Get the IMAGE YOU WANT [Electronic resources] : Essential Photoshop Editing Techniques

Creative Team

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Create convincing reflections

One of the greatest benefits of Photoshop is the ability to add objects to photos that weren't there at the time of the shoot. Items are often added after the fact, such as clouds to skies, grass to lawns, and leaves to trees. Another great benefit of Photoshop is the ability to add surface treatments to photographs that were either impossible to achieve at the time of the shot, or not thought of until well after the fact. Shadows, ripples, and reflections are all examples of treatments that can add a little pizzazz to an otherwise less-than-awesome image. We'll put these abilities to work and show you how to create a realistic-looking reflection like the one shown in Figure A.

Figure A.

Creating a reflection

Let's create a reflection for an object by selecting a photo that was taken from a medium angle viewpoint, as shown in Figure B. Looking at the photo, you'll notice that not much of the top and bottom of the car is seen, making it a good candidate for adding a reflection. You can add a reflection to either side or to the bottom of the photo and make it realistic in appearance. We want to add it to the bottom to give the impression that the auto is sitting on a highly polished floor.

Figure B.

Enlarging the canvas

Since we want to be able to see the entire reflection, we have to make the canvas larger. Right now the canvas measures 9 3/8" by 6". If we double the depth (length) of the image, we'll have plenty of room to work in.

Select Image Canvas Size.

Select Percent in the Height dropdown list, as shown in Figure C.

Figure C.

Enter 200 in the Height text box. The Anchor selection shows the direction the canvas will be expandeddownward.

Select the top-middle button, as shown in Figure D, and the canvas expands in the direction shown.

Figure D.

Click OK and the canvas enlarges, as shown in Figure E.

Figure E.

Filling in the floor

We now want to fill in the expanded canvas with a color that visually continues the floor into the foreground.

Select the Eyedropper tool from the Toolbox and click in the bottom-middle of the image to select a floor color. Now, we'll fill in the area with the color we just selected.

Choose the Paint Bucket tool from the Toolbox, position your mouse pointer in the transparent area of the image, click, and the floor image fills in, as shown in Figure F on the next page.

Figure F.

Copying and flipping the reflection image

Next, we need to copy and flip the auto image.

Choose the Rectangular Marquee tool from the Toolbox and drag out a selection border that only includes the auto, as shown in the example in Figure G.

Figure G.

Press [Ctrl]C (C on the Mac) to copy the auto image, and then press [Ctrl]V (V on the Mac) to paste the image. In the Layers palette, a new layer is automatically created that includes the selection.

Rename the layer by double-clicking on the name Layer 1 and entering Reflection in the text box.

Select Edit Transform Flip Vertical from the menu bar and the reflection image is flipped, as shown in Figure H.

Figure H.

Positioning the reflection image

Next, we'll move the reflection image down to just under the wheels of the auto.

Make certain that the Reflection layer in the Layers palette is still selected.

Select the Move tool from the Toolbox.

Click on the reflection image, and drag it into position, as shown in Figure I.

Figure I.

Adjusting the opacity of the reflection image

The reflection image now has a natural look to it. But to fine-tune it, let's make the reflection somewhat transparent, since no reflection is as bright as the original object. In the Layers palette, enter 60 in the Opacity text box. The result is a more realistic reflection, as shown in Figure A.

Modifying the reflection image

Since the reflection image is a layer, you can modify it using a number of interesting effects without affecting the original auto image. We'll briefly step through using the Liquify and Glass filters to show a couple of unique effects. The possibilities with various filters, however, are endless.

Applying the Liquify filter

Choose Filter Liquify from the menu bar.

Select the Forward Warp tool from the Liquify Toolbox located along the left side of the dialog box.

Set the Brush Size pop-up slider box to about 65 px in the tool options section located along the right side of the dialog box.

Move your mouse pointer to the center preview section, and drag it using short strokes up and down over the reflection image to produce a ripple effect.

Click OK when you've finished and the Liquify filter effect is applied to your reflection, as shown in Figure J.

Figure J.

Applying the Glass filter

Choose Filter Distort Glass from the menu bar.

Enter 7 in the Distortion text box, enter 3 in the Smoothness text box, select Frosted from the Texture dropdown list, and enter 100 in the Scaling text box to follow our example.

Click OK and that's all there is to getting a glass effect, as shown in Figure K.

Figure K.

Reflect on this

Surface treatments, such as reflections, can add great interest and excitement to images. They're quick, easy to do, and can add a visual feature to an image that wasn't possible when photographing the subject.