Superimposing objects from two different photos taken by two different cameras

Question

I have a bunch of photos from my friend's wedding that were shot with a D5 mark II, that he wants me to add my wife (who couldn't be at the wedding) into a few of them. I found the PERFECT picture for one of compositions, however, it was shot using a P&S Nikon CoolPix.

I want the images to match as best as I can, but because of the lower quality picture, it doesn't look right.

What are some ways to make pictures taken from different cameras appear as if they were taken from the same camera? Or at least make the composition less obvious?

Things that I've tried:

• Scaling and rotating to fit
• Levels adjustment
• Color correction adjustment
• Some light dodging and burning

Answer 1

Three things that are likely making the composite not look right: differences in sharpness, color and lighting direction

• Lower quality of the image of your wife taken with the Coolpix - only real solution here would be to lower the quality of the main image to match. For a start, try adding a bit of blur to the main image, and once you've added your wife in, resharpen the entire image together.

• Lighting. This is probably the most important. The lighting in the two images must match as closely as possible. If the light is from the right and behind in the main image, then it needs to be the same in the image of your wife. If it's from the opposite side you could try to flip horizontally.

• Color. If the main image was taken outdoors, and your wife indoors (or the lighting is different in color) then you'll need to adjust white balance or color correct in some way.

Your best bet is probably to retake an image of your wife with a higher resolution camera, in the same light as the main shot.