The side-by-side before/after or front/side/back composite photo is a standard fixture in body transformation.  It's a quick, neat way to see how a person has progressed over time.

But for graphics editing newbies, how those composites are made can be a mystery.

Here's a quick tutorial on basic compositing for the complete beginner.

Do you already have any of these programs installed on your computer?

- Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Photoshop Elements
- Corel/Jasc Paint Shop Pro (30 day free trial) or Paint Shop Pro

If not, download the trial of Paint Shop Pro and install it.

Even if you have never touched a graphics program before, the process is pretty easy once you've gone through the steps one time.

2. Choose the image you want to be first in the line-up and then go to the menu at the top of the window and choose Image > Canvas Size.  You want to make sure your image canvas is wide enough to fit in several more side-by-side images of yourself!

3. In the canvas size dialogue, you will see a 3x3 grid that controls the placement of your original image relative to the extra space you will be adding to it.  Click on the box in the middle row at the very far left.

4. Now enter a value in the Width entry box that is around three times greater than the original width of the image.  Hit OK, and your canvas will now be three times wider than it was before while the original image will still be the same size, but all the way over on the left.