Hockney Style Photocollage

Hockney style photomerge comes from the artist David Hockney. Hockney worked with polaroid snapshots or photolab prints of a single subject Hockney arranged a patchwork to make a composite image. Each frame taken at different times and angles creates a truly unique image of the area. Each tile is arranged to create depth and space.

To read more about David Hockney, check out this site. http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/hockney/


I'm very interested in this style of photography. Creating images from polaroids can be costly and time consuming, but several imaging programs allow you to photocollage with relative ease.


For this project our subject will be people and how they interact and interconnect. You can follow these same steps for any subject or idea.



Things you will need are:

• a digital camera
• an imaging program. I'm using CS3

For this project, I'm going to use various shots of several people to create one image. Follow these steps for creating your image. These two contact sheets will show the pattern I use when shooting my subjects.

1. 
   

1. Using your digital camera, start at the person's head and take close up images starting at either side. Follow a across your subject and then go down keeping the bottom edge of the top row and the top edge of your second row. Continue until you have gone as far down the subject's body you wish to have in your image. You can photocollage with only one person, but I find when dealing with people, it is much more interesting to do so with several people.


2. Once you have taken all the images of your subjects, download them to your computer.


3. Next, you will open up your first image.



4. With your image open, go to image > canvas size. When the dialog box opens, make sure the relative check box is checked. Click the top middle arrow button so all the arrors are pointing away from that box. The add in the amount of space you want around that image. I usually start with about 3 times the space of the single image that is there. So if I have a 4x6, I will add 18 inches to the width and about 12 inches to the height. You will need to do this action several times as you add new images.


5. Open up more of your images and start piecing them together. If you need more space repeat the step 4.


6. Continue through the past steps until you have created your final piece.

Because each image you add will remain its own layer, expect large file sizes.

Your final image could look something like this. Remember, it is possible to create similar images with a single person or subject.

Once your collage is complete, flatten your image and follow your pinter's users guide for correct printing. I do reccomend you saving a copy with the layers as well in case you need to go back to correct anything.

Also, you can create similar landscape and still life images using the same technique.



The first and last images are photocollages from the Lubbock, Texas area and the images of the people photocollage is from a collaboration project. Copyright rules apply.