Compositing Basics: Combining Two Photos Seamlessly

Blend a subject into a new background without telltale edges, color shifts, or shadow mismatches.

What Makes a Composite Look Real

A convincing composite comes down to four things: clean edges, consistent lighting direction, matching color temperature, and believable shadows. Miss any one and the eye picks it up instantly, even if the viewer cannot explain why.

Retouchable handles the hardest part automatically. It cuts your product or subject from the source image, drops it onto a new scene, and relights the edges so the transition disappears. You can preview dozens of backgrounds in the time it would take to mask one image in Photoshop.

How It Works with Retouchable

Upload Your Source Image

Drop in the product or subject photo you want to composite into a new scene.

Pick or Upload a Background

Choose from the scene library or upload your own backdrop. Retouchable analyzes both images before blending.

Generate & Refine

The AI matches lighting, adds a contact shadow, and exports your composite at up to 4K.

5 Tips for Seamless Composites

Match Light Direction First

Before anything else, check where the light is coming from in both source images. A subject lit from the left will never sit naturally in a scene lit from the right.

Shoot Your Subject With Room to Mask

Leave at least 10 percent breathing room around the subject. Tight crops make edge refinement harder and increase the chance of halos.

Color-Correct Before You Composite

Neutralize both images to the same white balance first. It is easier to warm or cool a finished composite than to fight mismatched casts layer by layer.

Add a Contact Shadow

Any object touching a surface needs a dark anchor point. Without it, the subject floats and the eye rejects the scene immediately.

Match Grain and Noise

A clean studio shot pasted into a grainy scene screams fake. Add a light noise layer across the whole composite once you are done.

Skip the Masking Marathon

Upload a photo and see it composited into any scene in seconds.

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Why Retouchable for Compositing

Automatic Subject Extraction

Retouchable's AI cuts out products and models with sub-pixel edge accuracy, no manual masking required.

Scene Library

Composite onto hundreds of pre-lit backgrounds or upload your own, and the AI matches the lighting automatically.

Shadow Synthesis

Contact shadows and cast shadows are generated to match the new scene so subjects look physically present.

4K Export

Deliver composites at up to 4K for hero banners, product pages, and print campaigns.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need Photoshop to composite with Retouchable?

No. Upload your source and background, and the AI handles masking, lighting, and shadow work in-browser.

Can I use my own background images?

Yes. You can upload any backdrop and Retouchable will match the subject's lighting and color to it.

Will the AI preserve transparent areas like glass?

Yes. The masking model retains transparency on glass, plastic, and other see-through materials.

What export sizes are supported?

You can export composites at 1K, 2K, or 4K.

Ready to Build Better Composites?

Start combining your product and model shots with AI-powered compositing. Try Retouchable free.