Hi. This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV. I'm going to show you how to realistically
create an outside reflection on a window and show someone on the inside through the glass.
I provided this window frame for you to download, as well as this sunset image
that we'll use as the reflection. The links to these images are located in my video's
description or project files. Open a photo of a subject you'd like to see through the
window. I downloaded this one from Shutterstock.com. The first step is to open the window frame
image and press "z" on your keyboard to open your Zoom Tool. Drag it over one of the window
panes to zoom into it. Open your Pen Tool and choose "Path". If you're working on version
CS5 or earlier, the Path icon is here. Click on a corner of the glass and release. Go to
the next corner of the glass and click to make a path connecting both corners. Release
and click on the next corner. Continue until you click on the first corner to close the
path. I did an in-depth tutorial on how to create complex paths with the Pen Tool, so
if you'd like to watch it, I provided that link, as well. To move the image over to see
your next window pane, press the hold the Space bar as you drag your image over. Repeat
the same steps to make a path over the glass pane.
Once you've drawn paths over all the panes,
open your Paths panel. If you don't see it, go to Window and Paths. Ctrl-click
or Cmd -click on the thumbnail to make a selection of the paths. To fit your entire document
back on your canvas, press Ctrl or Cmd + 0. To ensure that the selections are completely
covering the glass panes, we'll slightly expand the selections. But first, open back your
Layers panel. Go to Select, Modify and Expand. Expand it by 1 pixel. Go back to Select, Modify and Feather.
Feather it 1 pixel. Invert the selection by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + Shift + I
and then press Ctrl or Cmd + J to cut window frame from the glass panes.
Hide the background
and open the sunset image I provided or you can open your own image for the reflection.
Let's convert it into a Smart Object, so we can modify it non-destructively.
To move it onto the window frame document,
press "v" to open your Move Tool and drag it onto the
tab of the window frame. Without releasing your mouse or pen, drag it down onto the image and release.
In the Layers panel, drag the it below the window frame.
Outside reflections on windows tend to be distorted,
so open your Transform Tool by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + T.
To see the Transform's entire bounding box, press Ctrl or Cmd + 0. Let's zoom out a bit
more by pressing Ctrl or Cmd and the minus key on your keyboard. Go to a bottom corner
and press and hold Ctrl + Alt + Shift on Windows or Cmd + Option + Shift on a Mac as you drag
the corner outward. To reposition it, just go inside the Transform and drag it. To reduce
or enlarge it, go to a corner and when you see a diagonal, double-arrow, press and hold
Alt or Option + Shift as you drag in in or out.
To skew it, go to the middle point on one of the sides
and press and hold Ctrl or Cmd as you drag it up.
When you're happy with its size, position and distortion, press Enter or Return.
Then, fit it back onto your canvas.
Window reflections are often blurred when photographed due to the particular focal length
of the camera’s lens, so go to Filter, Blur and Gaussian Blur. For the size and resolution
of this document, I'll make the Blur Radius: 3 pixels. Once we add the person through the
glass panes, we want to see on the person, the darker areas of the window's reflection.
To do this, make a copy of the reflection by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + J. To hide all the
other layers except the reflection copy, Alt-click or Option-click on the eyeball icon next to
the reflection copy. Go to Select and Color Range. Select "Shadows". Make the Range: 0
and the Fuzziness between 50% to 60%. Then, click OK.
Click the Layer Mask icon to make a layer mask of the selection, next to the reflection copy.
Change its Blend Mode to "Luminosity"
and reduce its opacity to 40%. Hide the Reflection copy and make the original
reflection layer visible, as well as the top window frame layer. Open the photo of the
person you'd like to place behind the window. Convert it to a Smart Object, so we can modify
it non-destructively. To automatically adjust its brightness and contrast, press Ctrl or
Cmd + Shift + L to invoke Autotone. Next, we'll separate the person form the background
by making a selection around the person. There are many ways to make selections and your
choice should depend on the characteristics of your photo. For this example, I'll use
the Quick Selection Tool with a Radius of 10 pixels. If you're using this tool as well,
it's radius amount should depend on your photo's size and resolution. Drag the tool over your subject to select it
and click the Refine Edge button or go to Select and Refine Edge.
I did an in-depth tutorial on Refine Edge, so if you'd like to watch it, I provided that
link, as well. Check "Smart Radius" and slide the Radius a bit to the right. If the hair
on your subject is very wispy, brush over the edge of the hair. In this case, the hair
is short, so it's not necessary to brush over it..
Check "Decontaminate Colors" and slide the amount to approximately 75%.
Output it as a New Layer and click OK. To move into window frame document, as before,
press "v" to open your Move Tool and drag it onto the tab of the window frame. Without
releasing your mouse or pen, drag it down onto the image and then, release. Open your
Transform Tool to resize and reposition it. Fit the Transform onto your canvas to resize it.
When you're happy with its size and position, press Enter or Return and then, fit it it
back onto your canvas. Reduce its opacity to 95% to slightly see the reflection on the
person. Click the Layer Mask icon to make a layer mask next to your subject. Click the
Adjustment Layer icon and click "Brightness/Contrast". To restrict the adjustment layer to effect
only your subject, click the Clipping Mask icon or press Ctrl + Alt + G on Windows or
Cmd + Option + G on a Mac. Slide the Contrast to approximate the contrast of the rest of
your image. To adjust its brightness, slide the Brightness to the left or right.
To give the person a color cast that's similar to the color of the reflection, click the Adjustment
layer icon again and click "Photo Filter". If you're working on an version of Photoshop
that doesn't have this filter, you can use "Color Balance". Click the Clipping Mask icon
to clip it to your subject and click on each of the filters until you've found one that
blends your subject into the background. For this example, I'll click "Orange" and increase
its Density to 50%. Next, we'll make the areas of your subject fade into the background.
Click the layer mask next to your subject, to make it active. Open your Brush Tool and
Brush Picker. We'll adjust the size in a moment. Make sure the Hardness is 0%. Then, press
Enter or Return. To make your Brush bigger or smaller, press the the right or left bracket
keys on your keyboard. Brush over areas of your subject that are further away from the glass.
The further they are, the more transparent they should look. If you want to restore back
opacity, press "x" on your keyboard and brush over those areas. Press "v" to open your Move
Tool, so it'll be easier to navigate your cursor over your document. Let's slide the
Layers panel down, so we can see all the Layers.
Make your top reflection layer visible and drag it between the adjustment layers and the window frame.
I'd like to slide down the reflection, so the dark areas on the bottom don't cover his face.
If you want to reposition your reflection, drag the top reflection back down
over the other one and Shift-click on the bottom reflection to make it active, as well.
Either use your Move Tool to drag it to a new position or, as in this example, I'll
just press the Down arrow on my keyboard. Click the top reflection to make it active
and drag it back up just below the window frame. I'd like to increase the transparencies
of the dark reflection on the subject's arms as well as the subject himself. To do this,
I'll decrease the opacity of the top reflection to 30%,
make the subject active and decrease its opacity to 80%.
This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV. Thanks for watching!