One of the most difficult tasks in Photoshop is to merge objects from multiple images that have different colors, shadows, and lighting, into one single composite and make it look realistic. This is one of the key differences between the work of a professional designer and an amateur.
Photoshop instructor Unmesh Dinda from PiXimperfect has come up with an extensive tutorial that shows you how to create realistic shadows and match the lighting while compositing in Photoshop. You will learn how to paint, color, and blur shadows with realism.
Unmesh also shows you how to match the colors, ambient light, and sunlight of the background with the subject using curves and blend modes. Watch below.
00:00 – Extracting vs. Painting Shadows
01:11 – Downloads and Resources
01:20 – Getting the Composite Ready
04:18 – Creating the Shadow
11:04 – Coloring the Shadow
13:45 – Get the Right Blur
15:44 – Don’t Forget the Ground!
17:24 – Contact Point Shadow
20:21 – Add Little Darkness From the Shadows
21:53 – Matching Ambient Light
22:54 – Matching Brightness
24:16 – Adding Additional Warmth
25:45 – A Small Correction
26:21 – The See-Through Shadow
27:42 – Enhancing Shadows on the Subject
29:27 – Darkening Subject Shadows to Add Dimension
30:47 – Final Adjustment!
31:51 – Oops! Don’t Miss This Tiny Matching Factor!
32:57 – Recap
34:52 – Outro
Download sample image shown in video.
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