Welcome To BlogerDesign

The first step it’s to place the sky, our background, into the image. As you can see, we have changed the color of it. We’re going to create a half of the image with a warm tone and another with a cool tone using the color balance tool. To do this, select the sky and then choose Image > Adjustments > Color Balance. Adjust the input sliders to add red and yellow. Select “highlights” and “shadows” then try adding more of these colors until you like the tones in your image.

Step 2 - Coloring the sky

Duplicate the layer with the sky. Now we are going to repeat the previous step with the color balance tool (Image > Adjustments > Color Balance) but this time adding blue and cyan tones. Remember to add some color to highlights and shadows as well.

Select the eraser tool then, in the option bar, select a blurred brush like shown below:

Now use the eraser tool to erase the left side of the sky in the top layer. This will make the warm tones from the layer below appear wherever you paint. When using the eraser, create curved strokes rather than a straight cut. When you have finished this step, you can reduce the opacity of the current layer to make the color more subtle.

Step 3 – Add the model

Now let’s open picture of the model. Use the magic wand tool to create a selection of the model then click on the add layer mask button in the layers palette to create a mask of the model. Refine the mask by painting in the layer mask using a brush with a harder edge. When you’re done, position the woman in the centre of the image.

Step 4 - Coloring the model

As you can see the lighting of the model isn’t blending in well with the background. We’re going to fix this with the levels tool. Choose Image > Adjustments > levels and move the input sliders to add contrast that matches the contrast of the background

Now choose Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation and reduce the saturation to reduce the saturation created when we used the levels tool. For the image used in this tutorial, the saturation was reduced by –24.

The next step will be exactly the same that in step 2 (when we used the color balance tool) except we’re going to use it on the model. First, duplicate the layer with the model so that you have two layers. Select one of the layers with the model then, like step two, use the color balance tool (Image > Adjustments > Color Balance) to add some red/yellow tones.

As you can see, it looks blended better with the left half of the background. Now, select the other layer of the model then choose Image > Adjustments > Color Balance and add some blue and cyan tones.

Now, as you did before with the sky, use the eraser tool with a soft edge to remove the left side of the layer with the girl in blue tones. Reduce the opacity on the current layer to reduce the strength of the color effect.

We’ve done the hardest part matching the lighting of the model with the background. Merge the layers of the model into one layer. Now you can play again withthe levels, color balance, and saturation (found in the Image > Adjustments menu) to make further adjustments.

Step 5 - Lightning the model

For the image used in this tutorial, the light comes from the background left. And to make the lighting match, we’ll have to darken the back of the model. To begin, select the burn tool.

Use a soft brush, edit the midtones, and set the exposure to around 30%.

Now use the brush over the models back. Try not make it too dark, just a little. Use this tool in the skirt too.

After that, select the dodge tool and paint the outline of the model (especially in her hair and her left arm).

Step 5 - Roots

Now we are going to add some roots and branches to the body of the model. It’s not difficult and you just need some images of trees and roots. We will be cutting parts of the root and tree and giving them some color like we did earlier with the color balance tool.

First step will be to look for a beautiful root and select it with your favorite tool (Magnetic lasso or quick mask mode for example). Don’t worry if it’s not a perfect selection, we will modify it later. Copy it and paste in our image.

As you can see the new image has not the same light and colors that the others, it looks out of place. What we have to do it’s the same that we did with the sky and the girl. Choose Image > Adjustments > Levels and adjust the input sliders. If you move the one in the center to the left the image will be brighter. If you move it to the right the image will be darker. In our case we are going to move to the right.

Now choose Image > Adjustments > Color Balance and add color depending of the place where you are going to put the root. If the root it’s on the left arm of the girl, for example, it will need red and yellow. But if it is on the right arm you have to add blue and cyan. This time we are going to add yellow and red. This is how it looks with the modifications:

When you have the root ready, just place it where you think that it will look good and select the eraser tool with a focus brush. Erase all the part that you don’t need and give the correct form to the root, now it’s when you have to improve the selection root.

The final step will be to use the burn tool in the areas where we should see shadows. For example, in the image below, it was used over the arm or in the bottom. I have added a little of blue using Image > Adjustments > Color Balance too. The last step is to erase the upper part of the root to create the look of a crease.

All the roots are added using the same process. The biggest impact to your results is choosing the photos. Once you have good photos to work with, you’ll have no problem getting good results using this technique.

There is just one last detail to explain. Sometimes, to get a more realistic feeling you can add a shadow to the root that falls over the skin or the dress. Take a look to this picture:

The only difference it’s the shadow on the right arm. To make this shadow just need to make double click over the root layer and the layer style menu will be open (or choose Layer > Layer Style > Drop Shadow). Select Drop Shadow and then use the arrow to move the shadow with freedom. When you have putted the shadow in the correct place just use the opacity bar in the drop shadow menu to add more or less intensity.

Step 6 - Ground and grass

Now we’re going to add the ground. The first picture used it’s a simple ground with sand taken from a photo of a beach.

The grass is taken from different photographs. First, create a new layer for the grass and position it behind low the layer with the model. Select and cut different parts of grass then mix them to create a field of grass like the image below.

This layer with the grass should be positioned between the layer with the model and the layer with the ground. Create a new layer and position it above the layer with the model and add some grass to cover the back of the models feet.

Finally, carefully add some grass and stone over the edge of the grass and the ground to hide the hard edges. It’s important that you inspect the edges thoroughly to hide any imperfections.

Step 7 – Add more roots

Now we’re going to add roots and flowers in the close-up. If you have read all the previous steps, you’ll have no trouble doing this. As mentioned before, it is very important that you choose good photos to work with. The photos should be high quality and in focus from foreground to background. If you use low resolution images, the finished results will look poor.

With this in mind, use a variety of photographs of flowers, roots, and trunks. Cut them out carefully with the lasso or quick mask tool and paste in the photo manipulation. Use the same coloring technique with the color balance tool (Image > Adjustments > Color Balance) that we used several times earlier.

To complete the blending of these images, we’re going to add to the ground. There are two ways to do this:

• This is the one that I explained at the end of step 5. Using the drop shadow in the layer style menu (Layer > Layer Style > Drop Shadow).
• Selecting the layer with the ground and using the burn tool in the areas where the shadows fall.

Step 8 - Dust

Now we are going to create some dust next to the feet of the girl. Use a picture with a cloudy sky then select one cloud using the lasso tool.

Copy it and paste in our document then choose Image > Adjustments > Levels. Move the middle input slider to the right to darken the cloud.

