GAME

SET
FETCH
ACE YOUR PHOTOSHOP
COMPOSITES!

PLUS

OVER AN HOUR
OF EXPERT VIDEO
LESSONS!

WATCH THE VIDEO

http://tiny.cc/28htsx

GAME
SET
FETCH

GAME
SET
FETCH

COMPOSITES!

ACE YOUR PHOTOSHOP

COMPOSITES!

DOWNLOAD THE
PROJECT FILES
To download this
issue's iles, type
the following link
into your web
browser on your
PC or Mac:

PLUS

OVER AN HOUR
OF EXPERT VIDEO
LESSONS!

PLUS

OVER AN HOUR
OF EXPERT VIDEO
LESSONS!

http://tiny.cc/8bhfcy

Welcome to issue 64 of Practical Photoshop!

If you enjoy the issue, why not subscribe and get
a whole year for just $19.99?
This months cover takes inspiration from Sebastian
Magnanis wonderful dog montages and with
Wimbledon upon us, we couldnt resist a tennisthemed makeover. Find out how to make your own
fantastical images like this with our ultimate guide
toPhotoshop compositing.

FIND US HERE
http://bit.ly/practweet
http://bit.ly/pracface
Also available on:

http://tiny.cc/1vlrsx

http://tiny.cc/ewlrsx

James Paterson, Editor t james.paterson@futurenet.com

www.digitalcameraworld.com

http://tiny.cc/9ulrsx

Photoshop
News

Creative
composites

Spread
the word

Puppet Warp
efects

Levitate your
subjects

Q Content-Aware
Cropping and other
new CC features

Q Make montages
like the cover with
this months feature

Q Get creative with

text efects for a
cool wordy portrait

Q Make people
sprout wings with
warp and mask skills

Q Make friends
and family ly with
this simple trick

NEWS

NEW PHOTOSHOP
CC UPDATES
The latest version of Photoshop CC
brings several welcome new features

CONTENT-AWARE
CROPPING
A new feature for the
Crop Tool helps to ill in
the empty parts around the
edge of the frame that often
occur when you straighten

a wonky horizon. The new

Content-Aware Crop will
automatically ill in any empty
areas by analyzing the rest
of the image and generating
new pixels to ill the space.
Of course, as with the
current Content-Aware tools,

its more efective on some

images than others. As youd
expect, it works very well on
images with simple details
around the edges, like plain
patches of sky and land, but
it may not be so efective on
images with iner detail around
the edges of the frame.
As is often the case with
new features, its more of a
worklow improvement than
an oh-my-gosh-wow-this-isamazing new thing, as you can
easily get to the same point in
three quick steps (select empty
areas with the Magic Wand;
expand the selection slightly;
Use Content-Aware Fill). But its
still a welcome improvement to
the Crop Tool, and one that will
come in handy when images
have gone on the fritz.

FACIAL-AWARE LIQUIFY
The Liquify command
has long been one of
the best tools for pushing
pixels into new shapes. Now
its been given a new feature

that automatically detects

faces and lets you reshape
the features while keeping
everything else in proportion.
How handy this is will depend
on how often you need to
reshape faces, tweak smiles,

adjust jawlines, enlarge eyes

and complete other retouching.
Its clever but, as with the
other Liquify settings, its
usually best to keep the edits
subtle unless, that is, youre
using it for comedy efect.

MATCH FONT

Not sure what the font in an image is? The new Match Font feature should be able to identify
itforyou and even download it if its part of Adobes extensive Typekit library.

This new feature could

prove useful any time
you need to identify or try to
match a certain font, without
knowing what the original font
is actually called. Simply go to
Type > Match Font and draw
a box around the words, and
the command will search both
your font library and Adobes
Typekit online font library to
ind the right font, or suggest
something similar. If a similar
font is found in Typekit, you
can click the Sync button to add
it to your Creative Cloud library.

Master the art of

convincing Photoshop
composites and
learn how to make our
cover image with this
comprehensive guide
Of all Photoshop projects,
compositing images
into one fantastic frame is
perhaps the most enjoyable
and creative pursuit. Here
well show you how to shoot,
build and inish of convincing
Photoshop composites like our
cover image.Weve broken it
down into six diferent stages:
capture, selections, reinement,
masks, compositing and
inishing touches. At each
stage youll ind in-depth
advice and videos on the
tools and setting used.
With Wimbledon
currently gripping the
sporting world, weve
created a shaggy,
McEnroe-inspired
underdog. But you can
use a similar worklow
to make all kinds of
amazing composites
go wherever your
imagination takes you!

DOWNLOAD THE PROJECT FILES HERE http://tiny.cc/8bhfcy ON YOUR PC OR MAC

STAGE 1: CAPTURE

Getting things right in-camera makes piecing

thecompositetogether so much easier...
The irst stage in making a montage is either shooting or choosing the images you
want to combine. If you have the opportunity, its a lot easier if you can shoot fresh
images: then you can plan how the montage will come together at the shooting stage.

