Hi. This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.
I'm going to show you how to create an image that effectively pops out of a photo and casts a shadow.
This is an update of tutorials I've done on earlier versions of Photoshop.
This update is quicker, more efficient and has better results.
I provided a template, so you can follow along.
It's link is in my video's description or project files.
It includes this image of a shape of a window in perspective and also includes a channel
that we'll use for a layer mask into which our photo will be placed.
Open a photo that you'd like to use for this project.
I downloaded this one from Shutterstock.
We'll place it onto our template.
If your Move Tool isn't active, press "v" on your keyboard.
Drag it onto the tab of the template.
Without releasing your mouse or pen, drag it down and release.
To resize the photo, first let's reduce its opacity, so we can see the template under it.
We’ll resize and position it, so that your photo's background fills all the inside of
the black window and that part of your subject extends out beyond the black window.
Open your Transform Tool by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + T and go to a corner.
If you're using a version earlier than CC 2019, press and hold Alt or Option + Shift
as you drag it in or out.
If you're using CC 2019 or later, just press Alt or Option as you drag it.
To reposition, it, go inside the Transform's bounding box and drag it.
Then, click the check-mark at the top or press Enter or Return.
Increase your photo's opacity back to 100%.
We'll create a selection around the subject.
There are many ways to do this, but for this example, I'll use the Quick Selection Tool.
If you're using this tool as well, I find that a radius of 10 pixels generally works well.
Drag the tool over your subject to select it.
Even though only part of our subject will pop out of the window, I like to make a selection
of it all to ensure that no part of it will be cut off.
To remove areas of the selection that are outside your subject, press and hold Alt or
Option as you drag over those areas.
Once your subject is selected, you can check it by pressing "Q" on your keyboard to see
it as a Quick Mask.
Revert it back into a selection by pressing "Q" again.
If your subject has soft or feathery edges that will be popped out of the window, you
can refine their soft edges by using "Refine Edge" or "Select and Mask".
I did in-depth tutorials of both of them, so if you want to watch them, click the cards
at the upper right or click their links in the description below this video.
Press Ctrl or Cmd + J to cut and copy your subject onto its own layer.
Make "Layer 1" active and open your Channels panel.
If you don't see it, go to Window and Channels.
Ctrl-click or Cmd-click the "Alpha 1" channel to make a selection of its shape.
Open back the Layers panel and click the Layer Mask icon to make a layer mask of the selection
next to the active layer.
Double-click the layer to open its Layer Style window.
Click "Outer Glow".
The Blend Mode is "Overlay", the Opacity is 100% and the color is white.
The Technique is "Softer", the Spread is 0% and the Size is 250 pixels.
The Contour is "Linear" and the Range is 90%.
We'll drag a copy of the layer mask next to our cut-out subject.
To do this, press and hold Alt or Option as you drag the layer mask onto our subject's layer.
To reveal back our subject that we want to pop out, make the top layer mask active
and check your foreground and background colors.
We want white to be our foreground color.
If it isn't, press "D" to make them black and white respectively and press "x" to invert them.
Open your Pencil Tool and Pencil Picker.
Pick a hard round pencil.
We'll adjust its size it a moment.
Make its Hardness and Opacity: 100%.
Then, press Enter or Return.
To adjust your pencil's size, make sure your CapsLock key is off and press the right or
left bracket key on your keyboard.
Brush over the areas of your subject that you want revealed back through the layer mask.
Next, we'll add a shadow under our subject.
Ctrl-click or Cmd-click the thumbnail of our subject to make a selection of its shape.
Create a new layer below the active layer by Ctrl-clicking or Cmd-clicking the New Layer icon.
In this empty layer, we'll fill the selection with black.
If your colors didn't invert, press "x" on your keyboard to make black your foreground color.
Press Alt or Option + Delete.
Deselect it by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + D. Open your Transform Tool and go to the top, middle anchor point.
When you see a vertical, double-arrow, drag it straight down below your subject approximately this much.
Go to the lower, right corner and press and hold Ctrl or Cmd.
When you see this white arrow, drag it to the right horizontally approximately this much.
If you don't have enough room on your canvas, press Ctrl or Cmd and the minus key on your
keyboard and click on your document to zoom out.
After you drag the lower, right corner out, Drag the shadow up to a point where it looks good to you.
Then, press Enter or Return.
We'll convert the shadow into a Smart object, so we can modify it non-destructively.
To do this, click the icon at the upper right of the Layers panel and click "Convert to Smart Object”.
Go to Filter, Blur and Gaussian Blur.
Blur it 6 pixels.
Drag a copy of the layer mask next to the shadow.
Make the Layer Mask active and brush over the shadow to reveal it, however, make sure
you don't reveal the part of the shadow that extends beyond the left side of the window.
Reduce its opacity to 35% and convert it into a Smart Object, so we can modify it non-destructively.
Next, we'll fade down the shadow the further it is from the window.
To do this, click the Layer Mask icon to make a layer mask next to our shadow.
Open your Gradient Tool and Gradient Picker.
Click the White to transparent thumbnail.
Make sure your Linear gradient icon is active and click the gradient bar to open the Gradient Editor.
Click the lower, left Stop and the white box.
In the Brightness field, type in 20.
Then, click OK on both windows or press Enter or Return twice.
Go just outside your shadow and press and hold Shift as you drag the tool to the left
to approximately here.
Holding Shift kept the cursor horizontal.
This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.
Thanks for watching!