Designers, photographers, and artists use Photoshop to create fantastic and realistic images for illustrations, fine art, and editorial content. Whether they're landscape or portrait photographers, illustrators or fine artists, masking and compositing are essential skills to master for combining images to the extent that it is impossible to tell where one image stops and the other one begins. In this completely revised edition of her best-selling guide to masking and compositing, Photoshop artist and educator Katrin Eismann--along with compositing experts Sean Duggan and James Porto--takes readers through numerous step-by-step examples, highlighting the tools and techniques used for masking and combining images. Featuring work by leading artists and photographers, this book focuses on the techniques used to create compelling compositions, including making fast and accurate selections, mastering Photoshop's masking tools, and implementing the concept and photography from start to finish. The book addresses working with Photoshop's selection tools; selecting and maintaining fine details and edges; and working with difficult image elements, such as cloth, hair, or translucent objects. All-new photographic examples, updated instruction to cover the latest version of Adobe Photoshop, and an expanded section on shooting photographs for composite work make this a must-have guide for anyone interested in photographing and creating professional composite images.

Chapter 1 The Art of Compositing
Chapter 2 The Creative Process Expose: Photography for Compositing
Chapter 3 Concept and Planning
Chapter 4 Lighting and Backgrounds
Chapter 5 Optics, Point of View, and Scale Skills: Selections and Masking
Chapter 6 Selection Fundamentals
Chapter 7 The Essential Select Menu
Chapter 8 Layer Essentials
Chapter 9 Layer Masks
Chapter 10 Channel Power
Chapter 11 Fine-edged Selections
Chapter 12 The Pen Tool 
Projects: Putting it All Together
Chapter 13 Creative Compositing
Chapter 14 Photorealistic Compositing