Photoshop Compositing Secrets - Matt Kloskowski [43]
Then, click the New radio button at the top of the Adjustment Brush options, so we can create a new adjustment and darken his feet separately. Set the Exposure to −1.05 and the Brightness to −20, then paint over his feet. When you’re done, click OK to go back to Photoshop.
STEP FIVE:
Next, we’re going to use a trick we used in a few other tutorials to give a slightly desaturated and edgy look to the athlete. Right-click on the layer and choose New Smart Object via Copy to make a copy of the original Smart Object layer. Double-click on the new layer’s image thumbnail to reopen it in Camera Raw, go to the HSL/Grayscale panel (the fourth icon from the left, shown circled here), and turn on the Convert to Grayscale checkbox to remove all of the color.
STEP SIX:
Go back to the Basic panel and reduce the Exposure setting to −0.45. Set the Fill Light slider to 100 to really open the shadowy areas, set the Blacks to 10 to darken the blacks a little more, then set Contrast to 0, and Clarity to 35. Finally, press K again to get the Adjustment Brush and then press the Clear All button at the bottom right to remove all of the selective adjustments we created earlier. Click OK when you’re done. To complete the edgy effect, change the layer’s blend mode to Hard Light.
STEP SEVEN:
Let’s warm him up a little to add to the fiery mood that the photo is building. Click on the Create New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and select Photo Filter. Make sure the Filter pop-up menu is set to Warming Filter (85), then click the Color radio button and increase the Density to 55%. Next, add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and set the Saturation to −60 to decrease it just a little more. Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) on each adjustment layer in the Layers panel to select them both, and go to Layer>Create Clipping Mask to force each one to clip to the layer right below them.
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Tip: Save Your File Regularly
If you haven’t already, it’s probably a good idea to go to File>Save to save the image as a PSD file, in case Photoshop or your computer accidentally crashes. In fact, I press the shortcut for Save (Command-S [PC: Ctrl-S]) all the time, just to make sure I’m always covered.
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STEP EIGHT:
It’s time for some shadows. Click on the Create a New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and drag the new layer below both of the basketball player layers. Press B to select the Brush tool from the Toolbox and choose a small, soft-edged brush. Make sure your Foreground color is set to black, set the Opacity to 75% up in the Options Bar, and paint a dark, hard shadow that comes out from under both of his feet. It doesn’t have to spread too far away from the feet, though. Remember, it’s just a shadow that his shoes are casting on the ground.
STEP NINE:
Create another new layer on top of the last one. This time, press the Right Bracket key to make your brush larger and set the Opacity to 10%. Now, paint some more shadow areas on the ground in front of him. There’s a light source coming from behind him, so we want to make sure we’re casting some shadow on the ground in front. Since you’re painting with a 10% opacity brush, the more you paint, the darker it’ll get, and you’ll be able to build up the effect. Also, it’s a good idea to start double-clicking on the name of each layer and giving them more descriptive names at this point.
STEP 10:
Now, it’s time for some really cool stuff. I photographed him in this pose specifically because I had the idea that I wanted to make it look like the ball was being slammed into the ground. In order to do that, we’ll need a photo of some damaged concrete. Go ahead and open the damaged concrete photo and use the Move tool to drag it into