186
M
ORE LIGHTING UP: BUT THIS
version offers a rather different sort
of problem. The main difference is that we’re
working with a single composite image, rather
than a montage composed of several separate
parts. When you don’t have the luxury of being
able to arrange the elements within your scene
to suit your whim, you need to approach the
problem from a different angle.
This was set as a Friday Challenge on the
website that accompanies this book, and some
of the readers’ entries are shown below. There
was a variety of different approaches, but all
managed to convey the impression of a hidden,
yet still visible, light source within the shade.
1
The first task is to even out the shading already present in
the scene. The most obvious offender is the lampshade,
which has strong side lighting coming from the window to the
right of it. This is best outlined with the pen tool and copied to
a new layer, where the right side can easily be cloned out. And
don’t forget to remove that hard shadow at the bottom left!
4
The next step is a subtle one, but it makes a big
difference. At the end of the previous stage, we had the
glow in place behind the lampshade: but the hard edge of the
shade looked unnatural against the bright glow. Make a layer
mask for the shade layer, and paint out the very bottom of the
shade so we can see the glow through it.
maiden
raymardoatomicfog
Turn the lamp on
THE FRIDAY
CHALLENGE
www.howtocheatinphotoshop.com
7
Light and shade
187
HOT TIP
When in doubt,
make a new layer.
Here, I copied the
lamp base to a
new layer before
adding shading
beneath it. By
making new layers
each time you’re
going to make a
big change you
keep your options
open, so you can
always retrieve
the original later
in case the effect
looks wrong .
2
Since we made a new layer from the lampshade, we
can work on it independently – which makes adding
the glow within a piece of cake. Use the Dodge tool, set to
Highlights, and simply build up the glow in brief strokes:
the result can be extremely convincing. The white spot that
shows where the bulb is can be painted in with the Brush tool
afterwards.
3
Now for the glow outside the shade. Make a new layer
and move it behind the lampshade layer – another
good reason for having copied the shade to its own layer. The
glow is painted in using a soft, low opacity brush, and a pale
yellow foreground color; this is followed by a small amount of
painting in white closest to the shade.
5
Now for the rest of the scene. On a new layer, paint a
shadow on the bottom half of the lamp base, and on
the table beneath it. Then, on another layer, use a large, soft
brush set to a low opacity to add shadows in the corners of the
scene, stronger the further they get from the lamp source.
6
Finally, the pièce de resistance that makes the whole
scene come to life. Make an elliptical selection within
that last shadow layer, feather the edges slightly, and delete
(or make a layer mask and fill with black). The lamp now casts
a convincing light beneath it on the wall, greatly adding to the
overall realism.
Russ Davey tabitha Uk2usadazTweaknik
How to Cheat in Photoshop CC
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