Why Your Composites Look Fake Before You Even Open Photoshop

I have a folder on my desktop called “failures.” I open it once a month, scroll through old composites that never worked, and try to figure out why. The honest answer, in probably half of those files, is that I picked the wrong stock images before I ever made a single adjustment. Bad perspective, mismatched lens focal lengths, conflicting light color temperatures. The composite was doomed at the selection stage. I just didn’t know it yet.