights, colors, and created other effects to make this feel like an evening show. It was the perfect image for concert promotion.
Telling the Story of the BLACKRAPID Wander Sport Phone Lanyard
When skiing, people often lose their phones. If they fall off the ski lift into the snow, they’re almost impossible to find. This lanyard connects your phone to you. I needed to create images to be used in an ad campaign, showing that you won’t lose your phone when having outdoor adventures.
The models were photographed in the studio using the product under studio lighting. I then went to a local ski resort and photographed the mountain scenes and peaks, then created these illustrative collages. They were used for posters, store displays, and websites.
