If you want to create a truly beautiful photo manipulation, then you have to combine several images and apply several effects in order to obtain the desired image. In this lesson, I will show you how to combine a couple of photos that I took during my journey to create a picture with a devastating tornado that absorbs everything in its path. OK, let’s get started!
Final result
1. Create a sketch and add source images.
To create such photo manipulations, you need to know about the perspective and the main focus, about the vanishing point in perspective, etc. This knowledge will help you when combining different images into one single composition.
Step 1
First create a new document in Photoshop, name it “Tornado”. Create a new layer, fill it with any color shade, and then proceed to creating an approximate draft of our composition.
Step 2
Download the following images, which are presented below. Open them in Photoshop. The top image we use to create the sky, and the bottom image to create the earth.
2. Create a vortex from the clouds
Step 1
Using tool Lasso
(LassoTool), with value Feathering (feather) 20 px, select the part of the image with the sky, and then paste the selected image onto our working paper.
Step 2
So, the sky is ready, in the next step we will strengthen the sky, tightening it with clouds.
Step 3
Next, we will perform a sky correction using the correction Brightness / Contrast (Brightness / Contrast) and Hue / Saturation.
Step 4
Using tool Stamp 
(CloneStampTool) add clouds.
Step 5
Using tool Stamp (Clone Stamp Tool) change the color shade of the clouds.
Step 6
Open the second source image. Select individual patches of grass and shrubs with the tool Lasso (Lasso Tool), with value Feathering (feather) 5px. When working with Lasso, I used multiple selections.
Step 7
Now paste the selected areas of vegetation on our working paper, and then combine them. Using tool Lasso ? (Lasso Tool) spread out vegetation over the entire surface of the earth.
Step 8
Begin to allocate the sky in fragments. Play with brightness (brightness) and by contrast (contrast) to create a non-uniform sky texture.
Step 9
Using the same technique, process the rest of the sky according to the drawn outline. Change the brightness of these sections of the sky.
Step 10
At this stage of the lesson, it’s time to create a tornado.
Step 11
Using tool Stamp (Clone Stamp Tool), create a whirlwind of tornado in a dedicated area of the outline.
Step 12
Repeat the same process for the remaining selected areas.
Step 13
A cloud of dust can be created by cloning parts of the sky and further changing their brightness.
Step 14
Using tool Stamp (Clone Stamp Tool) create a smooth transition between the various elements of the composition.
3. Add the final touches
Step 1
To enhance our scene, we need to add a new adjustment layer. Gradient 
(Gradient). Gradient type from black to transparent. Change the blending mode for this adjustment layer to Soft light (SoftLight).
The purpose of this step is to strengthen our scene, so that the upper edges of the image look darker, and also to focus the attention of the observer in the center. Repeat this step again if you want to add shading to the image.
Step 2
Next, we darken the areas along the edges of the composition. Using tool Rectangular area (
Rectangular Marquee Tool) (with value feathering (feather) 0 px), create a rectangular selection on a separate new layer. Fill the selected area with black. And then with the tool Lasso (Lasso Tool), cut the black fill, as shown in the screenshot below.
After that, change the blending mode for this layer with black fill to Soft light (Soft Light). The purpose of this step is to darken individual sections along the outer contour of the image in order to focus on the center of the scene.
Step 3
Now let’s play with color correction. Color correction needs to be carried out using adjustment layers, so if you do not like the correction, then you can simply delete the adjustment layer created.
It’s time to go to Oz!
We have completed the lesson. I hope that this lesson has helped you learn something about the technique of creating photo manipulations. Good luck!