Then use the eraser tool in the edge of the cloud with a soft edge brush. Finally, choose Filter > Blur > Motion Blur and add the blur from left to right about 7 or 8 pixels. Position this layer behind the layer with the model. Duplicate the layer then move the new layer above the layer with the model. On this new layer, use the levels tool again but this time move the central input slider to the left to brighten the cloud.

The last retouching work will be to add red and yellow tones by using the color balance tool (Image > Adjustments > Color Balance).

Step 9 - Final Roots

We’re going to add the final roots. We need them to be positioned in a zigzag shape on the body of the model. To make this effect, we will need a combination of root photos like shown in the image below.

As always, the first step will be to select and match the different colors and lights of the roots using the levels tool (Image > Adjustments > Levels) and the color balance tool (Image > Adjustments > Color Balance). use the eraser with a soft edge to erase all that you don’t need and to give the ends of the roots a faded effect (so that they can be connected easily afterwards). Here is an example of combining different roots to create a large root:

It’s less difficult than it looks. Just be patient to find good images of roots and combine them using the same technique.

Step 10 - Some details

To make our photo manipulation more attractive we are going to add more details like flowers, petals, and a bird. I chose photos with objects that are easy to isolate. This will speed things up and ensure good results.

Step 11 - Adjustments Layers

To complete the photo manipulation, we’re going to add some adjustments layers. Select the upper layer then choose Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation. Reduce the saturation by about –10 or to your likings. Experiment with using other adjustment layers to alter the color and effect of the final image.

Final Result

Making a complex photo manipulation like this is not difficult if you follow the a few principles of photo manipulation. Some important principles are:

• Choose good photos to start with.
• Make sure that the lighting and color of the objects in your composition match.
• Don’t rush. Take your time to find good images to work with and carefully blend them together. Ensure that there are no artifacts or unclean edges.

Step 2

To create this photo effect, we'll be using two Photo Filter adjustment layers. One will alter the color in the shadows and the other in the highlights. First, we'll start off by creating a Photo Filter adjustment layer that will affect the highlights of the image. In the Layers palette, click on the New Adjustment Layer button then choose Photo Filter.

Step 3

In the Photo Filter settings, use the same settings as the image below.

Step 4

Make sure that you have the Photo Filter adjustment layer selected then choose Image > Apply Image. We will use the Apply Image tool to copy the image into the layer mask. This technique makes the layer only visible in the highlights and produces better results than altering the Blend If options in the layer style settings.

Step 5

We're done creating the first Photo Filter layer for the highlights. Now we'll create one for the shadows. To do this, select the Photo Filter adjustment layer and press Ctrl+J to duplicate the layer. Then, select the new layer (should be the top layer), and choose Image > Adjustments > Invert to invert the layer mask. Inverting the layer mask will make this layer affect only the shadows.

Step 6

Double click on the top Photo Filter adjustment layer icon to edit the settings. Change the filter to Cooling Filter (80). This will give the shadows a blue tint.

This is what the image looks like so far. It looks like an old printout now, but the effect isn't very desirable. In the next step, we'll adjust the blending mode of the two adjustment layers to create an image that is more useable.

Step 7

Change the blending mode of the middle layer to Multiply and the top layer to Screen.

Final Results

Other Examples

If you would like to know how to create the photo collage like the image below, please read the Glossy Photos Photoshop tutorial.

Step 2

To begin, we'll prepare the layers for the overlay diffusion effect. For Photoshop CS3 users, you can utilize Smart Filters to practice non-destructive editing and to keep the file size small. For Photoshop CS2 or older, you will need to create a duplicate layer.

• If you are using Photoshop CS3, right mouse click on the layer in the Layers palette then choose Convert to Smart Object.
• If you are using Photoshop CS2 or older, choose Layer > Duplicate then change the blending mode of the new layer to Overlay.

Step 3

Apply a Gaussian Blur filter. Choose Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur.

• Photoshop CS3 users: Leave the default settings then click OK; we'll go back to editing the settings after we change the blending mode of the Smart Filter. Double click on the blending options icon in the Layers pallete then change the blending mode to Overlay. Click OK and double-click on the Gaussian Blur smart filter (the Gaussian Blur text) to readjust the Gaussian Blur settings.
  
  
• Photoshop CS2 or older users: Adjust the settings to get the results that you desire.
  

Step 4

Now you'll learn the Photoshop technique that will protect the details in the shadows and highlights.

• Photoshop CS3 users: Click on the Smart Filters layer mask in the layers palette.
• Photoshop CS2 or older users: Click on the add layer mask button in the layers palette. You should now have a layer mask. Make sure that the layer mask is selected by clicking on the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers palette.

Step 5

Choose Image > Apply Image. With this tool, we'll paste a copy of the image into the layer mask. Use the default settings, which should be the same as the settings in the image below.

Your layer mask thumbnail should be an black and white copy of the image you're working on. This layer mask means that the layer is masked out where the shadows in the images are.

Step 6

With the layer mask still selected, choose Filter > Stylize > Solarize. This will seem to darken the image in the layer mask. What the Solarize filter did was make the highlights in the image black as well so that the highlights are masked out as well. This leaves only the midtones white so that the layer only affects the midtones.

The problem now is that the overlay diffusion effect is hardly visible. In the next step, we'll make the effect more visible by increasing the contrast and brightness in the layer mask.

Step 7

With the layer mask selected, choose Image > Adjustments > Levels. Using the Levels tool, move the white input slider towards the left. This will increase the contrast and brightness in the layer mask. The more you move the slider to the left, the more visible the effect will be. Click OK when done.

Final Results

Here is the final result. The image now has the overlay diffusion photo effect but the shadows and highlights are still detailed. You can preview the effect by holding the Shift key on your keyboard and clicking on the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers palette.

Here is a comparison of the overlay diffusion effect without and with a layer mask. With the layer mask that we applied, the details in the dress is visible and the groom's hair doesn't blend into the background anymore.

And finally, here's the before and after results.

Firstly create a new document (File > New) 540 by 440 pixels. Fill the background with the colour #1b1b1b by going Edit > Fill.

Step 2

Secondly we are going to be creating the background of the navigation box. Create a new layer, you can do this by going Layer > New > Layer or using the short cut Ctrl + Shift + Alt + N. Select the rounded rectangle tool and set the radius to 5 pixels. Make a selection of 250 by 300 pixels.

We are now goingt to be filling this selection with a red gradient. Select the gradient tool and set it to radial. Fill the selection with a gradient from the top center (#bc0303) to the bottom center (#3f0000).

Step 3

Thirdly, we are going to be adding an outer glow to our navigation background by going Layer > Layer Styles > Outer Glow and enter the settings below.

Now it should be looking like this.

