Photoshop Movie Tutorial Displace
Written by Steve Patterson.
In this Photoshop Effects tutorial, we’re going to learn how to blend photos
together like a Hollywood movie poster. Blending photos is easy to do in
Photoshop thanks to layer masks, yet finding two photos with similar colors
isn’t always so easy, and you end up with a photo effect that doesn’t really
seem to look right because the colors don’t match.
With this technique, you
don’t need to worry about the colors in the images at all because we’ll be
removing them completely and adding our own colors to blend the two photos
seamlessly. Any recent version of Photoshop will do, but Photoshop CS6 users in
particular will want to check out the newly updated Photoshop CS6 version of
this tutorial.
Photoshop Movie Tutorial Displace ( Step 7):
Step 1: Drag One Image Into The Document Window Of The Other Image
Step 2: Resize And/Or Reposition The Images As Needed
Step 3: Add A Layer Mask
Step 4: Drag Out A Black to White Gradient On The Mask To Blend The Two Images
Step 5: Add Noise
Step 6: Add A Solid Color Adjustment Layer
Step 7: Set The Layer Blend Mode To “Color”
Step 1: Drag One Image Into The Document
Window Of The Other Image
Step 1: Drag One Image Into The Document Window |
The
first thing we need in order to blend our two images together is for them to
both be in the same document. To do that, with both of my images open on the
screen in their own separate document windows, I’m going to grab my Move tool
from the Tools palette, or I could press the letter V on my keyboard to quickly
select it:
Then
with my Move tool selected, I’m going to click anywhere inside the image of the
couple walking on the beach to make that document window active, and I’m simply
going to drag the image into the other document window:
Then with my Move tool selected |
When I release
my mouse button, both images appear inside the same document, one on top of the
other:
Images appear inside the same document |
I can also see both images now on their own
separate layers in the Layers palette:
images now on their own separate layers in the Layers palette |
Step 2:
Resize And/Or Reposition The Images As Needed
Now that
I’ve dragged the beach photo into the other document, I need to resize it, and
I can do that easily with Photoshop’s Free Transform command. With the beach
photo layer selected in the Layers palette, I’m going to use the keyboard
shortcut Ctrl+T (Win) / Command+T (Mac) to bring up the Free Transform box and
handles around the image.
Problem
is, this image is in “landscape” mode, meaning its width is longer than its
height, and I’ve dragged it into a document containing an image that’s in
“portrait” mode (its height is longer than its width), so even though Photoshop
has placed the Free Transform box and handles around my image, I can’t see any
of the corner handles because the sides of the image are extending out beyond
the viewable area of the document.
To fix
that, all I need to do is press Ctrl+0 (Win) / Command+0 (Mac) to fit
everything onto the screen:
Step 2: Resize And/Or Reposition The Images As Needed |
Now that I can
see my corner handles, I can resize my image by dragging any of the corner
handles inward in order to fit more of the image into the viewable document
area. Since I don’t want to distort the image, I’m going to hold down my Shift
key as I’m dragging the handles to constrain the width and height proportions:
I can resize my image |
When I’m happy with the new size of my image, I’m going to press Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) to accept the transformation.
The
beach image looks good, but the image of the couple behind it needs to be moved
up higher. Again, there’s a slight problem. The image is on the Background
layer:
image looks good |
If I select the layer in the Layers palette and then click inside the document and try to drag the image up with my Move tool, Photoshop is going to complain and give me this pop-up message:
The warning message is telling me that Photoshop |
The warning message
is telling me that Photoshop can’t move the image because the layer is locked,
and the reason it’s locked is because it’s the Background layer. Photoshop
treats Background layers differently from normal layers, and one of the things
you can’t do with images on the Background layer is move them. To get around
that problem, all we need to do is rename the Background layer, and the
quickest way to do that is to simple hold down Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) and
double-click directly on the word “Background”. Photoshop will automatically
rename the layer “Layer 0″:
the layer is no longer a special Background layer |
Just like that,
the layer is no longer a special Background layer, and we’re now free to move
the image on the layer. With my Move tool still selected, I’m going to click
inside the document and drag the photo of the couple up higher. Since I want to
make sure I’m dragging straight up and not accidentally dragging the image a
little off to either side, I’m going to once again hold down my Shift key as
I’m dragging:
the layer is no longer a special Background layer |
Step 3:
Add A Layer Mask
Once you’ve
resized and/or repositioned your photos in the document the way you like them,
we can begin blending them together. The first thing we need is a layer mask,
and we’re going to add it to the layer on top ("Layer 1"), which is
my case is the layer containing the beach photo, so I’m going to click on that
layer in the Layers palette to select it. Then, click on the Add A Layer Mask
icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:
Step 3: Add A Layer Mask |
We can now see the layer mask thumbnail
added to the top layer:
the layer mask thumbnail added |
Notice that the layer mask thumbnail has a white highlight border around it. That’s telling us that the layer mask, not the layer itself, is currently selected, which is what we want.
