A method of making a composite element including: forming a sheet of an at least partially ordered liquid crystal polymer having at least a first general direction, a liquid crystal material having at least a second general direction distributed within at least a portion of the liquid crystal polymer; and at least one photochromic-dichroic compound having an average absorption ratio of at least 1.5 in an activated state that is at least partially aligned with at least a portion of the liquid crystal material; and connecting at least a portion of the sheet to at least a portion of an optical substrate to form the composite element.