Compositing with Photoshop is one part technique and two parts imagination.

In the
example below, I've created a dark and mysterious scene with a young girl paused in
an eerily calm storm. Here's how I made it:

View the finished composition

As you can see, the final result is a compilation of several layers blended together
with thematic color correcting. Adjusting the mood of the scene by tweaking the color
balance through the use of adjustment layers brings the image together as a cohesive
story. Simply sandwiching layers on one another won't produce the same effect and
fail at convincing your audience. It all starts with an idea. In this case: a theme of
ominous beauty.

Your first order of business would be to scour the stock archives for imagery you
have in mind, while in the process, almost certainly developing on your idea with
what becomes available. For this tutorial, follow along with the examples I've
provided to get an idea of how it all comes together.

We'll start out with this old house

resting in a pleasant country
setting. The sky isn't as nearly as
menacing as it should be, so we can
get rid of that with the weapon of
your choice, preferably the Pen
Tool. Take your time and cut those
pixels out with precision. Even the
smallest imperfections will stand
out. Though for the sake of this
tutorial, feel free to skip ahead
with the PSDs provided.

Compositing with Photoshop is one part technique and two parts imagination. In the
example below, I've created a dark and mysterious scene with a young girl paused in
an eerily calm storm. Here's how I made it:
 View the finished composition

As you can see, the final result is a compilation of several layers blended together
with thematic color correcting. Adjusting the mood of the scene by tweaking the color
balance through the use of adjustment layers brings the image together as a cohesive
story. Simply sandwiching layers on one another won't produce the same effect and
fail at convincing your audience. It all starts with an idea. In this case: a theme of
ominous beauty.

Your first order of business would be to scour the stock archives for imagery you
have in mind, while in the process, almost certainly developing on your idea with
what becomes available. For this tutorial, follow along with the examples I've
provided to get an idea of how it all comes together.
We'll start out with this old house
resting in a pleasant country
setting. The sky isn't as nearly as
menacing as it should be, so we can
get rid of that with the weapon of
your choice, preferably the Pen
Tool. Take your time and cut those
pixels out with precision. Even the
smallest imperfections will stand
out. Though for the sake of this
tutorial, feel free to skip ahead
with the PSDs provided.

Download house.jpg or house.psd

Our background is now ready for a sky -- something you won't have trouble finding.
Drop in your clouds and position them as desired. The clouds you choose are a large
part of establishing the atmosphere.

Download clouds.jpg

Our subject comes from a talented photographer in DeviantArt's stock photography

section, angelcurioso. Again, we'll need to spend some time with the Pen tool,
carefully clipping her out of the backdrop. When all looks well, place her above the
background layers.

Download girl.jpg or girl.psd

Next we'll add in a few details to add more depth to our composition: Grass for the
foreground and a light snow. Grass or foliage can be easily found, but excruciating to
extract. Once you've accomplished it however, you'll have it to reuse for future
projects. The snow is actually a frame from an After Effects project of mine, produced
by a particle plugin. But this can be replicated with a brush tool and varying opacities.
 Download grass.psd | snow.jpg

Place these layers on top of your

subject. Add a gaussian blur (~2.5) to
the grass to fake a depth-of-field effect.
Now you have a fitting foreground
element that doesn't stand out too
much. Since the snow is against a black
background, change the blending mode
of this layer to Screen.

Your montage of layers is in place. It's

time for the fun part: color correcting. Create a new Adjustment Layer
We'll be using adjustment layers to fix from the bottom of the layers pallette
the overall levels and balance of
colors.

Start by adding a Channel Mixer adjustment layer. This step is done by eye. Was I
did here was flatten out the overall colors by playing with the individual channels.
The result should leave you with a less saturated image, ready to colorize.

Finally, we'll be using a Curves adjustment layer to set the mood. Once again this
step relies on lots of toying, nudging the reds, greens, and blues until you get the
effect you're looking for. As you can see below, I've primarily taken out some blue
and added more red for a warm ambience with crushed blacks. These settings are
entirely up to you, and vary based on the photos you're using. You can download the
settings I used in the Photoshop file below.
 Download adjustments.psd

Since these color adjustments are on layers of their own, you're free to go back and
experimented with your composition. For a finishing touch, adding a slight vignette
will frame everything nicely.