Skip to content
Oak National Academy
Oak National Academy
View my library
0
Teachers
Pupils
View unit
New
New
Lesson 6 of 7
  • Year 11

Advancing photo manipulation: transforming images

I can transform images by combining, masking, and blending to create new compositions with altered meaning.

Download all
View unit
Lesson 6 of 7
New
New
  • Year 11

Advancing photo manipulation: transforming images

I can transform images by combining, masking, and blending to create new compositions with altered meaning.

Download all

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.

View new resources

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Transformation goes beyond enhancement; it creates entirely new visual outcomes.
  2. Masks and blending modes enable complex, non-destructive edits.
  3. Composite images can communicate imaginative or surreal concepts.
  4. Opacity adjustments allow subtle control over transformations.

Keywords

  • Composite - an image made by combining two or more separate photographs

  • Masking - hiding or revealing parts of an image without permanently erasing

  • Blending mode - a digital setting that controls how layers interact visually

  • Opacity - the transparency level of a layer or effect

Common misconception

Transforming an image always means stretching or resizing it.

Transformation in digital art includes combining, masking, blending, and reimagining images - not just changing size or shape.


To help you plan your year 11 art and design lesson on: Advancing photo manipulation: transforming images, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Demonstrate masking slowly and narrate your steps; it’s often the hardest concept. Remind pupils that transformation is about creativity as well as technique - encourage imaginative risk-taking while maintaining technical accuracy.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Computers with photo editing software. Digital cameras or access to an image gallery.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

Skip lesson video

Loading...

Prior knowledge starter quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
What is a composite image?

A single unedited photo
A drawing added to a photo
Correct answer: A combination of two or more images
An image with increased saturation

Q2.
What does changing a layer’s opacity do?

Changes its file size
Increases its sharpness
Locks it from editing
Correct answer: Makes it more or less transparent

Q3.
What is the purpose of blending modes?

Correct answer: To control how layers interact visually
To adjust image resolution
To crop an image
To speed up saving files

Q4.
Surrealist art often refers to which types of artworks?

Hyper-realistic depictions only.
Non-figurative abstraction.
Correct answer: Dreamlike, impossible, imaginative.
Using no more than two colours.

Q5.
Which transformation tool lets you remove unwanted parts of an image?

Warp
Brush
Correct answer: Crop
Blend

Q6.
Which statement best describes “transforming” in digital art?

Using filters to change colours
Just resizing or rotating an image
Taking photos in black and white
Correct answer: Reimagining images with combining, masking, and blending

Additional material

Download additional material