04
CHANGE THE CONTRAST
Now that you have your secondary building,
you need to lower the contrast on the background in
order to shift the focus to your main characters at the
front. Add a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer and
set Brightness at 0 and Contrast -13 to get the result
close to a haze, then use the mask to mark just the
area you want to isolate. Do the same thing with a
Levels layer with Output Levels at 30 and 255 to get a
better result on your haze.05
PLACE THE REST OF THE BUILDINGS
Download images 121577989 and 6061234
from Shutterstock to add into the left side of the
scene. Cut out the main building from 121577989,
add a mask and repeat the process with 6061234.
Duplicate the layer, putting it behind your first
building. You’ll use this one to create some detail
using the Multiply blend mode. Press Cmd/Ctrl+L to
open the Levels, then select the white eyedropper, go
to your image and click on the sky area (in blue). This
way when you turn on Multiply, everything that is
white will disappear and you will have the effect that
you need.06
COLOUR AND CONTRAST
Now it’s time to add some colour and contrast to the buildings. Use the orange that you used for the
secondary buildings and set Overlay blending mode at 34%. This will give you a warm tone for your building.
Add a black and white layer on Multiply (this will make your image darker) and set it at 33% for a nice result
without being too dark.03
INTEGRATE THE COLOURS AND HIGHLIGHTS
Now that you have the secondary building in place, you’re ready to use some colour layers to
integrate and make the transition between the images perfect. Use orange with your blend mode set to
Overlay at 42% and paint in areas to create the haze between the buildings. This will make them more
integrated. Then grab the same orange and create a gradient to increase the power of the sun. Use 42% in
Overlay. Now, to balance the image, use blue to paint in the shadows on the building. Use warm tones for the
light-affected areas and cool tones for the shaded areas to better mimic reality.PHOTOMANIPULATION