TIP 1 LIGHT
CONSISTENTLY

It makes things much easier if

each element in the composite
is shot under similar lighting
conditions or at least has the
light coming from the same
direction. The quality of the light
in particular the color temperature
and whether its hard or soft
should also be consistent across
the frames.

TIP 2 CLEAN
BACKGROUNDS

Elements photographed
against a clean, uniform
background are much easier
to cut out. So if you know
this is the plan, use a plain
wall or sheet for a backdrop.
This way, it only takes a few
moments to select the plain
color later on. Any space will
do a patch of blue wall in
a small kitchen was enough
for our photo shoot.

TIP 3 THINK
ABOUT THE SEAMS

Often its the joins and

seams in a composite that
are hardest to get right, so
plan out how one object will
connect to another. Here,
holding the white shirt up to
the dogs fur gives us a little
segment we may add in later
to make the join look more
natural. Whether you end up
using all the shots or not, its
better to take more than you
need in this kind of project.

STAGE 2: SELECTIONS
Learn how to isolate parts of
your images in seconds with
Photoshops powerful array
ofselection tools
Once youve captured the
images for a montage, the
next stage in the process is to cut
out the parts youd like to combine.
Now is when your selection
skills come to the fore. Byusing
Photoshops powerful array of
selection tools, we can isolate
partsof our images for further
edits. Heres how

IN DEPTH...
THE QUICK SELECTION TOOL

WATCH THIS BONUS VIDEO

http://tiny.cc/5vefcy

WATCH THE VIDEO

http://tiny.cc/2gfcy

MAGIC WAND

This dog hair would be a nightmare to select

manually, but a couple of clicks with the
Magic Wand picks up the background in
seconds. Uncheck Contiguous and hold Shift
while clicking to add to the initial selection,
then invert it (Select > Inverse) to select
the subject instead. For greater control,
tryisolating the background with Color
Range (Select > Color Range).

QUICK SELECTION TOOL

The Quick Selection Tool excels at isolating

complicated objects in fact, its our go-to
tool for most selections when making
composites. Paint over an object and the
tool will seek out the edges. If it goes wrong,
hold Alt and paint to subtract. As you add
and subtract, the tool learns more about
the colors you want to target and performs
withgreater accuracy.

IN DEPTH...
THE PEN TOOL

WATCH THIS BONUS VIDEO

http://tiny.cc/1uefcy

QUICK MASK

After making a selection, heres a useful

feature that lets you remove or add extra
components to adjust the selection. Press Q
to toggle Quick Mask mode on or of. It puts a
pink overlay over unselected parts. Now you
can paint with the Brush Tool set to white or
black to add or subtract parts of the image
from the selection, or paint grey to add
areasof semi-transparency.

PEN TOOL SELECTIONS

Clever selection tools like Quick Selection,

Color Range and Focus Area are great timesavers, but sometimes a manual selection
is the only way to get the job done. Its
especially useful with clean, hard-edged
objects like the racket handle here. Click
toadd anchor points, and drag for curved
lines. Once complete, right-click thepath
andchoose Make Selection.

STAGE 3:
REFINE EDGE
Improve your selections and
make complicated cutouts the
easy way with Photoshops
Refine Edge command
After using selection
tools to isolate part of
an image, the next stage is to
improve the selection to make
it as perfect as possible. Theres
only one tool for the job here:
the Reine Edge command. As
youll see, it houses several
useful features in one

WATCH THE VIDEO

http://tiny.cc/qhfcy

TIP 1 OPEN REFINE EDGE

To enter Reine Edge, either click the button

in the options bar when any selection tool
is being used, or alternatively go to Select
> Reine Edge. Begin by checking Smart
Radius, then increase the Radius slightly.
Check ShowRadius to view exactly what
isincludedin the area of reinement.

TIP 2 EXPAND THE RADIUS

The key to picking up all the ine detail in

the fur here is to paint over the area with
the Reine Radius Tool. This expands the
area along the selection edge in which the
command will seek out similar pixels, so it
allows you to grab all that extra background
hiding in-between the hairs.

IN DEPTH...
REFINE EDGE

TIP 3 FINE-TUNE CONTRAST

WATCH THIS BONUS VIDEO

http://tiny.cc/hxefcy

Press F to cycle through diferent views, assessing your work against diferent backgrounds.
Sometimes adding a touch of Contrast and negative Shift Edge can tighten the edge around
complicated hairs and fuzzy details. Once done, set Output to Layer Mask and click OK.

PHOTOSHOP ANATOMY: THE REFINE EDGE BOX EXPLAINED

1 VIEW MODE

need to erase parts

of theradius.

wider in problem
selection for a curvier
Start by choosing
areas to direct the
inish. Feather will
a view that shows
commands attention
soften the edge.
the best contrast
4 SHOW RADIUS
there, and narrow it
Contrast will add
between subject
Check Show Radius
along simpler parts
deinition and create
and background. You for a useful view that
ofthe edge until
a harder edge. Shift
can press F to cycle
shows exactly which
youre happy.
Edge allows you
between them all, or
to push the edge
J to toggle the Radius
inwards or outwards.
View on or of.

