How do I combine two photos?

[francois]

Photo 1 has a good foreground.

From Desktop

Photo 2 has a good sky

From Desktop

Photo 3, I tried to fill in with flash but it turns out the bike has reflective safety wheels and ruined the photo.

From Desktop

So my question is, how do I combine the best elements of photo 1 and 2. Step by step please using photoshop. Can someone do it for me as well?

full res photos are here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/fcebedo/Desktop02#

These photos were taken using program mode on the Canon G9. Any other tips would be appreciated.

fc

[drg]

I believe what you want to do is make a HDR photo.

Are these they same image with different processing or separate exposures? Are they in a RAW format?

What version of Photoshop are you currently using? This will make a difference as to HDR being available, else you may have to download the 'trial' copy of a program such as Photomatix.

Search the forums for HDR to get an idea of what to do next and then there are several people who can guide you through various steps!

[EOSThree]

You mean something like this? All that I did with this is upload the photos from Picasa, then exported them to Photomatix HDR. I used an EV I though they were shot at(2), and let Photomatix do the work. I then tone mapped the resulting HDR using the defaults. I didn't really do a whole bunch to the photos, I let Photomatix do it on it's own.

[francois]

Absolutely brilliant!!! That's exactly what I'm looking for. Photmatix huh? Let me check that right now.

fc

[pisco]

What about a Split ND filter? either use a real filter or simulate one with Photoshop.
With Photoshop you put one picture on top of the other using layers, you add a masking layer, and then you use the gradient tool to combine them.
If you are not familiar with Photoshop then just google "photoshop split nd filter" and once you see the procedure described above step by step with images you'll see how easy it is.
You have to use a tripod to get exactly the same composition but with a different exposure or use RAW. In your case you can see that I needed to move the "sky" layer down and to the left.