Using the Overlay feature in Capture One 22

There are a few features in Capture One 22 that get me excited in the studio. One is live tethering with my Sony camera, another is the Live feature (more on that in another post), but the Overlay tool is one that truly gets my creative brain super excited. Let me run you through it.

What is the Overlay tool?

Toward the bottom of the Capture panel, you will find the Overlay panel. This can be done while tethering (the best option in my opinion) or with images already captured. All you need to do is load your base image and then load your secondary image over the top. I saved my base image to the desktop and loaded it from there.

Finding the Overlay tool in Capture One 22

Why use the Overlay tool?

Trying to create composites in the studio can get a little tricky, making sure everything lines up. I have often in the past taken multiple images of poses and body parts so that I have extras to work with. Using the Overlay tool makes it super easy to make sure all poses match your final composite image with ease. Like with the Absinthe Green Fairy. I wanted to ‘shrink’ my fairy down to be able to interact with books, skulls and other props for the shoot. Not only is it great for checking everything lines up, but you can also make sure all the lighting is consistent too.

Using the Overlay tool

How to use the Overlay tool

So how do you use the Overlay tool? I put together a little video so you can follow along. It did initially take me a minute or so to work everything out, but this little tutorial will head you in the right direction.

Do you still need Photoshop?

Yes, you will. Even though you can see the overlay effect, Capture One doesn’t actually allow you to combine the images together — yet. Wishful thinking, but I am hoping this might be a future feature? I put together a little video on How I then edited my images to make the final artwork in Photoshop.