Photoshop Compositing Secrets - Matt Kloskowski [61]
STEP THREE:
Next, we’re really going to take the edginess up a notch. Click once on the portrait layer to target it, and then press Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to create a copy, so now there are two portrait layers in the Layers panel. First, we’ll need to desaturate the duplicate by going to Image>Adjustments>Desaturate. Then, change the blend mode of the duplicate layer to Hard Light and reduce the Opacity to 50%.
STEP FOUR:
Okay, that’s a good start. His skin definitely has an edgier look to it now, but we need more. So, go to Image>Adjustments>Shadows/Highlights and crank the Shadows Amount setting up to the maximum of 100. Now, you should start seeing every single vein on his body stand out. Then, start increasing the Midtone Contrast setting (under Adjustments; if you don’t see all of the settings shown here, just turn on the Show More Options checkbox at the bottom of the dialog) and watch how the grit really seems to show up on his skin. Don’t go too high here—increasing it to around 25 works pretty well. Click OK when you’re done to apply the adjustment.
STEP FIVE:
We’re getting that edgy look, but he’s still too bright and saturated for the background. So, let’s tackle the brightness first. There’s a really cool Channels-related selection trick that’ll help us target both the highlight areas and the shadow areas separately when darkening our subject. When you’re compositing, it helps to be able to control both. Sometimes, the overall brightness is okay, but the highlights may be too dark. First, hide all of the layers, except for the one with the color version of the portrait on it, by Option-clicking (PC: Alt-clicking) on the Eye icon to the left of the color portrait layer.
STEP SIX:
Now, go to the Channels panel (Window>Channels) and Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) on the RGB channel (the top one) to load its selection. Photoshop will load the luminosity, or overall brightness, of the image as a selection.
STEP SEVEN:
Go back to the Layers panel, click on the Create New Adjustment Layer icon, and choose Curves. In the Adjustments panel, click-and-drag the curve downward and you’ll notice that the bright areas (especially the highlights on his arms and face) of the portrait become darker. But everything else stays pretty much the same. This is a great way to control those highlights once you change a person’s background.
STEP EIGHT:
Press Command-J to duplicate the Curves adjustment layer, then press Command-I (PC: Ctrl-I) to Invert the layer mask. Whatever was being targeted by the adjustment is now reversed, and you’ve just given yourself a way to work specifically on the darker parts of the portrait.
Note: A question I get a lot when showing this technique is whether one simple Curves adjustment (with no mask) would have worked. It would have, but here’s the deal: When you’re compositing, you constantly try to get your subject to fit into the background. Having total control over their shadows and highlights, like we just did, gives you an easy way to make small (and targeted) adjustments as you work on the composite.
STEP NINE:
Go ahead and click where the Eye icons were for the hidden layers to show them again, and you’ll notice that those two Curves adjustment layers we just added apply to everything below them (not just the portrait). So, with one of them targeted, Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) on the other, and then go to Layer>Create Clipping Mask to force them to only apply to the portrait and not the background.
STEP 10:
Now, I still think he’s a little too saturated for the photo, but that’s an easy fix. Click once on the top Curves adjustment layer to target it, then click on the Create New Adjustment Layer icon and choose