03 Make arcane photo composites

Take inspiration from the fascinating surreal fictions of Joan Fontcuberta

The saying “The camera never lies” is a misnomer. Every photograph is an edited, selective version of reality in some way. Obviously, news, documentary and wildlife photographers avoid adding or taking away elements in their work, but that’s not to say that all photography needs to be rigorously deadpan and scientific in its approach.

If you’re looking for some creative inspiration as the long winter nights beckon, check out the playful photographic fictions of Joan Fontcuberta. “Photography is a tool to negotiate our idea of reality,” Joan explains. “It is the responsibility of photographers to not contribute with anaesthetic images, but rather to provide images that shake consciousness.”

Joan references journalism, advertising, museum displays and scientific journals to investigate our inclination to believe what we see. His work is disconcerting, disturbing and fun. See it for yourself at at London’s Science Museum until 9th November.

Get started today

* It’s easy to add elements to a scene with Photoshop. Lightroom is great for photo editing, but you need Photoshop for more sophisticated manipulation – check out our digital sister magazine Practical Photoshop ( for lots of creative ideas. * Just adding a character into a scene by itself won’t win you any plaudits. It needs to done in a creative, imaginative and playful way. Leading Photoshop artist Miss Aniela (

has lots more inspiring ideas. * Your source imagery also has to be of the highest standard. The most successful Photoshop artists never use creative compositing as a way to hide poor photos.