2 EDGE DETECTION
The Radius slider lets
you expand the area
of reinement along
the edge in which the
command will include
or exclude pixels.
Checking Smart
Radius will make the
radius contract or
expand along the
edge, depending
on the object. For
a quick, precise
selection check
Smart Radius then
increase Radius until
the edge improves.

If colors from the

original background
are showing in the
fringes, try checking
Decontaminate
Colors. This ills the
fringe area with color
sampled from nearby
pixels. As its a nonreversible process,
the tool sets the
output to New Layer
with Layer Mask.

2
5

7 OUTPUT

3 REFINE RADIUS TOOL

This brush-based
tool lets you handpaint a radius, ideal
for increasing the
area of reinement
to cover tricky areas
with lots of gaps
in-between, like hair
or fur. Hold Alt if you

6 DECONTAMINATE
COLORS

areas of the edge

5 ADJUST EDGE
are being reined by
These four sliders
the command. You
allow you to make
can then paint with basic changes to the
the Reine Radius
selection. Smooth
Tool to expand the
will take the edge of
area. Make the radius jagged parts of the

You can leave this

as Selection to
use a marching
ants selection.
But we often set
this to Layer Mask,
which converts the
selection to a mask
(hiding everything
else on the layer);
New Layer, which
copies it to a new
layer; or New Layer
with Layer Mask,
which does both.

STAGE 4: LAYER MASKS

Master the most essential feature for all kinds of compositing
Once the selection is as perfect as you can make it, the next step is to change it into
aLayer Mask. This way, you control exactly whats visible or hidden. It might be that,
ifthe selection is good enough to begin with, you neednt do anything to the mask at all.
Butif needs be, you can go in and ine-tune whats revealed or not...

WATCH THE VIDEO

http://tiny.cc/1hfcy

WHAT IS A
LAYER MASK?

A layer mask is simply a

function that lets you hide
portions of a layer, thereby
revealing the content of the
layers below. As such, masks
are hugely useful for making
composites: they mean you
can piece together diferent
objects without having to
resort to destructive tools
like the Eraser.

HOW DO I
MAKE ONE?

WHICH
THUMBNAIL?

Click the Add Mask icon in the When you add a mask, a little
Layers Panel, then simply
mask thumbnail appears
start painting with the Brush in the Layers Panel next to
Tool set to black to hide parts
the thumbnail that shows
of a layer. If youve already
the layer contents. The key
made a selection from part
is to keep track of what
of the layer, click the mask
is highlighted: if the layer
icon to convert the selection
thumbnail is highlighted
to a mask. Alternatively, go
rather than the mask,
through Reine Edge and set painting black will simply add
Output to Layer Mask.
black pixels onto the image.

7 TOP TIPS FOR

LAYER MASKS
PAINTING ON MASKS
While painting on
masks with the
Brush Tool, press D
to set colors to black
and white; black
hides, white reveals.
Press X to lip
between the two.

ADD A FULL MASK

Alt-click the Add
Mask icon in the
Layers Panel for
a black mask that
completely hides the
layer (or highlight
a white mask
thumbnail and press
Cmd/Ctrl+I to invert
it to black).

VIEW A MASK
You can Alt-click a
layer mask thumbnail
to toggle a view on
or of that shows the
layer mask instead of
the image.

PAINT WITH OVERLAY

When youre painting
in white or black on
amask, try setting
the Brush Blend

Mode to Overlay.
This enables you to
gently tidy up any
messy edges you
come across.

COPY MASKS
Hold Alt and drag a
layer mask thumbnail
from one layer to
another to copy it
over, or Cmd/Ctrlclick the thumbnail
to load a selection

REFINE MASK
Right-click a mask
thumbnail and
choose Reine Mask
to access a nearidentical set of
controls to Reine
Edge, which let you
improve the mask.

UNLINK
Click the little link
between layer and
mask thumbnails in
the Layers Panel to
toggle it of. This lets
you move the layer
contents or mask
independently of
one another.

STAGE 5: COMPOSITING
Learn how to fit all the pieces together
Now youve managed to cut out all the separate elements that will go into your
montage, its time to bring them together. This can be kind of like itting together
ajigsaw puzzle. Its where your skills at transforming and positioning come to the fore.

THE
MOVE TOOL

COMBINING
IMAGES

The Move Tool is essential for

positioning and transforming
diferent shapes into a composite.
Grab the tool and check Auto-Select
Layer in the tool options at the top,
so that you can highlight layers by
clicking over an image belonging to
that layer. Check Show Transform
Controls too for a bounding box
that gives you quick access to
transforming options.

There are a few ways to copy

diferent images into one document.
We like to drag them across image
windows with the Move Tool (or up
to one tab then down into another).
Alternatively, right-click a layer,
choose Duplicate and select a
diferent image in the Destination
drop-down. Other options are to use
File > Place Embedded, or simply
tocopy and paste.