Step 4

Select the text tool and add in some text for the title of the navigation box. The font I have used is Verdana, Regular, 22pt, Strong, #ffffff.

Step 5

Create a new layer and using the rounded rectangle tool again make a selection of 230 by 250 pixels at the bottom of the navigation background (with 10 pixel spacing on the sides and bottom).

Fill this selection with a dark grey colour (#111111).

Step 6

We are now going to be adding a shine effect to the new layer. So on a new layer (keeping the selection that you had before) go Select > Modify > Contract by 10 pixels.

Fill the selection with a radial gradient from the top left (#ffffff) to the bottom right (transparent) using the gradient tool.

Lower the opacity of the layer to 5%.

Step 7

Now for the text links, using the text tool add in some text to act as links. The font that I have used for this is Verdana, Regular, 12pt, None, #5a5a5a (#ffffff for the hover effect). Set the line height to 30 pt.

Step 8

Next up is adding in dividers to go between each text link. Make selections of 210 by 1 pixel using the rectangular marquee tool between each line and fill with the colour #1e1e1e.

Step 9

The last step is to add in a background colour behind the active link (in my case I've made the Photoshop Tutorials link active) so create a new layer behind the text layer and make a selection of 210 by 30 pixels and fill with #171717.

Step 2

Create a new layer (Layer > New > Layer) and select the rectangular marquee tool. Make a fixed size selection of 440 by 50 pixels in the middle of your document.

Step 3

Fill the selection with a linear gradient from #f4f4f4 at the top to #d9d9d9 at the bottom.

Step 4

We are now going to be applying a couple of layer styles to this layer.

Layer > Layer Styles > Drop Shadow

Layer > Layer Styles > Outer Glow

Result:

Step 5

Now using the text tool add in some text links. The font settings I've used are Verdana, Regular, 13 pt, Sharp, #686868 (and #ac0000 for a hover effect).

Step 6

Lastly, we are going to be adding some dividers between the links. Firstly, create a new layer and select the rectangular marquee tool again. Make a selection of 1 by 50 pixels between the first two links. Fill (Edit > Fill) the selection with the colour #b4b4b4.

Step 7

Now move the selection across to the right by one pixel (left arrow key on your keyboard). Fill this selection with the colour #d9d9d9.

Step 8

Duplicate this layer and move the duplicate layer along to the right so it is between the next two links (hold down the shift key while moving the divider to the right to keep it in-line. Repeat this process for the rest of the links and you are finished. I've also lowered the opacity of the layers by 50% so they don't stand out so much - but that's up to you ;-)

When you enter the Web Photo Gallery wizard you will be prompted to select the source folder from where your images will come from. So the first step obviously will be organizing all the photos that you want to include in your gallery in a folder & giving it a appropriate name. For this tutorial, I have placed all my images in a folder named “Flower photos”.

Alternatively, instead of making a folder you can select individual images from various locations in your computer to include in the gallery. To do that open up Adobe Bridge & choose the folder you want in the Folder window on the top left and then Ctrl/Cmd click to select the images you want.

Step 2

After you’ve selected & organized the images in a folder, you will decide whether you want the title & description of each of the images to be included in the photo gallery. Open your photo in Photoshop, go to File>File Info & enter the text in the Document Title, Author, Description etc. boxes.

Step 3

Alternatively, if you’re using Adobe Bridge, you can enter the file info as mentioned in Step 2, by opening up your Bridge, selecting a image & choosing File>File info, now you can enter the Document Title, Description etc. as mentioned in Step 2.

Step 4

Now that we are done with initial preparatory stages of selecting, storing, naming & adding description & stuffs to the images, it is time to open Photo Gallery wizard to automate the task for creating a web gallery. For this, go to File>Automate>Web Photo Gallery.

Alternatively, if you’re using Adobe Bridge, you can access it via Tools>Photoshop>Web Photo Gallery.

Step 5

Now with the Web Photo Gallery dialog box open click the Styles drop down menu for various gallery template styles. I select, Flash Gallery Style, you can select any of them you like.

Step 6

Now, if you wish, you can add your Email address, it will appear below the title of you web photo gallery to enable people to contact you. It will become a active link through which people can email you directly.

Step 7

As mentioned in Step 1, whether you’ve made folder or you’re using individual images via Adobe Bridge, choose the suitable option for your Source Images clicking the Browse button. Since, I have made a folder named, “Flower Photos”, I choose that. Also, if your folder contains subfolders, which you want to include in your gallery, click the checkmark ON for Include All Subfolders.

Step 8

Since, Web Photo Gallery is an automated task, you need to tell Photoshop where you want all the files generated by Photoshop to be stored on your computer, so click the Destination button & select the location.

Step 9

In this & in the next few steps, I will give you a brief explanation as to what various Options Menus (which are basically the coding options) stands for. Some of the options will be grayed out or unavailable depending on the style of gallery you have selected.

General: It gives you a option whether you want to save your files as .htm or as a .html coding extension. It also gives you a option whether you want to preserve all metadata (as determined in Step 2).

Step 10

Banner: In the Banner option menu, the information that you enter in the Site Name box will appear as the title of your gallery. You can also add more personalized information as you name in Photographer box, Contact Info, Date etc.

Step 11

Then, Large Images: This gives you the option to customize the appearance of your main image, when the user clicks on the thumbnail in your gallery. You can resize the images, constrain its proportions, determine the quality of image, give a border to images etc. Also, by checking the corresponding boxes, you can choose which parts of information are to be displayed from the metadata you added earlier in the File Info window as in Step 2 above.

Step 12

Next, option is for Thumbnails: Which is quite similar to Large Images as mentioned above.

Step 13

Now, the Custom Colors: Here you can customize the colors used for background, banner, text & links by clicking the color swatch to bring up the color picker, choose the colors that matches your gallery.

Whenever I'm mocking up a web template in Photoshop I use a generic grid called the '960 Grid System'. This grid system has become very popular in web design, however I still believe that grid systems like this shouldn't be followed too strictly so the main reason I use this system is because the PSD files come with lots of guides set up already which saves a lot of time. So I'd advise downloading the grid system free from here. Once you've downloaded it open the 12 column PSD file in Photoshop and you should have something that looks like the image below.

Step 2

Try turning the guides on if they aren't already; do this by going View>Show>Guides and View>Snap_To>Guides. Below you'll see that I've drawn a rectangle showing the container where all the content will go, you don't need to draw this rectangle as the background will be whit anyway but if it helps then go for it.

Step 3

Create a new layer then select the gradient tool and choose a gradient going from white to black. Holding shift drag horizontally to get a gradient looking like the image below, you may have to try a few times to get it right.

