It’s not all about perfect selections and masks - lighting, toning and shadows are key to composite success

1 MATCHING THE TONES

If the tones and colors in your combined images don’t match up, the whole effect will look messy and unnatural. There are several ways to match colors. First, there’s the Match Color command (Image > Adjustments > Match Color), which lets you target another layer or image to tint your currently selected layer in a similar way. You can also use Adjustment Layers to alter colors and match the feel of your images. The Color Balance, Curves and Selective Color adjustments are especially useful for this. Once the images are combined, it’s also a good idea to add a final tonal shift on top of everything.