2019-05-01_Digital_SLR_Photography

How to add a realistic

reflection in Photoshop

CAROLINESCHMIDTSHOWS Y O UH O WTOR E P L ICATETHELOOKOFAN

AUTHENTIC REFLECTIONWHENMOTHERNATURELETS Y O UD O W N

R

EFLECTIONSAND WATERhave

becomesomewhatof a themein

thismonth’sissueandwecan’t

coverreflectionswithouttouchingonone

of themostbelovedtechniques.Lakeside

reflectionsmakephenomenallandscapes

becauseof theirsymmetryandergo

compositionalbalance.If the opportunity

presents itself on a bright, calm day most

photographers will reach for their polarising

filtertoreduce glare and get a clean, clear

reflection. However the conditions aren’t

always optimal and, when they are, the

images are not always easy to get, so what

can you do? When the slightest wind causes

ripples that erase any chance of a reflection,

that's when Photoshop can help. You can

apply this technique to a landscape that was

primed for a reflection (such as the one used

here) or extendthecanvastocreatea

reflection inalmostanyimagethatfronts a

body of water.Let’s get started...

Adobe Photoshop CC

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ORIGINAL

46 Digital SLR Photography Ma y 2019

1

OPENYOURIMAGEPressCtrlandJto

duplicatetheoriginalimagetoa newlayer.

SelecttheRectangularMarqueeTooland

selectthetophalfoftheimageonthenew

layer.UsingtheMoveTooldragdownthe

topoftheselectiontofliptheimageontop

ofthewater.UsetheMoveTool to carefully

position and slightly overlap the images

along the horizon line.

2

REFINETHEJOINAdda layermasktothe

duplicatelayer(clicktheAddVectorMask

icon).You’llseethetophalfofthemaskis

hiddenbyblack.SelecttheBrushTool– set

the size to small, soft and with black ‘paint’

• then zoom in close to the horizon line
  and blend the overlapped images so the join
  looks seamless. You can switch the paint to
  White and redo to correct any mistakes.

3

ADDA GRADIENTTodarkenthereflection

slightly,asit won’tnaturallybeasbright

asthesky,adda newlayer(clickCreatea

NewLayericon)andselecttheGradientTool

fromthetoolbar.Set theGradienttoLinear

andForegroundtoTransparentin thetop

toolbar.Set thecolourtoBlackanddragthe

GradientTool vertically across your image.

Reduce the layer’s Opacity slider to 30-50%.