Step 4

Select the rectangular marquee tool and drag from the top left corner down to the bottom and snapping to guide which was at the left side of the box shown in step 2. Now go Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal Selection and you should be left with something that resembles the image below.

Step 5

Repeat the last two step again for the other side and make sure its symmetrical.

Step 6

Create a new layer group by clicking the folder icon in the layers panel. Then drag both these gradient layers within the group then change the opacity of the group to 10%.

Step 7

Next I added some rectangles that look a bit like stitches, If you were doing this in CSS then you could use a dashed border so you don't really need to do this step too accurately. I've got a good tip for doing this; first create a new layer then make one small rectangle then duplicate this layer. Now hit Ctrl+T and move the rectangle down slightly then just hit Ctrl+Shift+Alt+T a few times. What this does is remembers the first transformation then the key combination mentioned duplicates the layer then applies the same transformation. If this seems a bit complicated then just create each one manually. Afterwards merge all the rectangle layers by selecting them then hitting Ctrl+E. You can now just duplicate this layer then move each layer to either side.

Step 8

Now add a title and a tagline, the one that I've used was created using only text and the font, 'Rockwell'. I used the same blue here as the stitches and if you are familiar with swatches then a good idea would be to set a blue and grey swatch that you can use again.

Step 9

Now create the menu by using a sans serif font like Helvetica or Tahoma. Now just type a few words in uppercase using the same blue color. Another thing that I tend to do especially when using all uppercase is to increase the tracking (horizontal letter spacing) of the letters, to do this go Window>Character then highlight the word and change the tracking. I did each of the menu items in a different layer.

Step 10

Now duplicate all these words and change the color of each of them to the grey color. So now you have a set of layers with the menu items in blue and a set of the same menu items in grey. This is just so that you can see what the words would look like if you were to hover over them in the real site. Only make one of each menu item visible at a time.

Step 11

Next I made a custom RSS feed icon which you only really need to add if you were planning to have RSS feeds available on the site. First I drew a rectangle using the blue color then I added the word 'RSS' using the font, 'Rockwell' in white. For the actual feed icon you can download it from here in the 'Developer Kit' and place it into your document. I then put the icon in a new layer group then duplicated the group then changed the blue rectangle to a grey rectangle, again to show what it would look like when hovered over.

Step 12

I thought that a kind of slideshow element would look good on the homepage so to figure out what it would look like I copied in a stock image which matched the color scheme, if you;re interested the image can be downloaded from SXC here. Paste the image into your document then scale it down and position it like so.

Step 13

Select the rectangular marquee tool and drag a selection box over the image (the part which you want to keep) then select the layer with your image in it then go Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal Selection and you should be left with something that resembles the image below.

Step 14

Using the font 'Rockwell' again type a wee caption with the text tool. Next create a new layer and drag the layer below the text then draw two white rectangles behind the words then change the text color to the same blue that we used before.

Step 15

To the right of the slideshow image I left a space for a small quote or maybe a 'welcome to our site' thing. I put in the quote by drawing a text box then typed a a few words in a sans serif font in the grey color. Next I added some oversized quote marks by doing each one in a separate text layer and boosting up the pt size and positioning them accordingly.

Step 16

In the middle of the page I wanted to display some news items in a sort of blog format. First I typed 'news' using the grey color and 'Rockwell' as the font. Next I created a new layer group called 'Item 1' where I would put in all the the elements that make up the first news item. Type the title of the first news item and place it within this group.

Step 17

Next I added some text which would make up the news item then a date at the top right. I put all this within the same news item group.

Step 18

Using a light grey color draw a rectangle around the first news item like shown in the image below.

Step 19

Now right click on the layer group and duplicate it then move it down and change the title. Now do this again so you have three news items then delete the rectangle layer from the second news item.

Step 20

I thought a good use of space in the sidebar would be a Flickr group display which is quite popular in design sites now and can be seen on sites such as psdlearning and Fuel Your Creativity. Firstly put in a suitable title in the same style as the news title. Now add some images with dimensions; 75x75px, If you want you can copy the thumbnails from the sites I mentioned above then paste them in. Now just arrange them like I've shown below.

Step 21

Select all of the thumbnail image layers then hit Ctrl+E to merge them. Now right click on this layer then go to the blending options and add the styles shown below then with another line of text you should have something similar to the bottom image.

Step 22

I added an advertising space box using a simple rectangle with a stroke applied then some text within it. You can personalize this advertising box if you want so I've not gone into much details her.

Step 23

Next I added a footer area which gives some extra information like external links, clients etc. as well as a copyright notice. By know you should know exactly how to put this together so I've just shown a couple of images of it.

Step 24

The last thing I did was to add some thin lines that would act as dividers and make the page look more organized. Create a new layer. Select the line tool and set the weight at 1px and the foreground color to a medium grey. Now draw some lines in the same places that I have, using the image below as a reference, remember to hold shift to get horizontal and vertical lines.

Most likely, your camera cannot capture 32 bits/channel images. However, with Photoshop, you can use the Merge to HDR command to combine photos with different dynamic range into a single HDR photo. For example, you can shoot a landscape three times with three different exposure to capture a wider dynamic range and merge them into Photoshop to create a single HDR photo.

Photograph for HDR

If you want to shoot photos and use the Merge to HDR command in Photoshop to create a HDR photo, remember the following tips:

• The images must be of the same scene. Place the camera on a tripod before shooting.
• Shoot at different exposure settings to capture the full dynamic range in the scene. You will need at least three photos to use the Merge to HDR command but we recommend at least five for best results.
• Set your camera to Manual mode and adjust the shutter speed to create images with different exposure. You can sometimes get away with using the auto-bracket in your camera but the exposure changes are usually too small. Do not adjust the aperture or ISO because those will alter the depth of field, noise, or vignette in the photo.
• The exposure difference between the photos should be at least one or two EV steps apart. If you are using a camera with low dynamic range, such as a point and shoot camera with a small sensor size, the photos should be one EV step apart. On higher quality cameras such as DSLR's with larger sensors and wider dynamic range, the images can be two EV steps apart. There is usually no benefit to using smaller EV steps.
• The scene in all the images should be identical. Do not photograph moving objects such as cars, people, or landscapes on a windy day. If you use flash, make sure that you use the same flash output for all the images.
• Shoot in RAW mode instead of JPEG for better dynamic range.

Merge to HDR command

The Merge to HDR command in Photoshop lets you combine several of the same scene with different exposures into a single HDR 32-bpc (bits-per-channel) image. First, you'll need to have three images taken at different exposures. Run Photoshop and choose File > Automate > Merge to HDR.

