Advanced_Photoshop_Issue_139_-_2015_UK_

18

WORK MORE ON THE REFLECTIONS

When the angle has been matched, hit

Enter. Change the blending mode to Overlay and

reduce the Opacity of the layer to 30%. Hit Cmd/Ctrl

+L and adjust the slider to match the image. Next

make a layer mask and with a soft brush mask away

some of the hard edges and parts of the building that

protrude into the street. Repeat this process on as

many pieces of the buildings and objects as needed

to achieve the effect.

19

MAKE IT RAIN

Install the Real Rain Drops brush from

FileSilo. Load and select the brush. Create a new

layer at the top of your layer stack. Select white

and click and drag around the image. Select

Filter>Blur>Motion Blur and select a distance that

best matches the reference photo. Double-click

on the rain layer thumbnail in the layers palette.

Drag the left-most control point towards the right

until the rain starts to disappear. Hold Alt/Option

and drag the left control point to the left to feather

the effect. This is called Blend If.

16

WORK ON THE REFLECTIONS

Hit Cmd/Ctrl+T and then right-click and hit

Flip Vertical. Align the top of the layer along the

bottom third of the image. Change the blending

mode to Overlay. Hit Cmd/Ctrl +L and adjust the

Levels to match the image. Add a layer mask and hit

Cmd/Ctrl +I to invert the white to black. Paint white

to reveal the reflections only on the road. Click the

eye on the duplicate city layer you made in Step 15.

17

CONSIDER THE SIDEWALK REFLECTIONS

Reflections in the sidewalk will be a bit more

clear since the concrete is both smoother and

receives less traffic during rain. Select the duplicate

city layer. With your preferred selection method, select

the right side of the smaller white building. Hit Cmd/

Ctrl+J to duplicate the selection. Hit Cmd/Ctrl +T to

Free Transform. Right-click and select Flip Vertical.

Right-click again and select Distort. While holding

Shift and Alt, grab the centre control point and move

up or down to match the angle of the building.

Often a very subjective

process, colour grading

can be the salt and pepper to

a finished image

20

USE COLOUR GRADING

Often a very subjective process, colour

grading can be the salt and pepper to a finished

image. Sprinkled with care it can elevate the image;

carelessly slopped and it becomes a cheap effect.

Create two Curves adjustment layers. Name the first

layer ‘Tones’ and set the blending mode to Luminosity.

Name the second ‘Colour’ and set the blending mode

to Color. Select both layers and group them. Name the

group Colour Grading. Mimic the diagram here. The

reference photo has a few additional enhancements.