WATCH THE VIDEO

TRANSFORMING
LAYERS

As you position all the diferent

parts, youll need to use Transform
to rotate, resize and sometimes
warp layers. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+T or
(ifenabled) click the bounding box
to transform a layer. You can rightclick while transforming for all the
diferent options like Warp and
Skew. While resizing, hold down
Shift to keep the original image
proportions, or hold down Alt to
resize from the centre point.

http://tiny.cc/1rfcy

SMART
OBJECTS

Resizing a pixel layer to make it

smaller will actually delete some of
the pixels from that element which
is ine if you want to keep it smaller,
but not so good if you change your
mind and want to make it bigger
again. To safeguard this, you can
right-click the layer and choose
Convert to Smart Object. Now you
can transform an element as much as
you like without a loss in quality, and
also use ilters non-destructively.

01

First go to the
shirt image:
thisll be the base
for all the other
efects as you
bring in diferent
dog body parts.

02

Next you
can select a
portion of the wall
and copy it to a
new layer. Enlarge
it, then drag it to
the bottom.

03

Now bring
in the cutout dog head
by dragging it
across with the
Move Tool, then
transform it into
place by the collar.

04

Highlight
the mask
thumbnail. Paint
black to hide the
parts of the dog
you dont want,
revealing the shirt.

05

The left of
the head is
tricky, as the dogs
body makes it hard
to cut out. Copy
over a portion of
the right side.

06

Next, ill in
the space
around the neck
area. Select a piece
of dog fur from a
shot, drag it in and
place below the
shirt layer.

07

Bring in a
paw, position
it and convert it
to a Smart Object.
Add a mask to hide
the top so it goes
under the shirt.

08

You can use

Puppet Warp
(Edit > Puppet
Warp) to reshape
the arm by plotting
and dragging pins,
creating a bend at
the elbow.

09

Duplicate
the arm
layer and discard
the Puppet Warp
ilter you applied,
then lip the layer
and place it on the
other side.

10

Cut outand
bring inthe
ball, transforming
it to resize it. Drag
it below the arm
layer so it looks like
its being held.

11

To reduce the
racket handle
length, bring in
another handle.
Rotate it to match
the angle of the
existing one. Drag
the layer below
the paw layer.

12

Finally, bring
in an image
of blue sky,
positioning the
layer above the
plain backdrop
andlowering
Opacity a little.

STAGE 6: FINISHING TOUCHES

Bring everything together into a convincing whole with

a few simple retouching tricks and tonal tweaks
Once all the
pieces are
in place, it helps to
make the scene look
realistic if you add a
few efects on top of
everything. Think of
all the characteristics
of an image tones,
noise, depth of ield
and then apply those
same features to
the composite, and
everything will soon
gel together

WATCH THE VIDEO

http://tiny.cc/bljfcy

DOWNLOAD THE PROJECT FILES HERE http://tiny.cc/8bhfcy ON YOUR PC OR MAC

TIP 1 CLONING LAYERS

TIP 2 SHADOWS

There will inevitably be a few messy

To add shadows, make new layers above the
patches that need tidying up. Heres where parts of the image you want to afect, then
the Clone Tool comes in. Either set the tool
paint with black at a low Opacity. Here we
to Sample All Layers and make a new layer
want to add a shadow on the racket handle
at the top of the stack; or add a layer just
so it looks as if the dog is holding it. Drag a
above the part you want to ix and set the
new layer above the handle layer, then grab
tool to sample Current And Below so it
the Brush Tool, set it to black at 20% Opacity,
ignores all the layers above it in the stack.
and paint over the handle to darken it.

TIP 3 TONING

Once all the pieces are in place, add a few efects on top of everything for a united look.
Youcan use any method you like for toning: we like Color Lookup Adjustment Layers, the
Camera Raw Filter and the Nik Collection plugins. Here weve used Analog Efex Pro from
theNik Collection (now free) to add a vintage efect. First make a merged layer at the top
ofthe stack with Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E, then add the efect to the layer.

SPREAD
THE WORD
Wordsmith James
Paterson explains how
to cover a portrait with
a passage of text for
a striking yet easily
achievable efect
From adistance, this image
looks like anyother blackand-white portrait, but acloser
look revealsachaotic jumble of
sentences thatappear torise and
fall, matching the faces contours.
It looks complex, but the efect
issurprisingly easy to pull of.
Whats more, besides the striking
visuals, it also lets you run with a
theme depending on your choice
of words we pasted in a therapythemed passage, but you can use
whatever you fancy.
The most efective Photoshop
tool for your text-based portrait
isthe Displace Filter. This shifts
pixels one way or another to give
the illusion of depth, based on
asource image.
If you want to use your own
shot for this efect, ideally choose
one with a simple dark backdrop
so that the head stands out.
Directional lighting over the face
will also help to give depth to
the efect, perhaps from a single
light (as we used here) or even
awindow. Heres how its done

PROJECT INFO
Youll learn
How to cover a portrait with words
using theDisplace ilter
Youll need
Photoshop CC

Itll take
15 minutes

WATCH THE VIDEO

http://tiny.cc/gsefcy

DOWNLOAD THE PROJECT FILES HERE http://tiny.cc/8bhfcy ON YOUR PC OR MAC

CREATE A WORDY PORTRAIT

01

CONVERT
TOMONO

Open the portrait . Go to

the Layers panel, click
the Create Adjustment
Layer icon and choose
Black and White. Tweak
the tones you dont
want the skin too
bright, so lower the
Reds. Once done, press
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E
to merge a new layer.

