Use Adobe Photoshop to make a photo composite.

What is a photo composite?

A photo composite is multiple images combined or blended into a single image. Similar to collages and multimedia art pieces, composites can combine elements from a number of different pictures, paintings, graphic art, and other mediums.

Some composites are fantastical or surreal, while others go for a more realistic blend. For example, you might want to swap out the background of an image — transporting someone from an indoor to an outdoor background. If light and shadow are correctly modified, these composites can become indistinguishable from a photo shot on location.

Different techniques for different outcomes.

There are dozens of different styles of composites to experiment with to create online graphics, posters, and more. Here are just a few ideas:

• Clone, clone, clone. Ever see a picture where you see a snowboarder doing every part of a stunt, all in the same image? That’s an example of compositing — the background remains unchanged, while the athlete in question is repeated in different stages of movement.
• Clearing out and retouching. Combining multiple images can be a useful way to retouch photos, removing elements that you don’t want — for example, multiple photos of the same beach scene give you the canvas to remove the people you don’t want in the frame, all while making it look like that was how it was in the first place.
• Surreal dreams. Composites are perfect for creating fantasy dreamscapes and dreamlike people and creatures. Many surrealist artists find the similarities between disparate objects and then combine them to create their art.