Professional image compositing

Stack photos, textures, vectors, text, and more to create bold photo composites — fully editable and always under your control.

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How to construct image composites that hold up

Ready to start building? Here’s how image compositing works in Affinity.

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Stack your elements

Bring in images, textures, and other assets, then build your composition layer by layer. Organize your canvas with unlimited raster, vector, and text layers, all working together in one file.

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Blend and mask with precision

Use blend modes, live filters, and non-destructive masks to seamlessly integrate every element. Blend two images together, refine edges, control light and shadow, and isolate exactly what matters — without permanently committing to anything.

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Refine without flattening

Tweak color grades, adjust effects, and experiment freely. Because everything stays live and editable, you can push your composition further, revisit decisions later, and fine-tune every detail right up to export.

Epic images, built layer by layer

From a single image to a full-blown, multi-layered masterpiece, experiment with various images and other elements to create striking image compositing projects in Affinity. Stack photos, textures, vectors, text, and more in one canvas, blend them live, mask what matters, and tweak every filter later.

Screenshot of image compositing in Affinity showing a layered editing panel beside a dramatic space shuttle launch scene, with the layers panel opened up.

Nothing flattens. Everything stays live.

Experiment without fear. Stack edits, reorder layers, brush masks in and out, and adjust filters at any stage of your process. Affinity’s fully non-destructive workflow⁠(opens in a new tab or window) means your original assets remain untouched — even in large-scale image compositing projects. It’s total creative freedom, built into every layer.

Recolour adjustment panel with Hue, Saturation, and Lightness sliders open over a rocket image, next to a layers panel showing effects like Bloom, Curves Adjustment, and Lighting.

Push layer counts into the hundreds

Complex doesn’t have to mean compromised. Build ambitious composites with dozens (or hundreds!) of layers, and keep everything responsive. From subtle texture overlays to dramatic lighting effects, Affinity handles depth and detail without slowing you down.

Screenshot of Affinity's editor showing a sneaker splashing through water, with a selection box around the shoe and a detailed layers panel listing groups like Adjustments, Light Blast, Fabric 01, Fabric 02, Water Splashes, and Trainer

FAQs

  • Photo compositing is the process of combining multiple images into a single seamless composition. Professional image compositing involves precise masking, controlled image blending, and color adjustments so every element feels naturally integrated. A strong photo compositing workflow keeps edits non-destructive, allowing you to refine lighting, edges, and tonal balance without permanently merging layers.

  • Yes. Affinity supports advanced masking, blend modes, live filters⁠(opens in a new tab or window), and a fully non-destructive photo compositing workflow, making it a powerful software for photographers and designers creating high-end composite imagery.

  • Yes. Affinity’s non-destructive workflow keeps layers, masks, and filters fully editable, so you can revisit and refine your image compositing work at any time.

  • Absolutely. Affinity lets you work with vector shapes, raster images, text, and layout elements together in one unified document — ideal for advanced photo compositing projects.

  • Affinity is built to handle complex, multi-layered files smoothly, so you can experiment freely without lag or workflow interruptions.

Everything you need for your photo compositing workflow — and then some.