In the Merge to HDR window, click the Browse button and browse for the the three images with the same exposure. If the Attempt to Automatically Align Source Images option is enabled, Photoshop will try to align the image in case the images are not perfectly aligned. Usually, you would leave this option enabled and only disable it if misaligns or causes artifacts. Click OK when you are ready.

After you click OK, Photoshop will process the images and after, you should see a window that looks like the image below.

In the second Merge to HDR window, you need to choose the bit depth to use: 32 bpc, 16 bpc, or 8 bpc. If you want to capture the entire dynamic range, choose 32 Bits/Channel. The other options almost always do not have enough room to store the entire dynamic range but you will have access to more tools, filters, and commands. You can uncheck the checkbox below the thumbnails on the Sources filmstrip to choose which image you want to include in the final merged image. The Merged Results shows a preview of the final output with the current settings. Adjust the slider in the Set White Point Preview histogram to get the exposure that you desire. Click OK and Photoshop will create a HDR image based on your settings.

Viewing HDR images

When you look at a HDR image in Photoshop, the colors can look dark or washed out. This is because 32 bits/channel images have a dynamic range that monitors are not capable of displaying. If your monitor was capable of displaying such range, the image would look a lot more dynamic. Currently, there are no consumer-grade monitors that can display the dynamic range of 32 bits/channel image.

In Photoshop, you can adjust the preview to see the details in the highlights or shadows that are washed out on your monitor. The preview does not affect the image information; it is only used for previewing. To adjust the preview, choose View > 32-Bit Preview Options.

Choose one of the two methods:

• Use the Exposure and Gamma method to adjust the brightness and contrast. Adjust the sliders to adjust the image brightness and contrast then click OK.
• Use the Highlight Compression method to compress the highlights so that they do not look overexposed. There are no settings to adjust with this method. Simply click OK.

You can also adjust the exposure quickly using the slider on the status bar of the bottom of the document window.

Remember, while your image may look different after adjusting the 32-bit preview options, the image information has not changed. It only looks different to aid you in editing because your monitor cannot display the dynamic range of 32-bits/channel images.

Converting an image to an 8 or 16 bpc workspace

For photography purposes, most of the time you will want to tone map your 32-bpc image into a 8- or 16-bpc image. This lets you create a 8- or 16-bpc image with details that would normally be hidden. For example, an overexposed sky can be restored by tone mapping.

First, make sure that you have a 32-bpc image opened then choose Image > Mode > 16 Bits/Channel or 8 Bits/Channel.

In the HDR Conversion window, you can choose one of four different methods to convert the image into a lower bit depth:

• Exposure and Gamma lets you adjust the brightness and contrast. To use Exposure and Gamma, adjust the Exposure slider to get the correct brightness then adjust the Gamma slider to get the correct contrast.
  
• Highlight Compression will compress the highlights to prevent overexposed areas. For example, if you had a bright sky that looked white on your monitor, the Highlight Compression method will make the sky darker to reveal the details. There are no settings to adjust in this method.
  
• Equalize Histogram compresses the entire image (both highlights and shadows) to reveal the maximum details. There are no settings to adjust in this method.
  
• Local Adaptation is the most popular method to use to reveal hidden details in high-contrast images. This method uses a special algorithm to adjust the tonal values so that the most details can be seen. To use Local Adaptation, adjust the Radius slider to adjust the size of the local brightness regions to get the correct contrast between the edges. Then, adjust the Threshold slider to specify the sensitivity of the Radius setting. You can also expand the Toning Curve and Histogram area to adjust the toning curve.
  

Click OK and your image will be converted to the bit depth that you chose earlier.

Step 2

Open an image of a person holding a circular object, such as a ball. This one is by Ronald Bloom and available through iStock at http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=277310.

Step 3

Now in the earth photo, click-and-drag a ruler guide from the top and bottom, halfway across so it’s in the middle. In the earth photo, subtract the entire length by 2 to get where the cursor needs to be exactly. Note: if rulers aren’t showing, press Command-R (PC: Control-R).

After drawing the ruler guides, hover the cursor over the center of the photo, where the two guides cross. Hold Option (PC: Alt) and click-and-drag the mouse. Hold Shift to maintain proportion. Once the Elliptical Marquee tool is around the earth, release the mouse button then the keys.

Step 4

It should look like this.

With the Move tool, click-and-drag the earth photo selection onto the other photo.

Step 6

Click-and-drag a corner of the earth layer. If there's no transform controls on the corners, make sure Show Transform Controls is checked in the Control palette. Lower the opacity of the earth layer in the Layers palette to be able to make it the correct size.

Step 7

The earth needs to be a little bit bigger than the red ball here, since the ball isn't completely round.

Step 8

Raise the opacity of the layer back to 100% in the Layers palette.

Step 9

Click and Eye icon next to Layer 1, the earth layer to turn its visibility off for now. Use the Quick Selection tool and select the area that overlaps the earth and where we'll need to bring in front of the earth.

Step 10

Click the Eye icon next to Layer 1 again to make it visible. Go to Select>Inverse.

Step 11

Now we need to mask out the area of the earth photo where the arm is. We mask out the area instead of erasing so that if we mess up, the pixels can be brought back instead of removing them. With Layer 1 selected, click the Add Layer Mask icon on the Layers palette.

Step 12

The mask automatically masked out where we had a selection.

Step 13

Now for a few touch-ups. The levels seem off on the photo of the girl, so go to Image>Adjustments>Levels. Drag the black arrow to 34 as shown here.

Step 14

Now the color levels are a bit richer and better adjusted.

Step 15

Now let's add a text on a path to the photo. Command-click (PC: Control-click) the thumbnail preview of the Layer 1 on the Layers palette. This will create a circular selection around the pixels in the earth layer.

Step 16

Click the Paths palette tab and click the Make Work Path from Selection icon on the bottom of the Paths palette.

Step 17

With the Text tool, click on the left top side of the path we just made.

Step 18

Type in some text that matches the photo.

Step 19

With the Move tool, click-and-drag a corner of the text area and expand it so there's some room between the earth and the text. Now we have a combined photo with some text.

Click the Create New Action icon on the bottom of the Actions palette.

Step 3

Name is “Black and White Thumbnail” and click Record. There are some other options, such as assigning a Function Key or changing the set of actions it’s placed, but leave those for this example as we don’t want to assign a function key and want to keep it in the default actions set.

Step 4

Everything we do next will be recorded as a step in the action. While there are many ways to convert an image to black and white, such as going to Image>Adjustments>Black and White, let’s do a simple desaturation for this example. Go to Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation and drag the saturation to the left and click OK.

Step 5

Go to Image>Image Resize and change the Height to 200. As long as the Constrain Proportions is checked, the Width should resize automatically. Click OK.