Step 4:
Drag Out A Black to White Gradient On The Mask To Blend The Two Images
Select
your Gradient tool from the Tools palette, or press G to quickly access it with
the keyboard shortcut:
Step 4: Drag Out A Black to White Gradient On The Mask To Blend The Two Images |
Then, up in the
Options Bar at the top of the screen, click on the down-pointing arrow to the
right of the gradient preview area, which will bring up the Gradient Picker.
Click on the black to white gradient in the top row, third from the left to
select it:
Then, up in the Options Bar at the top of the screen |
Click anywhere
else on the screen to close out of the Gradient Picker once you’ve selected the
gradient. Then, back in your document, hold down your Shift key and drag out a
black to white gradient to blend the two images together. Because you’re
dragging the gradient on the layer mask, not the layer itself, you won’t see
your gradient. Instead, you’ll see the two images blend together. Start at the
top of where you want the transition from one image to the other to begin,
which in my case is the top of the beach photo, and drag down to the point
where you want the transition to end. I want my transition to end where the
water and land meet, so I’m going to click just below the top of my beach photo
and drag straight down to just above the water line:
Click anywhere else on the screen |
Release
your mouse button, and the two images blend together at the location where you
dragged out the gradient:
Release your mouse button |
If you’re not happy with how your two images
have blended together, simply press Ctrl+Z (Win) / Command+Z Mac to undo and
try dragging the gradient again.
If you’re not happy with how your two images have blended together |
We’re
going to remove all the color from the image at this point so we can add our
own color, which we’ll do in a moment. To remove the colors, press Shift+Ctrl+U
(Win) / Shift+Command+U (Mac) to desaturate the layer:
We’re going to remove all the color |
Step 5:
Add Noise
Let’s
add a little noise to the image to help the two photos blend more seamlessly
together. Go up to the Filter menu at the top of the screen, choose Noise, and
then choose Add Noise. This brings up the Add Noise dialog box. Set the Amount
to somewhere between 2-6% depending on the pixel dimensions of your image. I’m
working on a low resolution image for this tutorial, so I’m going to set mine
to 2% just to add a hint of noise. Make sure Distribution is set to Gaussian,
and also make sure the Monochromatic option at the very bottom is checked:
Step 5: Add Noise |
Step 6: Add A Solid Color Adjustment Layer
All
that’s left to do is add our own color to the image. For that, we’re going to
use a Solid Color fill layer. Click on the New Fill Or Adjustment Layer icon at
the bottom of the Layers palette:
Step 6: Add A Solid Color Adjustment Layer |
Then select Solid Color from the top of the
list that appears:
Select Solid Color from the top |
Photoshop’s Color Picker will appear. Choose
the color that you want to use for your image. I’m going to select a light
orange for my color:
Photoshop’s Color Picker will appear |
Click OK
once you’ve chosen a color to exit out of the Color Picker. Don’t worry about
choosing the “right” color at the moment because you can always change it later.
Step 7:
Set The Layer Blend Mode To “Color”
After
clicking out of the Color Picker, your image will now be filled completely with
the color you chose, which isn’t exactly what we wanted. To fix that, with the
new Solid Color fill layer selected in the Layers palette, go up to the Blend
Mode option in the top left corner of the Layers palette, click on the
down-pointing arrow to the right of the word “Normal”, and select Color from
the list:
Step 7: Set The Layer Blend Mode To “Color |
Your image will now be colorized with your
chosen color rather than being blocked from view by it. If you decide you’re
not happy with the color you chose, just double-click on the Solid Color fill
layer’s color swatch icon in the Layers palette:
Your image will now be colorized |
When you
do that, the Color Picker will pop back up and you can choose a different
color. Since the Solid Color fill layer is already set to the “Color” blend
mode, you’ll be able to see a live preview of how your current color choice
looks with your image.
I’m
going to stick with my initial color selection, and here, after changing the
blend mode to “Color”, is my final result:
I’m going to stick with my initial color selection |
And there we have it!