Abstract: The subject of the research is the nature of interaction between differently structured composite photo images combined with artwork elements for the common purpose of creating a single image of an advertising design project. The object of the research is a composite photo image as an element of an advertising design project aimed at creating an effective advertising image. The author of the article examines such features of photo images as an objective reflection of the reality and extended personal vision as well as analyzes the advertising layout in terms of different messages being conveyed. The author pays special attention to the correspondence of iconic and symbolic elements of a composite photo image. In this research the author has used such methods as the systems approach when analyzing peculiarities of interaction between photo images of different nature combined with graphic artwork elements for the purpose of creating a single image of an advertising design project as well as the comparative method to classify features of photocollage structures. The main conclusion of the research is the following: there is a certain paradox attributable to the photographic nature of images used in an advertising layout. This is an undervalued role of the iconic element of a message compared to the symbolic element thereof and at the same time a high level of documentary accuracy typical for photography which allows to use a composite photo image instead of a traditional one sacrificing some documentary accuracy but retaining the symbolic element of the iconic message. The special contribution to the topic is the author's classification of composite photo images depending on the principle of their form making.