Dazzling Dance Photo Manipulation

In this detailed and lengthy Photoshop tutorial, you will learn how to combine photos and add special effects to turn a normal photograph into a stunning artwork. You will also learn several tricks to reduce your Photoshop document file size and number of layers and layer styles.

Preview of Final Results

Stock Photos

Here are the stock photos used for this website. You can purchase the images through Dreamstime by clicking on the image below. We used the highest resolution (unscaled) images available to write this tutorial. If you would like to follow this tutorial using the same settings we used, download the highest resolution (unscaled) images available.

Step 1 – Open the image of the dancer

Load the image of the dancer into Photoshop.

Step 2 – Place the image of the clouds

Choose File > Place, browse for the image of the clouds, then click OK. The image of the clouds will appear in your document window with the transform tool activated. Resize and position the clouds where you like it to appear then press enter on your keyboard to apply the changes. The reason why we use the place command rather than other methods is because the place command will place the image as a smart object (if you are using Photoshop CS2 or newer) to help keep the file size small if you save the document without the maximize compatibility option.

Step 3 – Blend the clouds

Now we’ll make the sky transparent so that only the clouds are visible. Instead of using a mask, we’ll use the blending options. This will help keep the file size small and reduce the number of layers in your document. Right click on the layer of the clouds then choose Blending Options.

In the blending options, move the black input slider towards the right until the sky disappears.

Hold the alt key on your keyboard and drag the black input slider all the way towards the right. The hard edges of the clouds should disappear and the clouds should have some transparency. Don’t click OK yet.

In the same layer style window, click on the Color Overlay option. Choose white as the color then set the blend mode to color. This is a simple non-destructive trick to desaturate a layer using layer styles. Click OK to apply the changes.

Here’s what the image looks like right now. You have just blended the cloud into the background without using any layer masks. We’re not 100% complete with blending the clouds in but we’re going to pause here and continue after we create a mask of the model.

Step 4 – Create an inverse selection of the model

Hide the layer with the clouds then select the background layer.

Select the magic wand tool then set the tolerance to 0 so that the black sweater won’t be included in the selection.

Click on the black area to create a selection of the background. You’ll get most of the background selected.

You can continue to add to the selection using the lasso tool. Or, if you’re using Photoshop CS3 or newer, switch to the quick selection tool, to easily add the bottom of the background into the selection.

If you’re using Photoshop CS3 or newer, you can use the refine edge tool to enhance the selection. Simply select any one of the selection tools then click on the “Refine Edge” button on the option bar.

Step 5 – Create a layer mask of the selection on a group

By applying the mask in a group instead of a layer, we can simply place any layer we want in this group and it will only be visible behind the model. This saves us from having unnecessary layer masks.

21 comments on “Dazzling Dance Photo Manipulation”

Myat Thu says:

March 23, 2019 at 8:44 am

Thanks alot.

Sylvester says:

October 8, 2017 at 12:15 am

Thankz for the sharing ....that's great ..anyway does it have a video?

1. Photoshop Tutorials Staff says:
  
  October 8, 2017 at 1:56 pm
  
  Yes it does. You can find the Photoshop tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wHajsp12_U
Sourav Mandal says:

October 10, 2015 at 2:33 am

I am having trouble in the step7. I am following your instructions but my photo remains back of the cloud.
Please help me as soon as possible.
Thank you for such nice share.

Anonymous says:

February 26, 2015 at 6:24 am

cool piece

Ali says:

January 29, 2015 at 8:07 am

My Stoke Path Is Not Enabled.Why?

Annoynames says:

January 19, 2015 at 12:28 am

nice

Dave says:

March 4, 2014 at 3:07 pm

Excellent tutorial. I love your imagination and creativity. The use of the Gun Shot was an outstanding touch!!

Anonymous says:

December 18, 2013 at 10:30 pm

thank u........

Terry Thone says:

September 8, 2013 at 2:53 pm

Job well done! Thanks for being willing to post this.

Nanda says:

September 5, 2013 at 3:02 am

Phaaaaaaaaaaaa............. nice

arun says:

August 16, 2013 at 11:43 pm

wonder full

amna says:

July 14, 2013 at 10:55 am

I love your work! thanksalot! we want more

sreenu says:

May 30, 2013 at 8:40 am

Thanks a lot for the tutorial

Miguel Aldemar peñaloza says:

May 26, 2013 at 6:31 pm

quisiera que mi hicieras el favor de darme un link para descargar ese programa....

Rodrigo says:

April 2, 2013 at 4:14 pm

This is incredible! Thanks a lot for the tutorial

zayyakhan says:

March 28, 2013 at 7:57 pm

Send Me the glass Picture If you see my comment.......ALso Thanks

KEITH T MAXWELL says:

February 5, 2013 at 12:31 pm

a bit hard to follow but great help besides im still a no0b at this stuff

padma says:

January 18, 2013 at 3:49 am

This is a wonderful tutorial i came to know through my client. thanks for posting this

LeRoSkyBoy says:

December 26, 2012 at 4:56 pm

Thank you very much . :)
This is awesome .

Sofyan says:

August 28, 2012 at 9:38 am

it's a really great image i love it n the tutorial is even better, thx alot i really needed to know how to work something like this, keep it up