From car commercials to magazines and movies, photo manipulation has become quite mainstream in our everyday lives without realizing the work behind the images. Surrealism that once lived only in creative minds now are being expressed through pieces of art using Adobe Photoshop. From the sketchbook to implementation, the creations have gotten better and better. Manipulating images to create a dream-like composition sparks emotions and forms a bit of magic in the eyes of the viewer.
One of the more talented creators, Erik Johansson, is someone who I look up to. His work speaks for itself as well as sparks you’re thinking of everyday events or items and flips them all around. Alongside his artwork, he documents his process and the background work needed to deliver the quality of work he does. In his piece entitled “Full Moon Service” a van full of assorted moons are in a field while two workers are in the process of changing the moon. The image pokes fun at the ever changing phases of the moon. The image is a well created mock image of how the moon could be changing in a surreal environment. Erik shows the behind the scene steps including the different photo shoots needed to create the stock images for him to use in Photoshop later on in the process.

The key to being able to Photoshop elements together to form a bigger composition comes down to planning. Similar to how Erik Johansson gathers his thoughts, sketching out an general idea of how the image will look helps put the actual photos together.

In the image to the right, there are about 15 photos taken completely to create a room full of “Andrew’s” A photo taken of just the room without anyone in the image, and then an image of each place I sat. Once in Photoshop, layer masks became a helpful tool in deciding on what is shown and what is hidden among all the images taken. Other times, in an image where someone is holding a chair in the air with one hand while performing another task, the people and/or structure that is holding that chair in the air is removed in Photoshop with layers and masks. Perhaps someone is standing on a rock and is leaning back at an extreme angle where the image strikes a feeling of anxious and worried when in reality she was leaning against a ladder or an assistant holding her. In a first couple of attempts at removing “helping” objects, the image below appears that I am standing on the wall. In reality, that stool that was used to help assist me to appear at the middle of the wall was removed and covered with floor. With the stock images needed to be taken in particular positions or locations, having the help of someone can make the process easier. What we don’t see in the images is the real magic behind the composition.