In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a bright magical photo effect. I will try to explain everything in as much detail as possible so that even beginners who first open Photoshop can get at least a stunning result.
1. Set up the document
To begin, open the photo with which we will work. To do this, go File – Open (File – Open), find the image and click the Open button. Before proceeding, let’s check several document parameters:
- Photo must be in RGB color mode, 8 bits/ channel (bit / channel). To check it, go Image – Mode (Image – Mode).
- For the final result to be qualitative, the size of the document must be within 1500-4000 pixels in width / height. To check it, go Image – Image Size (Image – Image size).
- The photo must be a background layer. If not, proceed Layer – New – Background from Layer (Layer – New – Layer from the background).
2. Cutting the object
Step 1
In this section, we will select the object with which we will work, and copy it to a separate layer. Take the tool Quick Selection Tool
(W) (Quick selection) and select the background. With the Shift / Alt keys, you can add / remove selection areas. When finished with the selection, press Ctrl + Shift + I to invert it.
Step 2
Now press Ctrl + J to copy the selected area to the new layer, which we call the “Main Object”.
3. Add lighting
Step 1
In this section we will add lighting effects. Select a layer “Background“ (“Background”) and turn Layer – New Fill Layer – Solid Color (Layer – Fill New Layer – Color) to create a layer with a solid color fill. Select color # 050505 and name the layer “Background Color”.
Step 2
Now go Layer – New Fill Layer – Gradient (Layer – New fill layer – Gradient) to create a gradient layer. Call it “Light Source” and set the gradient:
Step 3
Reduce the opacity of the gradient layer to 90%. Then double-click on its thumbnail on the layers panel and using the tool Move Tool
(V) (Move) move the gradient through the document to find the best location, as shown below:
Step 4
Click on the layer mask on the layers panel, take Brush Tool
(B) (Brush), select a soft brush and black paint over part of the gradient, as shown below.
4. Combine the bird with the background
Step 1
Select the layer “Main object” and change its blending mode to Soft Light (Soft light).
Step 2
Now press Ctrl + J to duplicate the bird layer, and call the copy “Object Contrast”.
Step 3
Press Ctrl + Shift + U to discolor this layer, then reduce its opacity to 58%.
Step 4
Press Ctrl + J again to duplicate the current layer, then call the copy “Object Details”.
Step 5
Change the opacity of the “Object Details” layer to 100%. Then go Filter – Other – High Pass (Filter – Other – Color Contrast) and set Radius (Radius) by 35 pixels, as shown below:
Step 6
Select the “Object Contrast” layer and press Ctrl + J to duplicate it. After that, move the copy to the very top of the layers panel and call it “Object Sharpness”.
Step 7
Change the blending mode of this layer to Overlay (Overlap) with opacity 100%. Then go Filter – Other – High Pass (Filter – Other – Color Contrast) and set Radius (Radius) by 2 pixels as shown below:
Step 8
Now hold down the Shift key and click on the layer “Main object” to select all layers with a bird. Next, go Layer – New – Group from Layers (Layer – New – Group of layers) to group the selected layers, and call the group “Object”.
Step 9
Move on Layer – Layer Mask – Reveal All (Layer – Layer Mask – Show All) to add an empty mask. Then take Brush Tool (B) (Brush), choose a soft brush and use black in mask to hide the bottom of the bird:
Step 10
Now we take a small soft brush and draw along the borders of the bird in order to more smooth the transition between the background.
5. Create textures
Step 1
In this section, we will create some textures. Move on Layer – New – Layer (Layers – New – Layer) to create a new layer, which we call “Texture 1”.
Step 2
We press the key D to reset the colors to standard, and go Filter – Render – Clouds (Filter – Rendering – Clouds). Then press Ctrl + T and on the top panel set the width and height to 150%, as shown below:
Step 3
Change the blending mode of this layer to Hard Light (Hard light) and reduce the opacity to 40%. Then add Image – Adjustments – Levels (Image – Correction – Levels) and customize:
Step 4
Move on Layer – Layer Mask – Hide All (Layer – Layer Mask – Hide All) to add a completely black mask that hides the contents of the layer. Next, take a soft brush (B) and draw in white in bird and white gradient.
Step 5
Create a new layer Layer – New – Layer (Layer – New – Layer) and call it “Texture 2”. Then move it under the “Texture 1” layer.
Step 6
We press the key D to reset the colors to standard, and go Filter – Render – Clouds (Filter – Rendering – Clouds). Then press Ctrl + T and on the top panel set the width and height to 200%, as shown below:
Step 7
Change the blending mode of this layer to Overlay (Overlap) and reduce the opacity to 25%. Then add Image – Adjustments – Levels (Image – Correction – Levels) and customize:
Step 8
Hold down the Ctrl key and click on the thumbnail of the “Main Object” layer on the layers panel to load its selection. Then go Layer – Layer Mask – Hide Selection (Layer – Layer Mask – Hide Selection) to add a mask that will hide the selected area of the layer.
