by Chad Neuman

This technique can be useful when creating brochure, web site, or poster designs. Creating duplicated layers from selections and then applying layer styles to them is a simple yet effective technique. Let’s get started.

Step 1
Open an image in Adobe Photoshop.

Step 2
Press Cmd-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to duplicate the Background layer so we’re working on a copy.

Step 3
Select the Marquee Selection tool and click-and-drag a square (Hold Shift to create a square rather than a rectangle).

Step 4
We need to save the exact square shape for all three layers we will make, so go to Select>Save Selection and name and save it.

Step 5
Next, press Cmd-J (Ctrl-J) to duplicate just what was selected. I click the Eye icon on Layer 1 and the Background layer to show the new layer, Layer 2.

Step 6
Click Layer 1 in the Layers palette to make sure it is selected, and go to Select>Load Selection.

Step 7
Now we need to move the selection to the right. With the Marquee Selection tool selected, hover the mouse inside the edge of the selection and it should turn into an arrow. Holding Shift to maintain a straight line, click-and-drag the selection to the right until it is a few picas over. You may want to use the Rulers (View>Rulers) to make sure you’ve dragged the selection over enough so it does not overlap where the original selection was. Then click Cmd-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to duplicate another area to a new layer. I clicked the Eye icon on Layer 1 and the Background layer again to show these two new layers.

Step 8
Next, repeat steps 6 and 7 but move the selection over even more an even amount so we can duplicate a third layer. Try toggling Layer 1 on and off with the Eye icon to make sure we duplicate the area at about an even interval. It doesn’t have to be exact unless your design calls for it; I am mostly worried about avoiding overlapping.

Step 9
Now let’s add some layer styles. With Layer 2 selected, apply a layer style by going to Layer>Layer Style>Drop Shadow. Try the settings shown here.

Step 10
Now instead of having to add a layer style to each again with those steps, we can press Option (PC: Alt) and click-and-drag the Drop Shadow from Layer 2 to Layer 3 and Layer 4 in the Layers palette.

Step 11
There we go!

Try different layer styles by clicking-and-dragging the styles to the trash icon on the Layers palette and then applying new ones.

This one has a Stroke and Inner Shadow applied.

This one has an Outer Glow, Inner Glow, and Drop Shadow

by Chad Neuman

Here’s another way to create a Holga effect. Some Holga photos have varying hues or vignettes, and the one shown here. But others have a faded out focus on parts of the photo and a faded look. Here’s how to achieve that in Photoshop.

Step 1
Open Adobe Photoshop and open an image you’d like to use.

I chose this photo by Joey Nelson at iStockPhoto.

Step 2
Press Cmd-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to duplicate the Background layer.

Step 3
Next, let’s add a blur to the copied layer. Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. The amount of blur depends on the size of the photo. This photo I am working with is very large, so I set the blur to 15 pixels. You may try 3 or 4 pixels or so if hte photos is much smaller.

Step 4
We need to add a mask to the Layer 1 to mask out parts of the blurred layer. Click the Add Layer Mask on the bottom of the Layers palette. This will create a white box on Layer 1.

Step 5
Choose a large, soft-edged brush, and set the Foreground color to black and click once in the photo to mask out part of the blurred layer.

Step 6
Next, click the Create a New Layer icon on the bottom of the Layers palette. Choose an orange Foreground color (I chose #ffc000) and press Option-Delete (Mac: Alt-Backspace) to fill the layer with this color. Change the Layer Blending Mode of this layer to Multiply.

Step 7
Change the Opacity of this layer to 50% and go to Filter>Distort>Lens Correction. Drag the Vignette slider to the left to create a dark border. I chose -100. Multiply blending mode is subtle, but try Color Burn and the look even looks more like a Holga.

Step 8
There we go! This is another way to create a Holga look.

by Chad Neuman

Here are a few techniques to create an “electrifying” design. Using soft white brushes is a popular technique in creating a hip layout, but we’ll use a few other techniques as well to create this design, including threshold, hue/saturation adjustments, and layer blending modes.

Step 1
Download the support files and open telephone pole.jpg in Adobe Photoshop.

Step 2
Go to Image>Threshold and change the Threshold Level to 179.