Step 6

Now that it’s black and white and resized to a thumbnail, we need to add a border. Double-click the Background layer in the Layers palette and click OK to make it a normal layer that we can apply layer styles to. Go to Layer>Layer Style>Stroke. Change the Position to Inside, the Size to 2 and click OK.

Step 7

Now we need to save it with certain settings. Go to File>Save As and save it as a JPEG to a new folder named Thumbnails. Finally, click the Stop Playing/Recording icon on the bottom of the Actions palette. Now we have created an action that converted a color image to a black and white, resizes it to a thumbnail, adds a 2-point interior stroke, and then saves it as a JPEG. Close the file and don’t save changes so we don’t erase the original file.

Step 8

Now that we’ve created the action titled Black and White Thumbnail, go to File>Automate>Batch. Set the Action to Black and White Thumbnail. Click the Choose button near the source folder setting and find and select the folder of images to apply the action to. Click the Choose button near the Destination folder setting and find and select the folder to save the thumbnail images to. I set the source folder to one called Photos and I set the destination folder to one called Thumbnails. Also make sure to check Override Action “Save As” Commands since we already have a save command in the action.

Step 9

Now all seven photos from the source folder, originally full color and large size, have been saved as black and white thumbnails with a border in a separate folder. Remember, instead of editing photos one at time, when we want to edit many of them with the same effects, try actions instead.

Painting

When painting, it is very helpful to have a pen tablet such as the Wacom Bamboo. A pen tablet will allow you to create brush strokes that are pressure sensitive.

Enable Pen Pressure

First, select the Brush tool and click on the "Enable Airbrush Capabilities" button in the option bar near the top of your Photoshop window. In the Brush palette, set the control to Pen Pressure or Pen Tilt (if you have a tilt sensitive pen tablet). If you're using a mouse, set the control to Fade. Fade will simulate natural brush strokes by making the brush size smaller as according to the stroke length.

Face

Painting the face is a simple process using the brush, dodge, and burn tool.

First, use the brush tool to paint a base color. Then, use the burn tool to burn the edges. Finally, select the dodge tool to dodge the highlights.

When you're done, you can use the Smudge tool to refine the edges between the highlights and shadows. In the option bar, you can specify if you only want to smudge the shadows, midtones, or highlights.

Hair

The hair can be created with almost the same technique as the one used for the face. Except this time, you'll be using the smudge tool to create the texture of the hair.

Feathers

Creating the feathers is more complicated. Begin by choosing a base color for the feather. Then, draw the shape of the feather. Using the Smudge tool at 80% strength, smudge from the center out to create the individual feathers. Finish it with the Dodge and Burn tool to create shadows and highlights.

Dress pattern

To create the pattern for the dress, draw a design on a separate layer. Then, duplicate and rotate the pattern to form other shapes.

Twigs

Creating the twigs is simple. Draw the twigs with the brush tool then apply bevel and drop shadow layer styles make it look three dimensional.

Final Results

Step 3

Click-and-drag a selection around the photo. We don't need to remove the white pixels first because they will be transparent in a brush.

Step 4

Go to Edit>Define Brush Preset.

Step 5

Name the brush something that matches the image, and click OK.

Step 6

Now that we have the brush defined, go to File>New and create a new file at 1024 x 768. Click OK.

Step 7

Click the Brush tool on the toolbar.

Step 8

Click the arrow on the Options palette which will bring down the brush styles and size options. Scroll down and click the brush we just created. You can change the size here, or change it by pressing the left and right brackets to make the size smaller or larger. Bring the size of the brush to something much smaller, such as 100.

Step 9

Go to Window>Brushes to bring up the Brushes palette. This palette has a lot of options for the Brush tool. Change the Shape Dynamics to these settings by clicking on Shape Dynamics then sliding the sliders. The brush can rotate to a certain degree as we brush. Try various settings as the preview shows how the brush will look.

Step 10

Change the Scattering to the settings shown here. Scattering does just that—scatter the brush as we brush. Try various settings as the preview shows how the brush will look.

Step 11

Change the Hue Jitter to 12%, because we want to somewhat adjust the hue as the brush is clicked-and-dragged, but within a certain range. Setting it to 100% would cause it to include the entire color range.

Step 12

Now for the fun part: click-and-drag with the Brush tool in a curve.

Step 13

Whatever color is selected in the Foreground in the toolbar is the color of the brush. You can have a jitter between the foreground and background color as well as hue jitter from the foreground color.

Step 14

If you create a second curved brush path like this, click on New Layer on the Layers palette first, so that we can adjust the layer blending mode on the Layers palette. In this example, I adjusted the top layer blending mode to Multiply.

Step 15

Try various photos and converting them to brushes using the same steps here. Brushes with added Shape Dynamics and Scattering can help create a unique background, such as this one created with a photo of Polaroids.

Step 16

This one was created with a scan of tape. Besides creating unique paths, backgrounds are often created with such brushes.

Creating the Light Streaks

Now that we have the light sources identify, we can use it to create the light streaks. The streaks will be created by duplicating the layer and moving it one pixel at a time. This might send shivers down your spine; don't worry, it'll be easy and fun. Really!

Step 6

Before we start, we need determine the opacity of the light streaks. Light streaks with a lower opacity setting will be more transparent and is ideal if you'll be creating very long light streaks. If you'll be creating small light streaks, you can use a higher opacity. Instead of guessing, we'll give it a test. Change the opacity of the top layer to 15% and while holding the Alt key, press the right arrow key about 20 times until a streak of light is created. Using the reference below, adjust the opacity to what you think will work best with your image.

Step 7

Delete all the layers that were created so that you have 2 layers remaining. With Photoshop CS2, you can do this easily by selecting the layers the same way you select multiple files (Using the Ctrl or Shift key) and pressing the delete key.

Step 8

You've probably already figured out how to create the light streaks by now. But before I let you experiment, i need you to download a set of Photoshop actions that will let you zoom in/out and rotate left/right. Download and save the controls action to your computer then load it into Photoshop:

Loading the Action

1. Open the Actions pallet (Window> Actions).
2. Click on the flyout menu located on the top right of the Actions pallet and select "Load Actions".
3. Locate and select the action file then click Load.
4. The Controls action set should now be visible in your Actions pallet. There should be F keys assigned for each action. If you don't see any F keys assigned, it probably means that you have those keys reserved for other actions. To assign a different key to run the action, select the action, click on the flyout menu, select Action Options and change the Function Key.

   

   The function key is shown beside the action name.

Step 9

Use the images below as a reference to controlling the light streaks.

Tip: This is a CPU & RAM intensive process so we recommend closing any unnecessary programs before proceeding.

