I Want You Back – Manipulation Tutorial

Learn how to take control over the light and mood of a manipulation and how to create a night environment in Photoshop using adjustment layers and lighting techniques.

Resources :

City: http://antontang.deviantart.com/art/City-Of-Lights-159526295
Ground: http://austriaangloalliance.deviantart.com/art/Moody-Weather-287848551
Woman: http://reine-haru.deviantart.com/art/Winter-Stock-I-270262437 

Step 1

Create a blank document 2200×1500 pixels. Paste the city background over it and adjust the size. Do the same with the ground stock image. I used the quick selection tool to extract the ground.

Step 2

Start making adjustments to the city background. I used a Gradient Map on Hard light at 37% Opacity and a Color Balance adjustment layer.

For the Color Balance I used the following settings:

Highlights: Red +48, Green +8, Blue +17

Midtones: Red +2, Green +12, Blue -22

Shadows: Red +17, Green +12, Blue -10

Step 3

Make adjustments to the ground layer as well. Here I used Curves to make it darker and also a Gradient Map on Multiply at 50% Opacity both set as clipping mask.

Step 4

I used another Gradient Map to affect both layers (so not a clipping mask) and create the final color tone. I used the Soft-light blend mode at 100% Opacity with the color shown on image 4. I also added a lens flare from my pack on Screen mode and changed its Hue and blurred it a bit.

Step 5

You can add the woman as shown in the image below. I used Color Balance and Levels to make all the adjustments. The settings used for the Color Balance adjustment are:

Highlights: Red -1, Green -2, Blue -5

Midtones: Red -12, Green +31, Blue +9

Shadows: Red +1, Green +8, Blue +13

Step 6

Open the woman’s layer style window and add a Black to White Gradient Overlay at 168º on Multiply. (see video for more info). Also add Inner Shadow at an angle of 135º Color Dodge, Color #817C48, Distance 2 and Size 10.

Step 7

Use the Dodge/Burn tool to enhance the image. I used this tool non-destructively on a separate layer filled with 50% Gray on Overlay.

Step 8

Add more adjustment layers to create the final color and contrast effects. I used Color Balance and a Gradient Map set on Soft-light at 20% Opacity.

Color Balance settings:

Highlights: Red +12, Green +12, Blue -17

Midtones: Red -10, Green -10, Blue +2

Shadows: Red -9, Green +9, Blue -1

Final

Source: psdbox.com