Learn to edit out of bounds (part 1)

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Tips & Tutorials, by Mark White

Make a shark leap – Photoshop-style – as we create a project that bursts and spills off the page

1. Image placement

Find your tablet image and a jumping shark image. Open them both in the same document, and transform them both so that the shark appears to be jumping out of the iPad. It’s helpful to reduce the Opacity of the layers when positioning.

2. Inside the box

Hide the shark layer and focus on the image inside the tablet. Create a selection around the screen of the tablet and use a layer mask. Add an Inner Glow layer style, but change the blend mode to Multiply and the colour to a deep grey.

3. Jump the paths

Use the Pen tool set to Path to create a tight outline around the shark on its layer. Use that path as a vector mask to isolate the shark. Open the Properties panel and set Feature to 0.5px to slightly soften the mask edge.

4. Shark and shark again

Adjust the Hue/Saturation of the Shark layer, set adjustment to Cyans and set Hue to 15, Saturation to -70 and Lightness to 19. Create two duplicates of the masked shark layer, call one SharkBlur and the other SharkColour.

5. Increased highlights

Turn the SharkColour layer into a Smart Object and run the Camera Raw filter to intensify the highlights. In the Basic tab, set the Contrast to 14, Highlights to 74, Shadows to 51, Whites to 30, increase the Clarity to 76, and Vibrance to 4.

6. Faded effect

After applying the Camera Raw settings, back in Photoshop hide the SharkBlur layer and focus on the SharkColour layer. Add a layer mask and use a linear gradient from black to white to fade the highlight effect down the length of the shark.

7. Add Motion Blur

Right-click the vector mask of the SharkBlur layer, choose Rasterise Vector Mask, then right-click again and choose Apply Layer Mask. Run the Motion Blur filter and set the Angle to -35 and a Distance of 142 pixels. Then use a layer mask to contain the blur towards the bottom of the shark.

8. Subtle shark shadow

Create a SharkShadow layer just above the Background. Cmd/Ctrl-click on the Shark copy mask to create a selection. Fill with black and cancel the selection. Give the shadow a 5px Gaussian Blur, set the mode to Multiply, reduce the Opacity to 18% and scale down slightly so the shadow is visible.

Learn to edit out of bounds (part 2)

Posted in:

Tips & Tutorials, by Mark White

Part two of our killer composition!

9. Make a splash

Open a splash stock image and use the Magic Wand tool to select the splash. Copy the selected pixels to a new layer. Fill the background layer with black. In the Channels panel Cmd/Ctrl+click the RGB channel to select the luminosity of the image. Then use this selection as a layer mask on the water splash. Position and repeat with the other splash pictures.

10. Make a bigger splash

For each splash layer, set the blend mode to Luminosity and add a Colour Overlay layer style using a teal colour set to Overlay. Copy and transform the splashes until the effect surrounds the shark. Then group all these splash layers.

11. Smart splashes

Add a mask to the group and use it to hide splashes behind the shark’s fin. Then create a merged copy of the splash group by holding down Opt/Alt and going to Layer>Merge Group. Convert the splash group into a Smart Object.

12. Path Blur

On the splash’s Smart Object go to Filter>Blur Gallery>Path Blur. Create a short path matching the shark’s motion. Set the Speed to 13% and End Point Speeds to 145px. After applying the blur, use the Smart Filter’s mask to apply the effect to the splashes only at the base of the shark.

13. Splash explosion

Target the merged Splash layer, set the blending mode to Vivid Light and reduce the Opacity to 52%. Then go to Filter>Blur>Radial Blur. Set the Amount to 26, the Method to Zoom and adjust the blur centre to match the location of the splash epicentre.

14. Puddles

Use a group mask on the splash group to remove the blur effect from areas that should remain sharp. Open a water drops stock image and then place in the picture, before setting the layer to Soft Light.

15. Flopping fish

Extra fish images can really enhance the final picture. Position using the techniques we used earlier, and to make them more dynamic, add motion blurs and layering in some additional splashes. Then use a Drop Shadow layer style with the Size increased to 30px.

16. A grande finale

Create a merged layer of all the background elements and use the Camera Raw filter to add a Post Crop Vignette with an Amount set to -60. Then use an Iris Blur from the Blur Gallery set to a 6px blur to add a focal blur to the outside edges.