What is CGI Photomontage?

Discover this method for creating impressive (and often unimaginable) images, as if by magic

The initials CGI stand for “Computer Generated Imagery” and refer to any form of visual expression that uses a digital medium: digital photography, analog photography scanner, digitalizations, image banks, and 3D images, etc.

Ricardo Salamanca (@ricardo_salamanca) is a designer and art director. He has worked on advertising campaigns that have won awards at festivals around the world. Ricardo describes CGI as “the result you create with an image that has been digitized,” which involves integrating photography shots, 3D images, or takes of actors performing against a green screen, as well as any other image generated using digital means.

Using CGI in photomontage

As this way of creating images is so versatile, it is used across multiple industries: from video games to advertising, being used in every type of image, whether it be static or moving.

Naturally, CGI is many professionals’ favorite medium for creating photomontages. It allows you to mix photography with 3D-generated images and integrate all of the different elements of your composition using programs that blend light and texture. The results are extraordinary and it will be very difficult for the viewer to discern which parts came from different sources.

CGI today

The incredibly speedy evolution of technology makes it easier and easier to find images to create photomontages using this technique. Nowadays, we all carry devices in our pockets that can capture high-quality images, and we have so many resources within our reach, making the process even easier.

On the other hand, the speed at which technology advances also means that you have to be constantly learning and updating your way of working with CGI in order to stay ahead of the competition.

In his Domestika course, Creative Photomontage for Advertising, Ricardo Salamanca will teach you to create fantastical scenes by manipulating digital images in Photoshop.

English version by @eloiseedgington.

You may also like:

–5 Resources to Create Beautiful Photomontages
–Essential Photography Apps
–5 Essential Photo Retouching Courses for Perfectionists