02

BLUR AND SAVE

Go to Filter > Blur

> Gaussian Blur and set
Radius toabout 20px.
Next, go to File > Save
As and save acopy
named map, making
sure the format is set
toPhotoshop Document
(PSD). Once done, click
the eye icon in the
Layers panel to hide
theblurred layer.

03

ADD YOUR
WORDS

Choose some text

then highlight and copy
it with Cmd/Ctrl+C. Back
in Photoshop, grab the
Horizontal Type Tool
and drag a text box
from top left to bottom
right. Choose a blocky
font in the tool options,
then paste the text
with Cmd/Ctrl+V.

CREATE A WORDY PORTRAIT

04

APPLY DISPLACE

Use the Character

Panel (go to Window>
Character) to alterthe
leading and sizetomake
the text morecompact.
Go to Filter>Distort>
Displace, choose
Convert to Smart
Object; set both
Horizontal and Vertical
to 10px. Click OK and
load your saved PSD ile.

05

SELECT AND FILL

Hold Cmd/Ctrl
and click the thumbnail
on the text layer to load
the words as a selection,
then click the eye icon to
hide the layer. Next, click
the Create New Layer
icon in the Layers Panel.
Go to Select > Inverse
then go to Edit > Fill.
Choose Contents: Black
and click OK.

06

BOOST THE
CONTRAST

Click the Create

Adjustment Layer icon
and choose Curves.
Plot an S-curve by
dragging one pointup
near the top right, and
a second down near
the bottom left. The
more pronounced the
S-shape is, the greater
the contrast.

MAKE A MONTAGE WITH

MASKS AND PUPPET WARP
Discover how to create a winged igure with
afew simple montage skills and Puppet Warp
The Puppet Warp tool lets
you push and pull objects
into new shapes. If youve ever
used Liquify, this does a similar job,
but the pins and mesh approach

it takes makes it better suited

to changing the overall shape of
an object, like the wings in the
composite here. Watch the video
for the full walkthrough.

WATCH THE VIDEO

http://tiny.cc/sffcy

PROJECT INFO
Youll learn
How to reshape objects
using Puppet Warp, and
make a composite image
Youll need
Photoshop CS6 or above
Itll take
20 minutes

DOWNLOAD THE PROJECT FILES HERE http://tiny.cc/8bhfcy ON YOUR PC OR MAC

BEFORE

COME FLY WITH ME

Levitate your subjects with digital trickery.
James Paterson shows you how to lift of
Levitating portraits have a
magical, mysterious quality
that forces the viewer to look
twice but theres nothing difficult
about this type of visual trickery.
All you need is a tripod and, if you
like, a few simple props. Well show
you how to plan your shots so that
theyre easy to combine later in
Photoshop something that, with
a little direction, even a complete
Photoshop novice can do.

Although you might label it as

aPhotoshop efect, the bulk of
the work here is done in-camera.
As long as everything is captured
under the same conditions, the
digital editing need only take a few
minutes. If you want to take things
slightly further, you can even
reposition the person elsewhere
in the scene, as we did here to give
our ballooning Hollie here a little
more air.

WATCH THE VIDEO

http://tiny.cc/n1ifcy

PROJECT INFO
Youll learn
How to prepare a simple
photo shoot to take all the
shots youll need; and how
to edit a composite shot to
make a levitation efect
Youll need
5SJQPE
t
1IPUPTIPQ

Itll take
One hour

DOWNLOAD THE PROJECT FILES HERE http://tiny.cc/8bhfcy ON YOUR PC OR MAC

TOP TIPS GET THE DETAILS RIGHT...

01

THINK LOCATIONS

When it comes to choosing a

location, pretty much anywhere indoors
or outdoors will do. Simple scenes will
probably work best, as you need the
space to let the efect breathe.

03

WATCH THE SKIES

Consistent lighting is key. If youre

shooting outside, watch for the sun
dipping in and out. Itll be harder to match
up a shady shot with a sunny one, so wait
until the sun goes back in.

02

WIND IN THE HAIR

We certainly didnt need any extra

wind on this blustery hillside, but if the air
is still, a bit of movement in the hair can
add to the efect. Try using a relector or
boardto fan the hair.

04

GO SHALLOW

A shallow depth of ield will draw

attention to the subject, blur out the
background and give the image more of a
dreamy feel. Use a wide aperture, such as
f/5.6, and a longer lens to emphasize blur.

HOW TO GET THAT FLOATY FEELING

01

KEEP THE CAMERA STILL

If everything is captured in
alignment, things are much easier to
piece together later on, so a tripod
isamust. A low camera angle will help
to emphasize thespace between the
subject and the ground.

03

EXTRA BODY PARTS

Shoot extra frames for parts of the

body that were in contact with the perch.
For example, if your subject is standing,
irst capture them on one leg, then the
other, so you have two dangling legs to
work with.

