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Creating a digital composite image is a fantastic way to place a person or product in an environment that isn’t practical to shoot in real life. Recently, OTAQ commissioned me to photograph their new Seabed Lander. Of course, we couldn’t shoot it on the seabed so I created a composite image instead.

Here’s how I did it…

I photographed the lander in the client's warehouse (sorry about the mess I made, guys!). The untidy background didn't matter because the plan was always to cut the product out in Photoshop.

Now I could place it into an underwater environment for a more exciting look. Just placing the lander on a background image is a little bit flat so I added more layers of texture and shadows to really ground the lander in the new environment, for a more authentic feel. Adding the beams of light was the final touch before I delivered the image to the client. 

Shooting like this is a great way to use create photographs that wouldn't otherwise be possible. By having the final image in mind from the beginning, it’s possible to photograph a person or product in studio then place them in any environment - whether thats the seabed, the surface of the moon or anywhere in between.

I hope that gives you an idea of what might be possible for your upcoming project. Drop me a line if you’d like to discuss the possibilities.

All the best,

Graham.