This Photoshop tutorial, you will learn how to use a variety of color, lighting, and cut and paste techniques to create a surreal photo manipulation. Combine your creativity with these Photoshop techniques to create your own photo manipulation artworks.

Final Results

image_3

Step 1 – Place the background

The first step it’s to place the sky, our background, into the image. As you can see, we have changed the color of it. We’re going to create a half of the image with a warm tone and another with a cool tone using the color balance tool. To do this, select the sky and then choose Image > Adjustments > Color Balance. Adjust the input sliders to add red and yellow. Select “highlights” and “shadows” then try adding more of these colors until you like the tones in your image.

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Step 2 – Coloring the sky

Duplicate the layer with the sky. Now we are going to repeat the previous step with the color balance tool (Image > Adjustments > Color Balance) but this time adding blue and cyan tones. Remember to add some color to highlights and shadows as well.

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Select the eraser tool then, in the option bar, select a blurred brush like shown below:

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Now use the eraser tool to erase the left side of the sky in the top layer. This will make the warm tones from the layer below appear wherever you paint. When using the eraser, create curved strokes rather than a straight cut. When you have finished this step, you can reduce the opacity of the current layer to make the color more subtle.

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Step 3 – Add the model

Now let’s open picture of the model. Use the magic wand tool to create a selection of the model then click on the add layer mask button in the layers palette to create a mask of the model. Refine the mask by painting in the layer mask using a brush with a harder edge. When you’re done, position the woman in the centre of the image.

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Step 4 – Coloring the model

As you can see the lighting of the model isn’t blending in well with the background. We’re going to fix this with the levels tool. Choose Image > Adjustments > levels and move the input sliders to add contrast that matches the contrast of the background

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32 responses to “Combine Photo Elements to Create a Surreal Photo Manipulation”

  1. Coco Avatar
    Coco

    Hi. Where are the stock photos? There are broken images too

  2. David Holmes Avatar
    David Holmes

    HI. are there any assets to go with this tutorial please, i don’t see them anywhere. I love doing your tutorials they turnout so good. David Holmes

    1. Photoshop Tutorials Staff Avatar
      Photoshop Tutorials Staff

      Unfortunately the author didn’t provide any assets to this tutorial but you can typically find photos of the trees/roots/skies easily. For the model you can find lots over at DeviantART: http://www.deviantart.com/browse/all/resources/stockart/model/

  3. EngAmranullah Hassanzada Avatar
    EngAmranullah Hassanzada

    Rally good, Amazing

  4. Nicholas Avatar
    Nicholas

    That was an aweosome job! Congratulations!

  5. Filippo Gasbarro Avatar
    Filippo Gasbarro

    Francesca Lelli

  6. Mario Maffiol Avatar
    Mario Maffiol

    Muy bueno !

  7. briela Avatar
    briela

    Pls i need the link of those pictures i’m practising digital arts

  8.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    no point doing this tutorial without the sources

  9. jojo Avatar
    jojo

    niccccccccccc

  10. katelynn Avatar
    katelynn

    good

  11.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    yeay so good

  12. Rolp264 Avatar
    Rolp264

    great tutorial

  13. lixa Avatar
    lixa

    Wow so amazing,napakagaling po talaga,fantastic what a tutorial!!it helps me a lot i was so amazed!!

  14. Kula Avatar
    Kula

    People should put nicer coments on this because I do not think they would like their work called crap or sloppy.

  15. Kula Avatar
    Kula

    This looks AWSOME! It might be a little hard but I think I can do it.

  16. Selen Avatar
    Selen

    Agreed.. the tutorial is quite crappy, not enough info for beginners, and more advanced users will know all that already.

    Also extremely sloppy work on the picture, I wouldnt dare to view it in higher resolution.

  17. Ash Avatar
    Ash

    Badly explained or for advanced people only (which wouldn’t need it). Also extremely sloppy work at the bottom (grass).
    I guess this picture looks extremely crappy in a decent resolution.

  18. Eijah Jerry Avatar
    Eijah Jerry

    hahahahahahaha dats impressive work kip it up.

  19. BRNThors Avatar
    BRNThors

    where are the photos that you used

    1.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      yes!, there are not photos ! :/

    2. Ella Avatar
      Ella

      Find your own pictures (;

  20. Done Avatar
    Done

    不错,如果能提供素材看更好啦。

  21. Soto Avatar
    Soto

    Pretty shitty explained… When I use the magic wand tool it always only selects little parts of the model, and I also don´t absolutely don`t know where to save this, or what happened to the layers I worked on before… And where the hell is the add layer mask button??

    1. Av Avatar
      Av

      You should probably get acquainted with basic Photoshop tools first…

      The tutorial is very well done, thank you.

  22. Godluck Kamanyonga Avatar
    Godluck Kamanyonga

    waoooooo very nice

  23. AS!F Avatar
    AS!F

    mind blowingggggggg………

  24. MTR Avatar
    MTR

    bravo. beautiful end result

  25. Brittany Avatar
    Brittany

    Can you please give the source for the model and sky picture?

  26. venecochick09 Avatar
    venecochick09

    great tutorial

  27. Andres Avatar
    Andres

    excelente :P

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