Have you ever wanted to create a frozen and at the same time dramatic landscape? In this lesson you will learn how to combine several stock images, including chiaroscuro, to create a dramatic, film-like photo manipulation. So let’s get started!
Final result
To complete the lesson you will need:
- Rocky coast
- Waves
- Sky
- Model
- Birds
Note: In this lesson the author used paid images. In this archive you will find links to source materials and an alternative source from the translator.
Step 1. New document
Open Photoshop. Create a new document, go File- New .. (File> New …). Install the following sizes 3500 x 2300px. Click OK. Download a stock image from a rocky shore at the link at the beginning of this tutorial. Move this image to our working paper. Name the new layer with the rocky shore ‘Rocks’. Place it on top of all layers. Next, go Editing – Transformation – Flip Horizontal (Edit> Transform> Flip Horizontally) so that the landscape is located just like in the final image.
Step 2. Correction of the rocky shore
Let’s focus on the color shades of the rocky shore layer that we added in the previous step. In this tutorial, you need to create a dramatic atmosphere and, in my opinion, you can achieve the best results by selecting original images with low color saturation. Add a new adjustment layer Vibration (Vibrance), placing it on top of all other layers (you can Add a new adjustment layer or fill layer (Add new fill or adjustment layer) by clicking the button in the bottom toolbar).
Reduce value Vibrations (Vibrance) to – 30, and then change the blending mode for this adjustment layer to Chromaticity (Color). By choosing this blending mode, the correction affects only the colors, not the brightness of the image.
To further reduce the saturation of the blue hues, add another adjustment layer. Hue / Saturation (Hue / Saturation). Reduce the saturation value for blue hues to -70. With this corrective layer, we will reinforce the feeling “before the storm” of changing the weather.
After this step, the result should be as in the screenshot below.
Step 3. Add waves
Download the wave image from the link at the beginning of this tutorial. Move this image to our working paper, placing the wave layer on top of the other layers. Name the layer with waves вол Waves ’. Next, go Editing – Free Transformation (Edit> Free Transform) or press the keys (Ctrl + T) to give the image the appropriate size. Press the (Enter) key to apply the changes. The result should be as in the screenshot below.
To the ‘Wave’ layer, add a layer mask. Button Add layer mask 
(Add layer mask) is possible through the lower toolbar (the button is located next to the button Add a new adjustment layer or fill layer (Add new fill or adjustment layer), which you used in the previous step).
Choose a tool Brush 
(Brush Tool (B), set a soft round brush, brush size 500px, brush opacity 100%.
Set black color. Make sure the mask layer of the ‘Wave’ layer is active (just click on it). Start painting over those parts of the image with the waves that you want to hide.
If you are not sure where to paint with a brush, then pay attention to the screenshot below. I highlighted these areas in red.
After this step, the result should be as in the screenshot below.
Step 4. Combine the waves
If you look at the wave image that we added in the previous step, you will see that it is darker, and the blue hues are much richer than our entire picture. We will fix this in this step. First, let’s start with the clarification. Add a new adjustment layer Curves (Curves) on top of all other layers. Set the reference points of the curve, as shown in the screenshot below.
We need the correction to be applied only to the image with waves, and not to the whole image. To achieve this, click the button that creates the clipping mask. I circled this button in red in the screenshot above. To reduce wave saturation, add a new adjustment layer. Hue / Saturation (Hue / Saturation) on top of all layers. Reduce value Saturation (Saturation) to -45. Also convert this adjustment layer to a clipping mask!
In the screenshot below, you can compare how the adjustment layers affect the wave image (Translator’s Note: on the ‘Wave’ layer).
Step 5. Add the sky
Download the sky image from the link at the beginning of this lesson. Move this image to our working paper, placing the sky layer on top of the other layers. Name the layer with the sky ‘Sky’. Do the same as with the waves, add a layer mask to the layer with the sky. Choose a tool Brush (Brush Tool (B), using the same settings as before, swipe the sky with the whole scene. Paint on the layer mask over the sky you want to hide. In the screenshot below, these areas are highlighted in red.
Step 6. Combine the sky
In this step, we will adjust the brightness and saturation of the sky so that it blends better with the rest of the image. Add a new adjustment layer Curves (Curves) on top of all other layers. Set the pivot points as shown in the screenshot below. Transform this adjustment layer into a fading mask so that the correction affects only the image with the sky, and not the entire image. Using this curve shape, you reduce the image contrast and make it a little brighter.
