Gang, creating photo manipulation of wedding images is getting more and more popular. And for a good reason too. Wedding photos make great polygon for Photoshop exhibitions and I made one too

So, if you are interested to learn about wedding photo manipulation, here is a little tutorial!

Ingredients:

1. Here’s my choice for today’s Wedding Photo Manipulation.

• For this tutorial you will have to use your own image of the bride, but, just for learning purposes you could use any image
• Trees (download here)
• Sky with clouds (download here)
• Moon (wikipedia download from Luc Viatour)
• Mr. Alphons I, Mr. Alphons II
• Photoshop brushes Hearts

Once got our ingredients ready, together with a cup coffee, let’s dive into it.

1. Since I had the image in RAW format, I tweaked it during the import

- in Lightroom I used Color Creative CP2 preset.

If you don’t use Lightroom, here are the color preferences for RAW in Photoshop:

2. Now apply same color preferences for the two background images

3. Open the image with the trees. This will be the main background.

4. Place an image with the clouds above the background image and use the “Hard Light” layer option, with 57% Opacity.

5. And now, let’s clean it up a bit.

1. Add layer mask on the image with the clouds.
2. Draw a rectangle in the “mask area”.
3. Fill the rectangle with a gradient: from black to none (empty). The grass is hidden and the clouds will fit well in the scene.

6. Let’s copy the main background image (with the trees) using “Multiply” layer option, Opacity is at 68%

7. Lighten the grass in the front of the scene, because we want to emphasize the front. Add a layer mask, and again: draw a rectangle and fill it with a gradient: from black to none (empty)

8. Open the image with the bride and using the Quick Mask option “color” erase the background. Simply turn off Quick Mask when you are done and invert the selection area then erase it.

9. Now add a bride in the scene, just drag and drop. Place it under the tree and using Burn Tool darken the areas that will be in the shadow.

10. Using the Burn Tool darken the grass – create the shadow behind the bride, drawing shadow on the main background image.

11. Now, let’s add the moon. Open the moon file and using Elliptical Marquee Tool and “Shift” key draw a circled selection. Invert the selection and cut out the moon.

12. Color the moon with blue using Hue/Saturation.
First, set the foreground color.
Open Image – Adjustment – Hue/Saturation and check the Colorize option. Click OK, it’s done. The moon is blue.

13. Now create a layer set and change the set option into “Color Dodge”. Drag and drop the moon image into that layer set.

14. Now, copy the background with the trees as many times as you want to achieve the night feeling in the scene. I copied it four times. Merge all 5 layers (background images with the trees).

15. Now use the Dodge Tool, and lighten the image below the moon creating the moonlight effect.

Set up the Dodge Tool as shown.

16. Create a new layer in the layer set with “Color Dodge” style. Add some Hearts brushes (various sizes) and apply Filter – Blur – Gaussian Blur. Create another layer and repeat the same, but use less Gaussian Blur in order to create 3D effect. (How to instal and use Hearts Photoshop brushes – design an unique wedding invitation – video tutorial MP4)

17. Also use simple brush, with 0% Hardness and approx 30 px size.

18. I added a sleeping cat too. The process is the same as for the bride.

19. Another cat (same my Mr. Alphons) is added behind the tree trunk. Of, course, he is not behind the tree but dark bark was good to hide his body…

And here is out final result! Voila!

My cousin loved it, I hope you like it too!

In case you liked the Hearts Photoshop brushes touch, these are available in my Photoshop brushes store with commercial license so you can create commercial projects with them.

That’s all folks! Talk soon!
Silvia

P.S.

Our 250 color postcards give-away contest is still on [ends on 26 January 2012]! So, hurry up and enroll, nothing to do really just leave a comment… read more –>