The Wow Factor

This is the best example that I can provide anyone about the importance of photo editing, and creating a composite image that pleases me.

You probably already know that a composite photo, is the combination of two or more images or photos to create a new one. Realizing that I am my own worst critic, to me the second image looks rather plain, and lacks the "wow" factor.

All pictures were taken the same day, June 2018 from Governors Island in NY. The last picture is a composite created a year later when I was bored and began tinkering with a few old pictures using my favorite photo editor, Adobe Photoshop Elements. For the final image I replaced the dull plain sky, and added a water reflection to the Hudson River in New York Harbor.

Some hardcore purist photographers criticize composite pictures. They argue that it is not real photography because the image has been manipulated. I am not a professional photographer. As long as I like the final result, I am having fun and not hurting anyone, that is all it matters to me.

Composite Photography

As a fairly newbie at creating composite images, I am amazed as to why I didn't tried this method before. For the first time, I am having a lot of fun digging deep into my portfolio to find some of my old dull images, replacing the boring sky background and adding a more dramatic sky. Combining some of my old images with a new background, its giving these images a new lease of life, so to speak. 

According to the internet, composite photography is the use or combination of two or more different images to create a new one. Composite imagery is photography, computer-generated images, and/or stock photos that are blended together to create hyper-realistic or fantastical results. 

It all started with my recent trip to Biloxi, Mississippi and New Orleans, Louisiana at the end of October.

Realizing that I am my own worst critic, I was very disappointed with the final version of the New Orleans picture. I'll spare you the details, but I went through a lot of trouble to get that picture of New Orleans skyline from Algiers Point Historic District. After all the hassle, to come home with a boring and dull image and knowing that there is a high probability I would never visit New Orleans again, I finally decided to try to combine two images to create the one I was looking for. I was so impressed with the final result, that I am now doing the same with a few pictures taken years ago. 

The first image was taken from Algiers Point Historic District in New Orleans at the end of October. I wasn't happy with the sky, so I just added the dramatic clouds background. This picture has become very popular on my Flickr account. The second picture, of the Philadelphia skyline, was taken three years ago from the South Street Bridge. I simply added the lightning background for dramatic effect.  The Boston Harbor image was also taken three years ago, but I found the original sky to be too boring. And finally, the One World Trade Center was taken from Jersey City in 2018. As the other images, I thought they were great pictures, with a cloudless sky.

I am very happy with the final results, especially when some of us don't have the time or finances to return to a location several times expecting to capture the perfect photograph under excellent weather conditions. In my opinion, the sky replacement looks great and it gives the photographs a whole new meaning.  

Discuss.