Use these commands to control the direction of the light streaks.

Use these commands to control the zoom and rotation of the light streaks.

This is an animated sequence of the light streaks I created.

Animating the Light Streaks: Creating the Frames

To create the animation, we need to create the individual frames as layers.

Step 10

First, we need to determine the amount of frames we want in the animation. More frames will create a smoother and longer animation but will also take longer to complete and create a larger file size. For this tutorial, I will be creating an animation with around 10 frames. Because my animation will only have 10 frames, I can merge the 115 layers into 10 layers.

Step 11

With some simple math, we'll find out how many layers we need to convert to one. To do this, take the number of layers the light streaks was created with and divide it by the number of frames. For myself, this will be around 12 layers (115 layers ÷ 10 frames). Now select the top layer and press Ctrl+E to merge down with the answer to the mathematical equation as the number of times. For myself, I will press Ctrl+E twelve times to convert twelve layers into one. Select the layer below and do the same thing until all the layers have been merged

Step 12

Hide all the layers except for the bottom two layers.

Step 13

Select the second layer and press Shift+Ctrl+Alt+E to create a new layer from the visible image. Select/activate the layer above, click on the eye to make it visible, and press Shift+Ctrl+Alt+E. Repeat this for the rest of the layers above.

Step 14

Delete all the old layers except for Background.

Animating the Light Streaks: Animating with ImageReady

Now that we have the frames created, we're ready to switch to ImageReady to start the animating process.

Step 15

Send the document to ImageReay (File> Edit in ImageReady or Shift+Ctrl+M).

You may also press the Photoshop to ImageReady button in the toolbox.

Step 16

Open the Animation pallet (Window> Animation). Click the flyout menu on the top right corner and select "Make Frames From Layers". Your animation pallet should now contain frames created from the layers.

Step 17

Save the image. To save the image as an animated GIF file, change the Format in the Optimize pallet (Window> Optimize) to GIF and adjust the settings. Because the animation I created will be used on the web, I used the following properties:
Format: GIF
Colors: 64
Dither Method: None
Use the "Save Optimize As" tool (File> Save Optimized As) to save the image.

Final Results

There are countless effects that can be created with this technique. Experiment with different combination to discover new exposure blur animations.

Step 3 – Blend the clouds

Now we’ll make the sky transparent so that only the clouds are visible. Instead of using a mask, we’ll use the blending options. This will help keep the file size small and reduce the number of layers in your document. Right click on the layer of the clouds then choose Blending Options.

In the blending options, move the black input slider towards the right until the sky disappears.

Hold the alt key on your keyboard and drag the black input slider all the way towards the right. The hard edges of the clouds should disappear and the clouds should have some transparency. Don’t click OK yet.

In the same layer style window, click on the Color Overlay option. Choose white as the color then set the blend mode to color. This is a simple non-destructive trick to desaturate a layer using layer styles. Click OK to apply the changes.

Here’s what the image looks like right now. You have just blended the cloud into the background without using any layer masks. We’re not 100% complete with blending the clouds in but we’re going to pause here and continue after we create a mask of the model.

Step 4 – Create an inverse selection of the model

Hide the layer with the clouds then select the background layer.

Select the magic wand tool then set the tolerance to 0 so that the black sweater won’t be included in the selection.

Click on the black area to create a selection of the background. You’ll get most of the background selected.

You can continue to add to the selection using the lasso tool. Or, if you’re using Photoshop CS3 or newer, switch to the quick selection tool, to easily add the bottom of the background into the selection.

If you’re using Photoshop CS3 or newer, you can use the refine edge tool to enhance the selection. Simply select any one of the selection tools then click on the “Refine Edge” button on the option bar.

Step 5 – Create a layer mask of the selection on a group

By applying the mask in a group instead of a layer, we can simply place any layer we want in this group and it will only be visible behind the model. This saves us from having unnecessary layer masks.

Select the layer of the clouds then click on the button in the layers palette.

With the group selected, click on the button to add a layer mask. It will automatically apply your selected area into the layer mask. Anything we put inside this group will appear around the model.

Now we’ll check to see if there are any flaws to the mask. Add a color fill layer with a contrasting color such a red. To do this, select the layer with the clouds then choose Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color.

Step 6 – Refine the layer mask

Zoom into 100% view to find any flaws such as this one on the shoe.

Select the layer mask in the layer palette then use the brush and eraser to refine the edges. Use the brush tool to erase the background or the eraser tool to add. In the option bar of the brush and eraser tool, you can change the brush hardness. Use a hardness of 50% or more for sharper edges.

When you’re done refining the mask, you can delete the color fill layer and make the layer with the clouds visible.

Step 7 – Complete the blending of the clouds

Add a layer mask to the layer with the clouds. To do this, select the layer then choose Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All.

Select the eraser tool. Right click anywhere in the document window to bring up the brush options. Use a very large brush size with a hardness of 0%.

Make sure that the layer mask of the cloud layer is selected. To select the layer mask, click on the layer mask thumbnail in the layers palette. It should have a border around the layer mask to indicate that it is selected. With the eraser tool, erase the bottom of the clouds so that it fades gradually.

Select the move tool then move the clouds lower so that it is just above the spotlight.

Step 8 - Place the city background

Before you can use the place command, you need to have the layer mask deselected. Click on the layer thumbnail of the clouds layer to deselect the layer mask.

Choose File > Place. Browse for the photo of the city then click OK. Scale and position the image like shown below then press enter on your keyboard to apply the changes.

Move the layer with the city background below the layer with the clouds.

Step 9 – Desaturate the city background

First, we’ll make the layer grayscale using the same technique we used earlier with the clouds layer. Right click on the layer of the city background then choose blending options.

Apply the settings as shown below then click OK.

Step 10 – Fade the bottom edge of the layer with the city background

If you look closely at the bottom of the city edge layer there is a hard edge. To fix this, we’ll fade the edge with a layer mask.

With the layer of the city background selected, click on the to add a layer mask.

Select the eraser tool then right click anywhere in the document window. Use a large brush with a hardness of 0%.

Make sure that your layer mask is selected. It should have a white border around the layer mask thumbnail to indicate that it is selected. With the eraser tool, erase the bottom of the edge so that the hard edge is gone.

Here’s the before and after of fading the bottom edge.

Here’s what our image looks like so far.

Step 11 – Add abstract colors to the background

Create a new layer above the clouds layer then set the blending mode to color. Now we can paint in this layer with any color and it will only affect the color of the layers below.

In the swatches palette (Window > Swatches), click on the menu then choose any one of the PANTONE CMYK swatches.

