Compositing for Portraits – element additions, background swaps, and more!

Welcome to my in-depth portrait compositing course! In this set of tutorials, we study tools and techniques that can be applied to a vast range of different compositing scenarios.

Whether it’s adding flowers, building some fog, placing a model in front of the Eiffel Tower, or creating an entirely new world – this course will provide you with the tools to do it!

This is an extremely in-depth course, which can take you all the way from a beginner to a pro-level portrait compositor.

This course is for you if:

you are looking to make your work stand out and explore new creative paths with your portraits!
you are an editor! You do not need to be a portrait shooter to learn or do any portrait compositing. There are lots of resources available online to access images to work with.
you have an understanding of the Photoshop interface and base tools, such as layers, masks, adjustments, etc.

Note: This course is built for Photoshop. I would not recommend downloading this course to apply to another editing program or phone app.

Disclaimer: This course does NOT cover any retouching or coloring/stylization! It focuses solely on the compositing process. If you’d like to learn those other aforementioned workflow elements, I’d recommend taking a look at the Retouching & Stylization Bundle!

We will cover:

LEVEL I – INTRODUCTION TO COMPOSITING

Foundations – a discussion about masking and matching
Walkthrough – a first compositing walkthrough using a simplified element

LEVEL II – CORE WORKFLOW

Finding elements – using stock image sites to select composite elements
Importing & masking – combining elements and blending edges
Matching – calibrating perspective, lighting, focus, and color
Final additions – adding minor elements and finishing touches
Cleanup – cleaning up the comp and integrating it into a full portrait workflow

LEVEL III – ADVANCED TOOLS & TECHNIQUES

Advanced techniques – for masking and matching elements
Special scenarios – sky replacements, 2D replacements, overlays and particles, dimensional elements, body part swaps, background replacements and extensions, and paint-outs
Better plates – finding and shooting improved composite elements
Troubleshooting – “what ifs” and worst-case scenarios
Optimization and efficiency – workflow speed and smarter approaches

Included with this download:

– The full video course (digital download) [currently approximately 5-6h of material] – TIFs/RAWs and stock images for all follow-along walkthroughs
– My LUTs (Photoshop coloring presets)
– My minimalistic Photoshop Toolbar
– Instructions on how to import and use all files