Creating surreal, distorted reality images

[ePIC]

Does anyone know how the photographers are creating those amazing surreal, distorted reality photographs? What technique are they using? I'm assuming there's a lot of layering of different images, but I've tried different tricks and can't create anything similar. I'm not trying to copy the photographer, but I want to make my own surreal, distorted reality images.

 

[Portrait]

A good editing software must have been in use here. You get two different images and merge them in a way that a theme comes out of it. What do you make of this image, and how would you caption it?

 

[Paul Stevens]

@ePIC that was crated by Erik Johansson. He is a popular fantasy creator with a great imagination. Luckily, he also has a YouTube channel and shares some behind the scenes videos that are a fun watch. This might be what you're looking for.

 

[LifeCaptured]

Wow, that is...well, it's surreal. I had no idea that much effort went into it. I always figured it was mostly done through photo manipulation and didn't realize actual solid props were designed and used. I thought it was all computer generated. The fact he puts so much into it is probably why it looks so cool.

 

[Fairytale Studios]

The website Bored Panda is full of photo manipulations like those. At one point I know I stumbled across an article that even showed how the photos were created and it wasn't nearly as complicated as Erik Johansson's work. They were photos that just about anyone could create with objects around the home. One of the images used toy cars and a baking pan to create a lifelike vintage photograph. It was all about the photographer's angle. I've been searching for the article for you, but can't seem to find it. It would be a good starting point.

 

[Portrait]

@ePIC that was crated by Erik Johansson. He is a popular fantasy creator with a great imagination. Luckily, he also has a YouTube channel and shares some behind the scenes videos that are a fun watch. This might be what you're looking for.

Wow, this is the kind of content anyone keen on photography needs to follow. I would love to be a real pro in navigating Adobe Lightroom. How advanced are your skills here?