When a composite looks fake, the shadow is usually the reason, not the edges or the colors. Learning how to make shadows look real in photo composites comes down to matching four things to the background: the direction the light comes from, where the shadow falls, how soft its edge is, and how dark and … Read more
To remove a background in Photoshop, open the image, make sure it sits on a regular pixel layer, then choose Select > Select Subject and Adobe’s AI builds the selection in one click. Open Select and Mask with Alt+Ctrl+R (Windows) or Option+Cmd+R (Mac), clean up the edges, and your selection is applied as a layer … Read more
Blending two photos together in Photoshop means stacking one image above another and using a layer mask, a gradient, or a blending mode so only part of the top photo shows, and the two read as one picture. The fastest route is a gradient on a layer mask, then brush work for the edges. That … Read more
To shoot in square format, set your camera or phone to a 1:1 aspect ratio, then compose for a frame that is exactly as wide as it is tall. On most phones that is one tap on the ratio button above the shutter; on a camera it is an image area or aspect ratio setting … Read more
To start working out how to shoot black and white photos with a digital camera, you have two options: turn on the camera’s built-in monochrome mode, or shoot color RAW files and convert them in editing software. The second option keeps every bit of color data, so you can change your mind later, and that … Read more
To add contrast to black and white photos, you widen the gap between the darkest and lightest tones: pull the tone curve into a gentle S-shape, then fix the few areas that still sit in gray with masked dodge and burn. On a properly converted file that takes about five minutes per image, and the … Read more
To edit black and white photos in Lightroom, open the image in the Develop module, set Treatment to Black & White in the Basic panel (or press V), then use the B&W panel sliders to decide how bright each colour becomes. Shape the result with the tone curve, add local adjustments and grain, and export. … Read more