Composite Image Making

Composite Image Making

composite image making involved the manipulation of photograph by transforming it into something completely new or just slightly altering it using various techniques to achieve what we want to desire. The editing of a photo can be very controversial as many ethical issues arise with the altering of what we see naturally, many things are frowned up as they may add or remove things that may change the image so it creates a sense of false representation.

However, many art forms can be produced through this as it involves creating new images and in some instances, signature expressions of art by photographic artists.

 ways in which conventional photographic techniques are used to manipulate images.

• Air Brushing  - spot healing tool
• Dogding and Burning - to make things lighter or darker in a specific area
• Curves
• Levels 
• Saturation 
• Exposure/Brightness
• Crop tool
• Colour balance 

DADA ART MOVEMENT

Dada was an artistic movement that began in Switzerland. It came around after WW1 and the nationalism that many thought led to war, it was almost a reaction to the chaos and nonsense that many believed was present at this time.

Dada was the first conceptual art movement where the focus of the artists was not on creating works of art that looked good but to create abstract and new imagery that challenges many traditional views on art.

Dada artists mainly use everyday objects that one could buy. This art that can be viewed as assembled rather than created, have questioned the definition of art and its purpose in society.

Hannah Hoch

To me this image is very much representative of the life of black women in history and how they have very little rights. This photo is very political as it is clear that there is a white womans lips covering this black womans mouth. This to me shows that in this era white individuals had superiority over the most important things especially their rights to free speech. The dull background also matches the sense of sadness within the lady's eyes.

Raoul Haussmann

This image is by Raoul Haussmann and to me this image is very powerful in representing human life. The barometer on his head to me represents the pressure that this individual has from society which creates a lot of stress and panic. The adding of the organs in the body emphasises this connotation as it illustrates to me that this pressure that is being received is having implications on the healthiness of his life and subsequently represents a dark meaning in which the pressures of society lead to internal death, and external sadness.

Below is a sample of how I used composite image making to manipulate my image and make the ducks seem as if they are swimming in the water.

1. select the duck using the quick selection tool. 
2. select the inverted selection tool
3. copy it using cmd-c
4. paste it onto the background using cmd-v
5. select the transformation tool cmd-T to change the size of the image that is being applied on the background 
6. Hold the shift key so the duck stays in proportion and doesn't stretch
7. move the object to where you would like it to be placed
8. create a mask
9. use the black paint tool on the mask  to blend the image (duck) into the background (water)
10. during step 9 you can alter the opacity for harsher or lighter blending

Below is a portraiture image which I have used the steps above to create an abstract art form. I will create more abstract imagery using this technique to create surreal pictures.