Photomontage
A photomontage is a composite image that is made by combining individual images or photos into a new image. The new image often tells a story or conveys a message.
A photomontage is a powerful visual technique that combines photographs and text to create images and stories.
Photography is about light. Photographs capture the world in different ways and are like windows that let us look into other places. In making a photomontage we can use the same technique. Using a photograph as the starting point, we can take it in many different directions. The combination of words and pictures brings together ideas, memories, and experiences. Sometimes the juxtaposition creates a paradoxical effect – for example, a photo of a young woman surrounded by children, or a child looking straight into the camera. A picture can act as a mirror that reflects the world around us.
You can also make a montage to convey a particular message. One version of this montage was used to show how the media can present images of young women in a sexist way, but another was created to show that the media can also show women in positive ways.
As in photography, in a photomontage you have total control over the final outcome. It is a powerful tool that can bring your thoughts to life. A wordy piece of text or a series of photographs alone does not tell a story. By combining words and pictures we can see beyond the individual pieces and understand the bigger picture.
The word photomontage, derived from two Greek words meaning light and mixture, refers to the use of photographs in collage-like techniques to create composite images. The earliest examples date from the beginning of the twentieth century. In these days of digital photography, most composites are now created using software, but in the earlier days the process involved many hours spent in front of a large camera. It is an activity that often brings together artists, designers and photographers, working on various projects and exploring new ideas.
We have found that people enjoy looking at works of this kind, where the images are combined in an unusual way, and this gives us the opportunity to show off the beauty of our pictures.