Now you have the yellow, magenta, and cyan colors easily accessible form your swatches palette.

Select the brush tool. On the option bar at the top, you can select the brush size, hardness, and opacity. I recommend starting with a 50% opacity to paint.

Select any of the first three colors in the swatches palette then begin painting.

You can overlap two colors to create other colors such as teal. Remember that you can adjust the size, hardness, and opacity of your brush for different results. Here is what we ended up with and how we got the results.

Step 12 – Add a swirling beam of light

Create a new layer inside a new group. This group will be used to store all the special effects we’ll be adding on later. Select Group 1 then click on the button to create a new group above it. Then, click on the button to add a new layer inside Group 2.

Select the pen tool then apply the settings in the option bar as shown in the image below.

Create a curved path similar to the image below.

Select the brush tool and adjust the settings. Use the settings as shown below but adjust the master diameter setting to change the size of the brush. The size of this brush will determine the thickness of the beam of light. We used a brush size of 30 px on the high resolution file used for this tutorial. But if you are working on a low resolution file (ex. 800 x 600 pixels), then you should use a smaller brush size such as 7 pixels.

Make sure that you have the new layer in Group 2 selected. In the paths palette (Window > Paths), right click on the work path then choose stroke path.

In the stroke path dialog, select brush from the drop down menu and enable simulate pressure.

This is what our image looks like so far with the swirling beam of light. However, it doesn’t look like it is swirling around the model. In the next step, we’ll mask out certain areas to make it look like it is swirling around the model.

Step 13 – Create a mask for the swirling beam of light

Hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard then click on the layer mask of group one.

Select the layer with the beam of light then click on the button to add a layer mask. It should apply the selected area as the layer mask.

Make sure that you have the new layer mask selected. Select the brush tool the paint in white over the areas shown in the image below. This will make the beam of light look like it is swirling around the model.

Step 14 – Create a lens flare

Create a new layer as the top layer in Group 2 then fill it with black.

Choose Filter > Render > Lens Flare. Set the brightness to 100% and choose movie prime as the lens type. Adjust the flare center to get a flare that you like then click OK.

Choose Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation then apply the settings as shown below. If you are using Photoshop CS3 or older, enable the colorize option first then adjust the hue and saturation settings.

Step 14 – Duplicate and position the lens flare

First, change the blend mode of the lens flare layer to screen.

Select the move tool then reposition the lens flare to models right top hand.

While holding down the Alt key on your keyboard, drag the lens flare to the models left hand. This will create a duplicate of the lens flare.

Step 15 – Mask the lens flare

We want to make the second lens flare appear as behind the models hand. To do this, we’ll mask it out using a layer mask. Click on the button to add a layer mask.

Select the eraser tool then use a large brush with 0% hardness.

Erase over the hand and arm so that the lens flare looks like it is behind the hand.

Here’s the before and after results.

Step 16 – Merge the lens flare layers

Because we will not need to reposition the lens flare anymore, we can merge them together. If you simply merge the two layers right now, the layer mask will be lost. To preserve the layer mask, move the layer without the layer mask up so that it is on the top. Then, choose Layer > Merge Down or Ctrl+E.

A dialog will appear asking if you want to apply or preserve the layer mask. Select preserve.

Now the two layers are merged and the layer mask is still there.

Step 17 – Import the image of the shattered glass

Choose File > Place, browse for the image of the shattered glass, then click OK. Press enter on your keyboard to exit out of the transform tool.

Step 18 – Add transparency to the glass layer

Using the same technique used earlier, we’ll make the dark area of the layer transparent so that it blends into the photo. Right click on the layer with the glass then choose Blending Options.

At the bottom of the window in the blend if options, drag the black input sliders towards the right until the background disappears.

Hold the Alt key on your keyboard then drag the right black input slider towards the right until the edges are softened.

Change the blending mode of the current layer to luminosity. This will allow the color from the layers below to be seen through the glass.

Step 19 – Prepare the layers

Duplicate the layer with the glass (Layer > Duplicate Layer)

Hide the other layer by clicking on the icon.

Step 20 – Distort the first glass layer

With the current glass layer selected, choose Edit > Free Transform to use the transform tool. Hold down your left mouse button anywhere inside the boundary border then drag it to the models left ankle.

While holding down the Alt key on your keyboard, drag the upper middle handle downwards so that your shattered glass looks like the image below.

Rotate the layer like shown below. To rotate, position your cursor outside the bounding border then drag to rotate.

While holding down the Ctrl key on your keyboard, drag the bottom left handle towards the bottom left like shown below.

While holding down the Ctrl key, drag the bottom right handle towards the upper left like shown below. Press enter on your keyboard to apply the changes.

Step 21 – Distort the second glass layer

Select the other shattered glass layer then enable back the visibility by clicking where the icon should be.

Like before, we’ll use the transform tool to distort the layer. Choose Edit > Free Transform then position the center of the shattered glass at the models other ankle.

While holding down the alt key, drag the upper middle handle towards the bottom to shrink the layer like shown in the image below.

Rotate the layer like shown below by clicking anywhere outside the boundary border and dragging.

While holding down the Ctrl key on your keyboard, drag the top left corner downwards. Press enter on your keyboard to apply the changes.

Step 22 – Swap the layers

Switch the position of the two shattered glass layers. Move the bottom one above the top one. This is because the shattered glass on the models left ankle is supposed to appear in front of his left ankle.

Here’s a before and after comparison of switching the layers. You can see that the shattered glass doesn’t appear to be wrapping around the models legs. We’ll fix this with a layer mask in the next step.

Step 23 – Add masks to the shattered glass layers

Select the second layer with the shattered glass then click on the button to add a layer mask.

Zoom in to 100% and use the move tool to position the center of the shattered glass on the leg.

Select the eraser tool, right click anywhere in the document window, then set the hardness to 100%.

Erase the upper part of the shattered glass that touches the leg and the beam of light like shown below. Now it looks like the shattered glass is wrapped around the leg but not in front of the beam of light.

We’ll repeat this for the other leg. Select the other layer then click on the to add a layer mask.

Like before, erase the upper area of the shattered glass that touches the leg as shown below.

Step 24 – Make the beam of light glow

To finish this photo manipulation, we’ll make the swirling beam of light glow. Right click on the layer with the beam of light then choose blending options.

Select the outer glow layer style then adjust the size until you see a glow on the beam of light.

Select a color that you like for the glow.

Next, enable the inner glow layer style and zoom in so that you can see the beam of light. Press Ctrl+ to zoom in and drag in the document window to reposition. Set the blend mode to normal.

Set the color to the same or similar color you used in your outer glow layer style then adjust the size so that the inner glow is more visible.

Final Results