Why Your Composites Look Fake (And It's Not the Lighting)

The Thing That Ruins a Composite Before You Even Touch the Light I sketch every composite on paper before I open Photoshop. Not because I’m old-fashioned, but because the sketch forces me to commit to a camera position. Where is the viewer standing? How high is the horizon? What angle is the lens taking on the subject? By the time I’m drawing a rough thumbnail with a Bic pen on a legal pad, I’ve already made the most important decision in the entire project.