02

POSE THE SUBJECT

Perch your subject on a stool or

ladder. Pay particular attention to the
point at which they contact the perch.
Make sure that clothes stay loose, and
that the stool or ladder doesnt obscure
any part of the body.

04

SHOOT THE EMPTY SCENE

Now move the subject and their

perch out of the frame and take a shot
of the empty scene. Switch the lens to
manual focus so that it doesnt move, and
make sure the exposure and lighting is
consistent with your earlier shots.

PIECE IT TOGETHER

01

COPY AND PASTE

Open your images. If you shot in

raw, synchronize changes to exposure or
colors across the set. In the image with
the subject, press Cmd/Ctrl+A then Cmd/
Ctrl+C to copy, then go to the empty
scene. Press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+V to paste.

03

HIDE THE STOOL

Zoom in around the perch and paint

with black to hide the area. Paint precisely
where the perch meets the body, and
more loosely elsewhere. If you go over
the body by accident, press X to switch
towhite then paint to reveal areas.

02

ADD A MASK

Go to the Layers Panel (Window

> Layers). You need to make a hole in
the top layer to reveal the clear scene
underneath. Click the Add Mask icon in
the Layers Panel. Grab the Brush Tool,
andpress D then X to set its color to black.

04

FIX THE DETAILS

The point where the subject meets

the stand is crucial. If you have an extra
body shot, use the Lasso to select the
area and copy and paste it in, then press
Cmd/Ctrl+T to transform and position the
layer, using a layer mask as before.

CUT OUT YOUR SUBJECT

01

MAKE A SELECTION

02

ASSEMBLE YOUR COMPOSITE

Grab the Quick Selection Tool. Paint

over the subject to make a selection.
(Hold Alt and paint to subtract if the tool
goes wrong.) Go to Select > Reine Edge.
Use the settings to tweak the selection,
then choose Output: Layer Mask.

Weve cut out the left leg and

balloons from other shots in the same
way. Drag them to the empty image with
the Move Tool, then press Cmd/Ctrl+T to
position each element. Add a tonal efect
on top with an Adjustment Layer.

TAKE IT FURTHER
An urban location, like the car
park here, can work well for
the levitation efect. We used
a long lens (a 70-200mm zoom
at 135mm) and included soft
foreground detail to add to the
mood of the image, making it
feel like a chanced upon scene.
In the original shot, the model
is lying on a stool (a real workout
for the stomach muscles!).
Weve removed the stool using
a clear shot of the scene, and
suggested movement in the
clothes by warping them slightly
with Photoshops Liquify Filter.

BEFORE

Exposure: 1/250 sec, f/3.5, ISO 800

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Your quick-start guide and reference

to image editing in Photoshop

If youre relatively new to editing in

Photoshop, or you just dont know
where to begin, then this section is the best
place to get started. Over the next nine pages,
youll ind an overview of the diferent versions
of Photoshop available; a breakdown of the

typical image-editing worklow in Photoshop;

an overview of raw ile editing; a guide to the
six most useful layers; and a glossary of the
most useful shortcuts. This guide condenses
most of the tools and techniques youll use
every time you import a new roll of pictures.

LIGHTROOM 6

100.07 OR INCLUDED WITH

CREATIVE CLOUD WINDOWS, OS X

PHOTOSHOP
CC
8.57/$9.99 PER MONTH WINDOWS, OS X
Photoshop is the software of choice for most professional
and non-professional photographers. Beyond the standard
photo-editing features, it boasts a vast array of more
creative tools and ilters. Layers are one of the key diferences
between Photoshop and Lightroom. They enable you to mask out
selected parts to build up increasingly sophisticated images.

Lightroom combines
the professional rawprocessing tools in the
more expensive Photoshop
CC with the asset-organizing
powers of the cheaper
Photoshop Elements.
Lightroom is available as
a traditional boxed copy
(Lightroom 6), and as part of
a Creative Cloud subscription
(Lightroom CC). Essentially,
the applications are the same,
except Lightroom CC has
Creative Cloud support, ongoing
updates, and access to the
mobile and web worklows.

LIGHTROOM MOBILE

INCLUDED WITH CREATIVE CLOUD

IPHONE, IPAD, ANDROID

ELEMENTS 14 79.10/$99.99 WINDOWS, OS X

Elements is the consumer variant of Photoshop, and
contains many of its key tools and features within a
simpliied interface. Its limited, but it does provide access
to layers for those who have switched to a Lightroom worklow.

Lightroom Mobile is
the lightweight iPad,
iPhone and Android
version of the application,
integrated with Lightroom CC
but not Lightroom 6. To use
Lightroom Mobile you need
to sign up for an Adobe ID so
that you can access the Adobe
Creative Cloud. This enables
you to create a collection
of photos on your desktop
copy of Lightroom and sync
them viathe Creative Cloud
to Lightroom Mobile on your
portable devices. You can then
use Lightroom Mobile to edit or
add ratings to your pictures.

