The digital image correlation (DIC) method is a non-contact deformation measurement method, including the subset-DIC method and the global-DIC method. The subset-DIC method cannot consider the deformation compatibility, which leads to some errors in the localized deformation measurement results. The global-DIC method can fully consider the deformation compatibility, but it has a lower measurement efficiency than that of the subset-DIC method. A DIC method is proposed based on a combination of element matching and subset matching for localized deformation measurements. For deformation measurements beyond strain localization, the results of the subset-DIC method are used to determine the computational zones of the global-DIC method, and deformations of these zones are obtained by using the global-DIC method, then the results of the subset-DIC method are updated. A numerical experiment on the formation of a fictitious shear band and physical experiments of clay specimens in biaxial compression are carried out, and the measurement results of the subset-DIC method, the nine-node global-DIC method with subpixel initial values and the proposed method are compared. Results show that the proposed method can ensure the accuracy of localized deformation measurements with a few increases in time for an appropriate size. The maximum value of the maximum shear strain of the proposed method is higher than that of the subset-DIC method at the center of the shear band. Therefore, the proposed method and the nine-node global-DIC method with subpixel initial values are more suitable for deformation measurements beyond strain localization than the subset-DIC method, and the proposed method has more advantages in measurement efficiency than those of the nine-node global-DIC method with subpixel initial values.