Page 5 | Create a Deathly Photo Manipulation

Previous darkening makes the yellow tones too saturated which ruins the cold atmosphere we’ve try to create in previous steps. To fix that add new adjustment layer Hue/Saturation on the top of your layers. In Edit option choose Yellows and set Saturation on -30. Press OK.

Bellow you can see how these adjustments affect the picture.

Step 17 - Applying Texture

Adding textures to your work is great way how to unify the look of the picture, add more details and also add bit of painted look.

Download some nice grunge texture. I used one from the grunge pack which was already used in previous steps but feel free to use any texture you like. Good thing about the grunge textures which were used in this tutorial is that they are bit darker on the edges and lighter in the middle. It adds more plasticity to your picture and also create decent vignette.

Drag the texture you’ve chosen into the manipulation. Name it TEXTURE and place it on the top of the layers. Now experiment with Blending Modes and Opacity till you get the look you like. I set the Blending Mode on Soft Light and lower the Opacity on 45%.

Step 18 - Changing the Light Scene

There is still something wrong with the global lights and shadows. There is the light source on the right side of the horizon but if you look carefully the ground around the horizon is not lighter, but it should be. We will fix it now.

Add new layer on the top of your layers and name it e. g. HORIZONT LIGHT. Grab Brush Tool (B), select some soft round brush and pick some bright color from the sky. Lower the opacity on about 30% and paint carefully over the ground which is close to the light source.

Then pick some dark color of sky and paint over the areas which are farther from the light source.

Bellow you can see what exactly I painted. To make it well visible I add grey layer under.

And there you can see how the whole manipulation looks.

Step 19 - Last Changing of Colors

There is only few things left. We will change the colors little bit, add vignette and correct the levels.

First let´s change the colors. Add new adjustment layer Gradient Map on the top of your layers. Choose the basic Red, Green preset and press OK.

Change the Blending Mode of this layer on Soft Light and lower the Opacity on 30%.

Step 20 - Adding Vignette

Vignette is a great tool if you want to catch viewer’s attention longer in the picture. It directs his look into the center of the picture.

Add new adjustment layer Levels on the top and set the Input Levels on 0; 0,77; 255. Press OK.

Grab the Gradient Tool (G), pick solid black color and fill the layer mask of this layer. It causes that the adjustment disappear. Now grab the Brush Tool (B), select soft round brush and pick white color. Paint over the edges of the picture. The adjustment appears and make nice vignette.

Step 21 - Correcting the Levels

The one last thing you need to do is to correct levels little bit. Grab the Marquee Tool (M) and select the whole picture. Press Ctrl + Shift + C to copy the picture merged. Now press Ctrl + V to paste it. Place this layer on the top of the layers. Now go to Image > Adjustments > Auto Levels or just press Ctrl + Shift + L. It adds bit more contrast to the picture.

Conclusion

Congratulation! You’re finished. Thank you for reading this tutorial and hope that you’ve learnt something new or found inspiration for your new work. I like to see your work based on this tutorial!

Have you all nice day!

Deathly Photo Manipulation