How to blend overlapping photos?

[may1hem]

I have 5 photos which overlap each other on the diagonal corners. This is because I wanted to photograph the edge of a mountain from the bottom to the peak.

In Photoshop, I created on giant canvas and created 5 layers and copies 1 picture into each of the 5 layers. So they look like this:

X
X
X
X
X

The problem is that the brightness of the photos varies and so there are clear lines where the photos overlap and there are colour and brightness differences between the photos, which looks very unprofessional.

I tried using some blending options, like Lighten, but this doesn't work properly. The parts of the photos that don't overlap just disappear.

I tried using panorama stitching software but this only works when the photos are in a straight horizontal line. But mine are not, so this doesn't help.

Any ideas on how to blend these photos together so that the colour and brightness are smoothly blended?

Thanks for your ideas,

May

 

[SPYDERIX]

Hi,

You use a layer mask. Read up on them here: FAQ229-1962

Hope this helps!

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[blueark]

Also keep in mind that, unless you are using professional photography equipment, each of the source images is going to be different. Think about it: an automatic camera will adjust the light for each shot to what it thinks will be the right balance. Then, if it's film, your local one hour photo lab automates exposures too, with no regard for consistancy between prints.

So what do you do? I would recommend getting each image as consistant as possible before you begin blending. Start with Levels or Curves to get the tonal balance right (shadows & light), then move on to your colors (Color Balance, Hue/Saturation, Variations, etc). Do each image one at a time. You're probably not going to get exact matches, but get as close as you can.

At this stage, layer masks can iron out the inconsistancies, or at least make a smooth transition so that differences are less obvious.

If you're still having trouble, then don't aim for accurate reproduction. Try applying the same drastic color effect to each image, such as colorize, to drown out the differences. Alternatively, apply a filter to the finished image, even some subtle noise, so that there is some common link between all the elements.