To add a delicate shade of blue to the sky, add a new adjustment layer. Color Balance (Color Balance) on top of all layers. Set the settings that are shown in the screenshot below. Also convert this adjustment layer to a clipping mask.
In the screenshot below you can see how your composition should look and the order of the layers at the moment.
Step 7. Add depth
At the moment, our picture looks a bit flat, isn’t it? In this step, we will add depths by creating interesting light and shadows. To do this, create a new blank layer on top of all layers, name this layer “Chiaroscuro”. Choose a tool Fill 
(Paint Bucket Tool (G), set the midtone gray tint (# 808080), and then fill the new layer with the selected shade. To align properly, change the blending mode for this layer to Overlap (Overlay).
Choose a tool Brush (Brush Tool (B). Set a soft round brush, brush size 100px, brush opacity 15%.
Set the foreground color to black. Begin painting over the areas you want to make darker — the areas of stones under the shade, as well as the sky. In the screenshot below, you can see the areas that you should paint in black. These areas are highlighted in red.
As soon as you have completed black painting, select white. Start coloring the areas you want to lighten. In the screenshot below, you can see the areas that you should paint in white. These areas are highlighted in red.
In the screenshot below, you can compare how the image looks before and after this step.
Step 8. Reduce saturation
In this step, we will slightly reduce the saturation of our scene to enhance the atmosphere. Add a new adjustment layer Hue / Saturation (Hue / Saturation) on top of all other layers. Reduce saturation to -25. This time we are correcting the entire image, so do not create a clipping mask.
To reduce color saturation slightly, add a new adjustment layer. Vibration (Vibrance). Set the value Vibrations (Vibrance) -20. Change the blending mode for this adjustment layer to Chromaticity (Color) so that the correction affects only the color shades and not the image brightness.
Step 9. Add a model
Download the model image from the link at the beginning of this lesson. Move this image to our working paper, placing the layer with the model on top of the other layers. Name the layer with the model ‘Model’. Next, go Editing – Free Transformation (Edit> Free Transform) or press the keys (Ctrl + T). Apply scaling to the model image to the desired size. Do not forget to hold the key (Shift) when scaling to keep the aspect ratio. Remove the background on the image with the model to align the model with the entire scene. You can use any technique for selecting objects with which you are comfortable working. I prefer to use layer masks and hide extra areas of the image. When highlighting the hair, do not worry too much about the accuracy of the selection, we will fix it in the next step. After this step, the result should be as in the screenshot below.
Step 10. Draw the hair
In this step, we will fix the hair model. Hair is one of the complex tasks that arise when combining. For me, the best way is to simply draw hair locks after the basic alignment. In this step, we will apply this method. It will be much easier if you have a graphics tablet, but a little practice and patience and you can achieve good results also with the mouse! Pay attention to how your hair looks before correction.
Create a new blank layer on top of all other layers, name this layer “Hair”. Choose a tool Brush (Brush Tool (B). Set the settings for the brush, which are shown in the screenshot below.
Hold the (Alt) key and activate the tool. Pipette
(Eyedropper Tool (I). With this tool, take a dark shade sample from the model’s hair. Draw hair locks where there is poor hair alignment. After a few strokes with a brush, change the color shade to achieve a realistic result. In the screenshot below, you You can see how the model’s hair should look after this step.
Step 11. Change the lighting
In this step, we will focus on creating an interesting dramatic lighting effect. Create a new empty layer on top of all other layers. Name this layer ‘Interesting lighting effect’. Choose a tool Fill 
(Paint Bucket Tool (G), set the gray tint of the middle tones (# 808080). Fill this tint with a new layer. Next, change the blending mode for this layer to Overlap (Overlay).
Choose a tool Brush (Brush Tool (B), set a soft round brush, brush size approximately 100px, brush opacity 20%.
Set the foreground color to black. Paint over the areas you want to make darker. At this time, pay attention to the details, in particular on the face and on the body of the model. You can see the areas where to paint with a brush in the screenshot below.
Once you are done, set the foreground color to white. Next, paint over the areas you want to lighten.
Let’s compare how our composition looks before and after this step.
Step 12. Adjust the contrast
In this step we will correct the contrast of the whole picture. Add a new adjustment layer Curves (Curves) on top of all other layers. Set the pivot points as shown in the screenshot below. We are correcting the entire image, so we don’t need to convert this adjustment layer to a clipping mask.
On the image there are still some areas that are too dark and distract attention. I marked them in red in the screenshot below.
To lighten these areas, add a new adjustment layer. Curves (Curves) on top of all layers. Set the curve as shown in the screenshot below.
