How To Create Object Shadows in Photoshop

Creating shadows for objects in Adobe Photoshop is an easy technique that helps elements of a composite look more realistic and blend into your scene.  In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to create a shadow for a tree, but you can use this technique for any object.  The shadow will mimic the exact shape of the original object.  Below is a text description of each step.  Lets get started!

Step 1

Open the image you want to create a shadow for.

Step 2

Duplicate layer using the shortcut CMD + J

Step 3

Envoke the Transform tool using CMD +T

Step 4

Bend the object to the correct orientation for the shadow.  Try to match the shadow direction of other elements in your composite.  Use CMD + Click  to select just one of the Transform handles to ‘bend’ the shadow around.

Step 5

Once the shadow is going the direction you want, press enter to accept the transformation.  Next, select the layer by holding CMD while selecting the Layer Preview in the Layer stack.  This will select all of the contents on that layer. 

Step 6

Once the layer is selected, fill it with black using Shift + Delete.  Then Deselect the layer using CMD + D.

Step 7

Make sure the shadow layer is behind the object layer.  Change the layer blend mode to Multiply.  Adjust opacity so it matches other shadows in your image.  Rarely will shadows ever be 100% opacity. 

Your shadow is now complete!

If this tutorial was helpful please take a look at my other tutorials on my blog HERE!

How to Blend Composite Images

Here is a great tip that helps blend images together when making a composite.  Many times when you are combining different images into one composite, it is obvious that the images were not originally together.  There are many different techniques to help blend images together and this is just one of the final additions I like to make to composites. 

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Adobe Photoshop CC - Custom Trees using Pattern Fill

Adobe Photoshop CC has a way to create a wide variety of 3D trees and shrubs that can be inserted into your images!  This is an awesome new feature that is customizable and easy to use.  As a Landscape Architect, I frequently use Photoshop as a visualization tool to help clients see the potential of their outdoor space.  I have found that many clients cannot fully understand a design simply by looking at an overhead plan view of their site.  Great photographs of the existing site combined with Photoshop compositing really help to get the design idea and intent across to clients.

Accessing and using the custom 3D trees in Photoshop is simple.  First, open the image you will be working on.  Next, create a new blank layer above the background layer.  Make the new blank layer active.  To add a new 3D tree onto our blank layer we need to ‘Fill’ the layer by pressing Shift + Delete.  There are several options here on how we can Fill the layer.  In the Fill dialog box, under the Contents section, choose ‘Pattern’.  The Blending section can remain as is.  Toggle on (check mark) ‘Scripted Pattern’.  Then click the drop down menu next to the word ‘Scripts’, select Tree.

The ‘Tree Pattern’ dialog box will now appear and gives you various ways the tree can be can customized.  From changing the direction of the light so shadows match the image to reducing or removing the leaves on the tree, this dialog box is where you would make those changes.  When you have made the necessary changes, click ‘OK’.

The tree will then be rendered and placed on your blank layer.  From this point the tree can be scaled and moved around the image.  It’s important to make sure the tree is placed on it’s own layer so you have the option to change the size and positioning of it later on if you need to. 

While I think it’s still necessary to have a large library of plant material images for anything your composite might need, this feature in Adobe Photoshop CC is really great and will help speed up the time it takes to make composite landscape images.