Step 3
Go to Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation and change the levels to the numbers shown here.

Step 4
Open “telephone pole2.jpg” and go to Image>Adjustments>Threshold and change the Threshold Level to 64.

Step 5
Go to Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation and change the levels to those shown here.

Step 6
Click the Move tool (the tool at the top of the Toolbar) and click-and-drag “telephone pole2.jpg” onto “telephone pole.jpg.”

Step 7
Make sure Show Tranform Controls is selected on the Options palette, and click-and-drag a corner with the Move tool and enlargen the top layer so it covers the Background layer.

Step 8
Change the Layer Blending mode on the Layers palette to Color Burn.

Step 9
Open kelly.psd and click-and-drag the layer with the Move tool onto the other image. Click-and-drag a corner with the Move tool to resize the image a bit. Hold Shift to maintain proportion.

Step 10
Go to File>Place and place “scan5.jpg” and make sure Show Tranform Controls is selected on the Options palette. Rotate it using the Move tool and make it larger by clicking-and-dragging on a corner.

Step 11
Click-and-drag the scan5 layer below Layer 2. Change the Layer Blending mode of scan5 to Multiply.

Step 12
Select Layer 2, the layer with my friend Kelly on it. Go to Layer>Layer Style>Stroke. Change the stroke color to White and the Size to 6.

Step 13
Click the New Layer icon on the bottom of the Layers palette and choose to Brush tool. Change the brush to the soft brush, 27.

Step 14
Click on various areas of the art, changing the size of the brush by pressing the left and right brackets.

 Now we have a nice design which adds interest to the overall photo look.

A fun way to learn the Clone Stamp tool (as well as adding a virtual drop shadow) is to create an invisible man or woman. We can transform an ordinary portrait or action shot to make the person disappear, leaving floating clothes around a space. Adding shadowed wrinkles also adds realism.

Step 1
Open a photo of a person, preferably one that includes the entire body. Choose one with a simple background that can either be cut out or cloned for a more realistic look. For each step, work on a separate layer to reduce the risk of having to start over.

CREDIT: ©ISTOCKPHOTO/TYLER STALMAN

Step 2
Zoom in to the areas of the person where their skin is showing (Hold down the Cmd and then press + or – (PC: Hold down the Ctrl and then press + or -)). Select the Clone Stamp tool and use it to erase the areas not too close to the clothing. To do this, hold down Option (PC: Alt) and click an area to clone, then release the key and click-and-drag over the area to paint, replacing the pixels with the source pixels. If you have a completely solid background, just select the areas with a Selection tool and press Delete (MAC: Backspace).

Step 3
Once the pixels behind the hands, feet and head that would normally be the background are replaced using the Clone Stamp tool or the Selection tool, we need to redraw what the inside of the clothes would look like. Using a Selection tool, draw around each area and fill it using the Paint Bucket tool. Rarely does a solid color look real, so add shadows by keeping the area selected and using a large, soft brush with the Brush tool, click-and-drag around the edges to create shadows for depth.

Step 4
For the areas that need deeper shadows, first start by filling the area on a separate layer as usual with a solid color, perhaps taken using the Eyedropper tool from nearby areas. Then, add some noise to this layer, at a very low setting such as 1 (Filter>Noise>Add Noise). This adds to the realism and makes it less sterile looking. Then using the Clone Stamp tool, Alt-click (MAC: Option-click) in a nearby source area and then release and click-and-drag in the new area to create the correct look. Use the same technique as earlier to create shadows on some of the edges (use a large, soft brush on the edges of the selection).

Step 5
Use the Clone Stamp tool again to extend any areas of clothing that would naturally move that way. For this example, I used the Clone Stamp tool to extend the collar to meet in the back.

Step 6
The clothing opening that face the front would have a different shadow than the pant legs and sleeves. Instead of having a shadow on the bottom or on the sides, the shadow would be along a large portion of it to show depth. You can optionally add some noise to make it more realistic. Here I added a shadow while the area was selected by using the same technique (painting with a large, soft brush) to give the sweater some depth. The illusion is that the sweater is still filled out but empty.

CREDIT: ©ISTOCKPHOTO/JOHN RAWSTERNE (DECORATION)