We only need to correct the areas marked in red. To achieve this, select the tool Fill (Paint Bucket Tool (G), fill color is black, then fill the layer mask of the adjustment layer Curves (Curves) in black. Next, select the tool Brush (Brush Tool (B), brush color is white. Using this brush, paint over the areas highlighted in red. After this step, the result should be as in the screenshot below.
Step 13. Adjust the dress
The lower part of the dress model looks too flat and therefore does not look realistic. The lower part of the dress should follow the contour of the rock on which the model stands. We will fix this in this step. Choose a tool Rectangular region
(Rectangle Marquee Tool (M). Select the bottom of the dress. Press the keys (Ctrl + Shift + C) to copy the selected part, and then press the keys (Ctrl + V) to paste the copied image to a new layer. Arrange the new layer with selected part of the dress on top of all other layers. Name this layer ‘Hem’. For shape correction, go Editing – Transformation – Deformation (Edit> Transform> Warp) and warp the bottom of the dress, as shown in the screenshot below. Once you are done, press (Enter) to apply the changes.
Step 14. Dimming
In this step, we will make the midtones of the image darker. To do this, add a new adjustment layer. Curves (Curves) on top of all layers. Set the curve as shown in the screenshot below.
Step 15. Reduce saturation
The previous correction made the image too saturated. In this step, we will reduce the saturation of the image. Add a new adjustment layer Hue / Saturation (Hue / Saturation). Reduce value Saturation (Saturation) to -15.
Step 16. Light reflections on the model
Let’s add highlights to the image of the model to get more attention to it. Very good reception that can be used – the eye of the observer is first of all turned to the lightest parts of the image. You can use this technique as an advantage when creating other photo manipulations. Create a new adjustment layer on top of all layers. Name this layer “Light”. Choose a tool Fill (Paint Bucket Tool (G), select the fill color gray medium tones (# 808080), gray color the new layer. Change the blending mode for this layer to Overlap (Overlay).
Choose a tool Brush (Brush Tool (B), set a soft round brush, brush size approximately 300px, brush opacity 10%.
Set the foreground color to white. Next, carefully color the model image. You can see the areas where to paint with a brush in the screenshot below. I marked these sites in red.
As soon as you finish, change the color of the brush to black and using a soft black brush, paint over the edge of the image, creating a vignette.
In the screenshot below you can compare how the picture should look before and after this correction.
Step 17. Reduce saturation.
Add a new adjustment layer Hue / Saturation (Hue / Saturation) on top of all layers. Reduce value Saturation (Saturation) to -50.
This correction will mute most color shades. But you do not worry. In the next step, we will add beautiful blue hues to our image.
Step 18. Blue shades
Let’s focus on toning the image. To create a more mysterious and more serene atmosphere, we will add blue and blue hues to our scene in this step. Create a new layer on top of all layers. Name this layer ‘Blue shades’. Choose a tool Fill (Paint Bucket Tool (G). Choose a very dark, almost black color (I used the color tint # 06000F). Fill the new layer with this color tint. Next, change the blending mode for this layer to An exception (Exclusion).
In the screenshot below you can compare how our picture looks before and after this correction.
Step 19. Dimming
Add a new adjustment layer Curves (Curves) on top of all layers. Set the curve as shown in the screenshot below.
The shape of this curve will make the shades of your image darker. You can compare the result in the screenshot below.
Step 20. Add Birds
In this step, we will add birds to the horizon to add detail to our scene. Download the Birds brushes from the link at the beginning of this tutorial, install them in Photoshop. Add a new layer on top of all other layers. Name this layer ‘Birds’. Select one of the brushes that you installed. Press the (Alt) key to activate the tool. Pipette (Eyedropper Tool (I). Take a dark color shade sample from the area of the picture. Next, just draw the birds on the horizon.
Step 21. Add sharpness
This is the final step. In this step we will add sharpness to our picture. Press the keys (Ctrl + A) to select the entire image. Next, go Editing – Copy merged data (Edit> Copy merged) or press keys (Ctrl + Shift + C) to copy the merged data. Next, go Editing – paste(Edit> Paste (Ctrl + V). The new merged layer should be placed on top of all layers, name this layer ‘Sharpness’. Let’s go Filter – Other – Color Contrast (Filter> Other> High Pass). Set the radius to 1px. Click OK.
Next, change the blending mode for the merged layer to Overlap (Overlay).
Your layer palette should look like the screenshot below:
Thank you for reading this lesson. I hope that you have learned something new today and that you will be inspired to create your new picture!
Final result