ADOBE SHAPE
FREE
IPHONE, IPAD, ANDROID

ADOBE
PHOTOSHOP
MIX
FREE IPAD, ANDROID
Mix enables you to merge two photos together
to create a composite image. It ofers a simpliied
compositing process that makes it easy for beginners
to start combining an object from one image with a background
from another. You can then send the composite to Photoshop
for further edits. If you like, you can also use Mix to edit a single
image. It ofers a few simple tonal adjustments and more
complex edits such as Content-Aware Fill.

ADOBE COLOR

FREE IPHONE, IPAD, ANDROID

If you ever need help
selecting coordinated colors
for your designs, try using
Adobe Color. It enables you to create
color themes from photos taken on
your mobile device. This could be
anything from a scene in your local
park to a famous painting. So if you
come across an inspirational scene,
capture the colors and save them.

Adobe Shape enables

you to turn photos and
sketches into beautiful
vector shapes for use in your
designs or artwork. The app
smooths out jagged edges in
images, resulting in gorgeous
vectors that are endlessly
scalable, just as if youd drawn
them by hand with the Pen tool.
Make a shape with the mobile
app and the next time you open
Photoshop on your desktop, the
shape will sync to your Library.
Drag it in to any document to
add color and make further
adjustments.

ADOBE BRUSH
FREE
IPHONE, IPAD, ANDROID

Adobe Brush enables

you to make your
own custom brushes
from photos or sketches for
use in Photoshop, Illustrator
or the Sketch app. The most
successful subjects are usually
those that can be easily
isolated, such as a splash
against white, or a leaf against
the sky. You can capture objects
for your brush tips using your
devices camera, choose from
your camera roll, or use your
Creative Cloud library. Once
captured, you can then inetune the look of the tip and
apply brush settings.

ADOBE COMP CC
FREE IPAD

ADOBE
PHOTOSHOP
SKETCH
FREE IPAD
As the name suggests, this app enables you to paint
freehand using a selection of brushes, colors and other
tools. However, Sketch is more than just a painting
app. It also enables you to connect with like-minded creatives,
so you can follow artists and see their work updating. Once
youre done sketching the image on your iPad, you can upload
to the Sketch community or continue working on the image
in Photoshop CC. You can also bring in brushes made with
Adobe Brush, and for those who cant paint, theres an option
to overlay images so you can trace over a photo. Sketch is
compatible with Adobes pen and ruler hardware, Ink and Slide,
but you can get great results with your inger.

PHOTOSHOP FIX
FREE IPAD

Fix is a retouching app

for altering portraits and
ixing marks or blemishes
in your photos. Intelligent facial
recognition locks onto eyes, lips
noses and chins, making it easy to
tweak a smile, tuck in a jawline or
enlarge eyes, should you wish.

If youre a designer
who wants to build
a quick layout for a
web or print page, then Comp is
the ideal place to start piecing
ideas, images and text together.
You can draw common design
elements such as text or image
boxes with quick gestures. For
example, a couple of squiggly
lines with a dot makes a
header, and a cross makes an
image box. It makes it easy to
mock up a layout in seconds.
You can then add words and
graphics. The app even spits
out a Photoshop, Illustrator or
InDesign document.

BEHANCE
CREATIVE PORTFOLIO
FREE IPAD, IPHONE

Behance is the online

social space for
creatives to share
and showcase their portfolios,
connect with one another,
and ind work. With work
from the best photographers,
digital artists and designers
out there, its also a great
place to ind inspiration for
a new project. If youre a
Creative Cloud subscriber you
can set up a Behance page in
minutes. The Behance app
for iOS devices enables you to
manage your page, while the
Creative Portfolio app provides
a polished portfolio.

Manage your photos from capture to output in three stages

The image-editing process begins as
soon as youve transferred your photos
from your memory card to your computer.
1 The irst stage is to begin sifting
through your pictures to discover which are
the keepers. The image organizer that comes
with Photoshop is ideal for this task. Adobe
Bridge has controls for keywording, rating and
iltering your images, and there are handy tools
for batch renaming iles, creating panoramic
stitches, making contact sheets and more.
Launch Adobe Bridge and navigate to a
folder containing new images. Use the cursor
keys to quickly lick through the images and
click below a thumbnail to add a star rating, or
use the keyboard shortcut Cmd/Ctrl+1-5. You
can then ilter your images by the star rating to
group the ones you want to work on.
2 The next step is to open the images
from Bridge into Adobe Camera Raw. ACR
is the best place to make initial changes to
your images to boost tones and correct any
problems with exposure and so on. It doesnt
enable you to combine images youll use
Photoshop for that but it does enable you to
make the kind of edits photographers need.
3 In Photoshop, you can further reine
the image with layers and adjustment layers,
which ofer a much more lexible way of
working than ACR. Once youve inished, its
time to share it with a wider audience. Go to
File>Save, and your image will be saved as a
Photoshop document (PSD). This keeps all the
layers intact, which means you can go back and
retweak the image at a later date. However,
PSD iles are large and take up lots of hard drive
space. If you want to share your images online
or via email or social media, save them as JPEGs.