6. Create a dust effect.
Step 1
In this section, we will learn how to create the effect of dust. Select the layer “Texture 1”, create a new layer Layer – New – Layer (Layer – New – Layer) and call it “Dust 1”.
Step 2
Take a hard brush (B) and on the panel Window – Brush (Window – Brush) customize it:
Step 3
Set the foreground color to #ffffff (white) and drag along the light to add a bokeh effect, as shown below:
Step 4
Change the blending mode of this layer to Overlay (Overlap) and reduce the opacity to 50%. Then apply the filter Filter – Blur – Gaussian Blur (Filter – Blur – Gaussian Blur) and set Radius (Radius) by 2 pixels.
Step 5
Select the layer “Texture 1”, create a new layer Layer – New – Layer (Layers – New – Layer) and call it “Dust 2”.
Step 6
Take Brush Tool (B) (Brush) and once again hold the light source. To do this, use the same brush with the same settings as last time.
Step 7
Press Ctrl + T and on the top panel set the width and height to 210%.
Step 8
Change layer blend mode to Overlay (Overlap) with opacity 50%. Then using Move Tool (V) (Move) move the layer through the document and choose the most successful placement.
Step 9
Move on Filter – Blur – Gaussian Blur (Filter – Blur – Gaussian Blur) and set Radius (Radius) by 7 pixels as shown below:
Step 10
Select the layer “Dust 1”, create a new layer Layer – New – Layer (Layers – New – Layer) and call it “Dust 3”.
Step 11
Set the foreground color to # 000000, go Edit – Fill (Edit – Run Fill). In the window that opens, install Contents (Content) on Foreground Color (Main color), Mode (Mode) – on Normal (Normal) and Opacity (Opacity) – 100%, as shown below:
Step 12
Move on Filter – Pixelate – Mezzotint (Filter – Design – Mezzotintto). Install Type (Type) on Coarse Dots (Spots) as below:
Step 13
Move on Select – Color Range (Highlight – Color range). Using the pipette, click on the white color on the photo and set Fuzziness (Scatter) by 200. Then click OK, go Select – Select and Mask (Selection – Selection and Mask) and apply the following settings:
Note translator: in earlier versions of Photoshop tool Select and Mask (Selection and mask) was called Refine Edge (Specify edge).
Step 14
Move on Layer – Layer Mask – Reveal Selection (Layer – Layer Mask – Show Selection) to add a mask according to the shape of the selected area of the layer. After that, right-click on the mask and select Apply Layer Mask
(Apply a layer mask). Next, press Ctrl + T and set the width and height to 150%.
Step 15
Reduce the opacity of this layer to 10% and on the layers panel move it under the layer “Dust 2”.
Step 16
Select the layer “Texture 1”, create a new layer Layer – New – Layer (Layers – New – Layer) and call it “Dust 4”.
Step 17
Set the foreground color to # 000000 (black), go Edit – Fill (Edit – Run Fill). In the window that opens, install Contents (Content) on Foreground Color (Main color), Mode (Mode) – on Normal (Normal) and Opacity (Opacity) – 100%, as shown below:
Step 18
Now go Filter – Noise – Add Noise (Filter – Noise – Add noise). Install Amount (Effect) by 2%, Distribution (Distribution) – on Uniform (Uniform) and tick opposite Monochromatic (Monochrome).
Step 19
Switch the blending mode of this layer to Screen (Lightening).
7. Add color tint
Step 1
In this section we will add a nice color tint. Select the layer “Dust 1”, add a correction layer Layer – New Adjustment Layer – Curves (Layer – New adjustment layer – Curves) and call it “Toning 1”.
Step 2
Double click on the thumbnail of the adjustment layer on the layers panel to open the panel Properties (Properties), and customize it as shown below:
Step 3
Select the layer “Dust 1”, go Layer – New Fill Layer – Solid Color (Layers – Fill New Layer – Color), call the layer “Toning 2” and set its color to # 578cba.
Step 4
Switch the blend mode to Soft Light (Soft light).
8. Crop document
In this section, we cut off the extra parts of the document to get rid of empty areas. Take the tool Crop Tool
(C) (Crop) and customize the cropping area as shown below:
Congratulations, you got to the end of the lesson! I hope you have succeeded. Here is the final result:
If you want to create a more interesting effect with just a few clicks of the mouse, pay attention to the action of the author Dust Storm. (paid)
To use it, you only need to fill the object with the desired color and press the start button of the action. All work will be done automatically, and you will get a multi-layered result that can be freely customized. The set includes 8 different directions of the light source, as well as a special effect to create a snow storm. In addition, the action provided a choice of 50 color tints.
