01
SELECT THE SPLASH
Open the four start
images into Photoshop CC,
then go to image three.
Grab the Lasso tool from the
toolbar and drag it to make a
rough selection over part of
the splash in the background.
Next grab the Move tool.
Drag the selected area up
to the tab of image two, then
down into the image to copy
the selection over.
02
COPY AND BLEND
Bring up the Layers
panel (Window>Layers),
then go to the blend mode
dropdown at the top and
change it from Normal
to Lighten. Now only the
pixels that are lighter than
those on the layer below
will show through, so the
splashes appear, but the
dark background behind
will be invisible.
03
BOOST THE
HIGHLIGHTS
We can enhance the splashes
with a Curves Adjustment.
Hit Cmd/Ctrl+M, then drag
the top part of the Curves
line upwards to lighten the
layer. Next, you want to
pin the lower part of the
curve downwards by placing
a point, this darkens the
shadow tones, so the original
backdrop stays hidden.