ADVANCED IMAGE EDITING SKILLS
5
Select the land
Highlight the background layer, grab the Quick Selection tool,
then paint over the land (and its reflection) to select the area
(hold Alt to subtract if it goes wrong). Once done, click Refine Edge
again. Set Radius 50, check Smart Radius, and click OK. The lower edge
where the reflection meets the water is too hard-edged, so we’ll soften
it with the Selection Brush. Grab it and choose Mask in the menu, then
set a large soft brush and paint over the edge to soften the transition.7
Select the foreground
We needn’t bother selecting the foreground water. Instead, hold
Cmd/Ctrl and click the mask thumbnail of the top Levels layer
to load the white parts of the mask as a selection, then hold Cmd/
Ctrl+Shift and click the other mask thumbnail to add it to the
selection. Now we have everything but the foreground selected, so go to
Select>Inverse to invert the selection. Add another Levels layer and set
black point 23, midpoint 1.07, white point 233.6
Lighten the area
Click the Create adjustment layer icon in the Layers panel and
choose Levels. Use the Levels sliders to improve the land. Set
black point 22, midpoint 1.28, white point 140. If the transition
between the reflection and the water doesn’t look right, adjust the
layer mask to fine-tune which areas of the adjustment layer are visible.
Highlight the mask thumbnail next to the Levels layer, then grab the
Brush tool and paint with white to reveal, or black to hide the effect.8
Make the sky more blue
Finally, we’ll adjust the Levels layers to change the colours
in the sky. Highlight the Levels layer that affects the sky,
then double click the Levels icon on the layer to bring up the
settings. Click the Channel menu at the top and choose Blue.
Drag the left side of the Output Slider inwards to about 15 to add
a touch of blue to the darkest parts of the sky. You can do the
same with the Levels layer that adjusts the water.