DISCLAIMER: To be honest, just because I've been posting a lot of composites on the blog lately doesn't mean I like the regular pet photography sessions any less. I love them, I really do. I assure you, I love it. It's just when you have a chance to create something out of your own imagination in collaboration with a client, there's a certain magic that can happen.

With that in mind, I wanted to show you a composite that a client wanted created for her company's holiday card. They are talent scouts and the previous year, we took the three of them against a gray backdrop and planted them in a jungle scene. Now because there were only people involved that year, I didn't post the image on my pet photography site but I did recreate it as Luna and Kiwi on an excellent adventure.

This year, they are hunting for talent and instead of three people, it was three dogs and two people. We photographed everyone in a garage. I taped a piece of tape to the wall so everyone would know exactly where to look, at least as far as the people go. The people were photographed together and the dogs separately. Their eyes were directed to the tape with a treat so everyone would be looking in the same area. And ta-da, we definitely got a few images with everyone in the right position.

After that, I found some stock images and the client picked a few favorites from me to choose from, whatever would work best. I added three flying ducks along with their reflection in the water. So now you can see how a composite comes into place. There is positively no magic in the photographing. It's sloppy, it's unglamorous, but I can control the lighting and what I need everyone to be doing.

So there you go, a behind-the-scenes look at creating a piece of digital art.