In this tutorial, I will show you how to create a scene with a mysterious night street in Photoshop. You will learn how to create a night scene with a realistic light effect in Photoshop. Learn how to combine multiple images into a single scene, as well as get acquainted with advanced masking techniques. Follow the lesson and learn how to improve your collage skills.
Please note: this is not a full step-by-step lesson, it is designed for more advanced users. I will not discuss elementary things, for this lesson you should have a basic understanding of Photoshop.
Final image:
Step 1
First create a new document sized Width (Width) 2500 px and Height(Height) 1800 px. Place image The outside to the center of the document. You, probably, noticed that the image of the street is too narrow and in order to fit it under our document, we need to add part of the street to empty areas. Below you can see how I put the image:
Step 2
To fill in the empty spaces, duplicate the street twice and place all the duplicates under the original layer. Then move the two duplicates left and right. Layout of the layers can be seen in the figure below, so I filled the whole empty area.
Step 3
Now let’s do the masking. Add a layer mask to each layer of streets, and then try to achieve a smooth transition between each layer to make the street full. In addition to masks, also use the tool. Clone stamp
(Stamp) (S) to clone certain areas of the street on many separate layers, then click CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + E, to get a full street image. Below you can see the result:
Step 4. Adding sky
Extract the sky using Pen tool 
(Feather) (P) and add it here. If necessary, use Transform Tool (Free Transformation) (Ctrl + T) to fit the sky under the street. Below you can see the results with the image of the sky:
Step 5
Using the adjustment layer Hue / Saturation (Hue / Saturation) reduce the saturation and brightness of the sky. Below you can see the settings.
Result with a dark sky:
Step 6
Add a few stars in the sky, using filters, the technique of work with which I shared in the lesson Moon Moon Fantasy. You can read this lesson for a more detailed explanation. Below you can see the results with the stars added:
Convert the star layer to a smart object. Go to menu Filter > Noise > Add noise (Filter> Noise> Add) and use the following settings:
Result:
Now go to menu Filter > Filter Gallery(Filter>Filter Gallery) and select filter Plaster (Gypsum), to create stars. Use the following settings and remember what the more you increase Image Balance (Tonal balance) stars become less visible. Install it according to your needs and click OK.
Result
To get rid of the black background, set the mode to Screen (Screen)
Step 7
Darken the street with a correction layer. Curves (Curves). Use this layer as a clipping mask (click on the icon highlighted in red). Below you can see the values.
On the mask of this layer, mask the effect of the adjustment layer on the left side on top to keep this area bright, because then we add the moon, which will be our light source there. To erase the effect, use a soft black brush with low opacity. Below you can see the result:
Step 8
Apply another adjustment layer. Curves (Curves), but this time use Red (Red) and Blue (Blue) channels to add a combination of blue and blue street tones.
Leave the effect on the left side of the street at the top and erase the effect of the curves in the rest of the street, as in the previous step. Remember to use a soft black brush for masking. Below you can see the result:
Step 9
Add an adjustment layer over all layers. ColorBalance (Color Balance) without clipping mask for adding the main color to the scene. Change the values Midtones (Mid Tones) and Highlights (Sveta).
Result:
Step 10
On a new layer, draw large brush strokes with color # 134f62. Now the goal is to make the light source there. In the image below you can see how I did it.
Set the blending mode to Color dodge (Lightening basics) with Opacity (opacity) 100%, and you can see the results with a radiant light effect.
Step 11. Adding a flashlight
Place the image of the lantern on the main scene, as shown in the figure below. Remember to use a layer mask to connect the lantern to the wall. You can read the arrow for reference.
Step 12. Add the moon
Add a moon image to our main document. Change the blending mode for the moon to Screen (Screen) to get rid of black background.
Step 13
On a new layer, draw a glow around the moon using a soft white brush. Just draw a point of light on the moon to create a glow to it.
Step 14. Adding bushes
On the left side of the street, add bushes. For help, see the image below.
Step 15
Using the adjustment layer Curves (Curves) darken the leaves and slightly change the color using Green (Green) channel. The following shows the settings:
Result:
Step 16
Place the raven in the main document. Add an image Crow 1 on the right side and add another crow on the left side, selected from Crows PSD. Do not be afraid to add them to those places where you want.
Step 17. Create a lantern glow
On the new layer, draw a light on the lantern to add a glow. Choose a dark yellow color (# 8B6433) to create a flashlight glow. Below you can see how I painted the glow of the lantern:
Change the blending mode to Linear dodge (Linear Dodge) with Opacity (opacity) 100%, below is the result with a radiant light effect:
Step 18
Using the same color, draw a reflection of the lantern lighting on the street, but this time change the blending mode to Color dodge (Lightening Basics). Do not forget to draw light on a new layer. Below you can see the results:
Step 19
Similarly, draw a reflection of light on the upper areas of the street, using the same color that we used in step 10. Below you can see where I painted the light:
Change the blending mode to Color dodge (Lightening Basics) with Opacity (opacity) 100%. Remember that you can change the opacity of the layer to determine the amount of light you want to add.
Step 20
Using the # a5a5a5 color, draw a fog in the street. This will make the scene foggy and mysterious.
Step 21
Using the adjustment layer Hue / Saturation (Hue / Saturation) change the color of the fog. See the settings below.
Result:
Step 22. Final touches
Add an adjustment layer on top of all layers. Gradient map(Gradient Map) and use the default black and white gradient.
Change the blending mode Gradient map(Gradient Map) on Soft light (Soft Light) and reduce Opacity (Opacity) up to 51%. This will add more contrast to the scene.
Step 23
Use adjustment layer ColorBalance (Color balance) to add more blue tones outside.
Result:
Step 24
You may have noticed that the adjustment layer ColorBalance (Color balance) added blue tones in the flashlight area, but we do not need it. He also reduced the glow of the lantern. To get rid of this, I masked the effect. ColorBalance (Color Balance) in the area highlighted in red.
Result:
Step 25
Apply another adjustment layer. ColorBalance (Color balance) and this time use it for the lantern glow area.
Last adjustment layer ColorBalance (Color Balance) is used to add blue tones on the stage, but this one is used for lamppost lighting.
Leave the effect in the flashlight area and hide the rest of the effect. Here you can see the results:
Step 26
At the final stage, improve the lights and shadows of the scene using tools Dodge Burn (Brightener / Dimmer). If you want to adjust colors even more, you can use an adjustment layer. Selective color(Selective color correction). Here is the final result:
Thank you for completing the lesson, and I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any questions, please write in the comments.
