How To: Bizarrely merge photos in Photoshop

Pixel Perfect is the "perfect" show to help you with your Photoshop skills. Be amazed and learn as master digital artist Bert Monroy takes a stylus and a digital pad and treats it as Monet and Picasso do with oil and canvas. Learn the tips and tricks you need to whip those digital pictures into shape with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. In this episode, Ben shows you how to bizarrely merge photos in Photoshop.

Photo merging allows you to put many individual photos together to create a larger image. This week, we're going to look at merging for photo solutions you may not have heard of before.

Use two images to get rid of an unwanted object:
Bert uses two similar photos of a tree and it's shadow that are not exactly the same, taken only a few feet apart from each other. Layer one image on top of another, select both layers, and choose Edit > Auto-Align Layers (Auto) to distort image, making them visually aligned. Crop the image to the desired boundaries of the image. Create a layer mask on the top layer, and brush a black mask over the unwanted (black hides). Since the two images were auto-aligned, the final image appears to have no unwanted object in the shot.

Use two images to add a new object into a photo:
Don't have a photographer to shoot a photo of you and your wife? Simply plan ahead when putting two objects together in a single photo using Photoshop. This example involves adding Bert's wife into a photo with him, derived from two pictures shot separately. Layer the photos on top of each other. Select both layers, and choose Edit > Auto Align Layers, as we did in the previous example. Crop the image to the desired boundaries. Create a mask on the top image, then use a brush to create a mask which will reveal the bottom layer. Apply styling such as shadows to create a realistic effect.

Search Pixel Perfect on WonderHowTo for more Photoshop episodes from this Revision3 show.