STEP BY STEP PHOTOSHOP—CREATING SHADOWS FOR PEOPLE

1

Separate figure: make sure the image of the person is on its own separate layer and is named.

2

Create black silhouette: duplicate the Person layer and rename it (Ctrl-J duplicates a layer). Open the Hue/Saturation dialog box (Ctrl-U). Move sliders for both Saturation and Lightness all the way to the left so both have a value of -100.

3

Distort silhouette: select the Shadow layer and activate the transform tool (Ctrl-T). Right click over the image and select the Distort function. Grab the upper middle anchor point and move it into position. Double click to apply changes, or hit Return. In the layer manager drag the Shadow layer so that it lies beneath the Person layer.

4

Apply transparency: ensure the Shadow layer is selected and set opacity to desired level.

5

Apply Gaussian blur: depending upon the type of shadow required, a Gaussian blur filter can be used to soften the shadow.