Discover how to process your raw iles to perfection

The latest version of the raw ile
processor included with Photoshop is so
powerful that most photos can be processed
entirely in the raw processor, with no need for
further editing in Photoshop. And by making
your adjustments in Adobe Camera Raw

rather than in Photoshop, youll ensure the

best possible image quality, because raw iles
contain more picture information than bitmap
images such as un-layered PSDs and JPEGs.
Heres our reference to the features youll use
the most in the Basic panel.

THE BASIC
PANEL IN ACR

CONTRAST
Makes light pixels brighter
and dark pixels darker

HIGHLIGHTS

TEMPERATURE

Controls the brightness

of the lightest pixels

Use this slider to warm

or cool an image if the
White Balance tool fails to
correct a color cast

SHADOWS
Controls the brightness
of the darkest pixels

TINT
This slider enables you to
correct a green or magenta
cast, again, if the White
Balance tool fails

WHITES
Sets a point on the tonal
range at which pixels
should be pure white

EXPOSURE

CLARITY

Controls the overall

brightness of the image

BLACKS
Sets a point on the tonal
range at which pixels
should be pure black

Controls the amount

of midtone contrast

SATURATION

VIBRANCE

Controls the overall color

intensity of the image

Adjusts the intensity of

the less-saturated colors

The six most frequently used Photoshop layers for image

editing, and how to use them to improve almost any photo
Photoshop has many types of layers
and adjustment layers available, but
there are six that youll ind you need to use
again and again. Learning how they should be

used may seem a little daunting for beginners,

but once youve got to grips with them, youll
ind they play a part in the creative process of
almost every image you make.

01

LEVELS

This should be the irst layer you add

to an image, because it fundamentally alters
the tonal range of the entire image. Create
a Levels Adjustment Layer, drag the Black
Point slider inwards until it touches the lefthand edge of the histogram, and drag the
White Point slider inwards to the right-hand
edge. This remaps the tones of the image to
make more of the available tonal range.

02

CURVES

Curves is one of the most powerful

adjustment layers. An S-shaped curve
brightens the highlights and darkens the
shadows, resulting in extra contrast. Create
a Curves Adjustment Layer and click the
middle of the diagonal line to add a central
control point. Drag down on the lower part
of the line and drag up on the upper part of
the line to improve image contrast.

03

HUE/SATURATION

This adjustment layer is best used

for altering the intensity and brightness
of individual color channels in an image
greens and blues in landscapes, for instance.
Create a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer,
click the Master menu and choose the color
channel youd like to adjust. Small changes
are usually the most efective.

04

HEALING LAYER

Most photos contain unwanted

marks or blemishes. The Spot Healing Brush
tool is efective at removing these. The best
way to apply the healing is on a new blank
layer, so that you can easily tone down or
remove selected healing work later without
having to start from scratch because you
healed directly on the background layer. To
do this, create a new blank layer, choose the
Spot Healing Brush tool from the Tools panel
and tick Sample All Layers on the Options
Bar, then continue as normal.

AFTER

05

BEFORE

DODGE AND BURN

One of the best ways to enhance a

photo is by lightening or darkening selected
areas of the image. This can be done with
the Dodge and Burn tools, but rather than
use them directly on the image, a separate
grey layer gives you greater control. To
create a Dodge and Burn layer, hold down
Alt and click the Create a new layer icon in
the Layers panel. Give the layer a name,
then choose Mode: Overlay. Check Fill with
Overlay-neutral color and click OK. Now use
the Dodge and Burn tools (with Range set to
Midtones) to work on the new layer.

06

SELECTIVE SHARPENING

Once all other adjustments have

been made, you need to sharpen the image
for output. The traditional way is to create a
merged layer at the top of the stack, apply
Unsharp Mask, then paint on the mask to
remove the sharpening from those parts
of the image you want to remain soft.
However, the Sharpen tool enables more
control over the process by enabling you to
build up the efect by brushing repeatedly
with a low opacity brush. Create a new blank
layer, select the Sharpen tool, tick Sample All
Layers and set a Strength of 50% or lower.

14 keyboard shortcuts that will massively improve your

speed and efficiency while working in Photoshop

Reset the foreground and background colors

to black and white

Switch the foreground and background

color swatches

ALT+[SCROLL WHEEL]

[ OR ]

Zoom in or out of the image

Resize the brush tip

CMD/CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+E

SHIFT+[ OR ]

Create a merged copy of all the layers in the

layer stack

Cycle backwards or forwards through the

layer blend modes

SPACE BAR

CMD/CTRL+ALT+Z

Temporarily switch the current tool to the Hand

tool, for moving around the image while zoomed in

Undo the last change made to the document.

Works multiple times

ALT+[EYE ICON]

CMD/CTRL+[LAYER MASK]

Switch of the visibility of all other layers in the

layer stack, for before-and-after comparisons

Load the currently active layer mask as

a new selection

CMD/CTRL+I

CMD/CTRL+T

Invert the color of a layer mask to black

Activate the Free Transform tool

SHIFT+[LAYER MASK]

CMD/CTRL+J

Disable the efects of a layer mask

Duplicate the current layer

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