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Creating a reflection in Photoshop is a great way to add depth and interest to an image. There are several ways to create a reflection, but the most common is to use the Mirroring tool. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to create a realistic reflection in Photoshop using a simple photo of a building.
How to Easily Create a Reflection in Photoshop
There are many methods of making reflection images in Photoshop. Each step has alternative ways of achieving the same results.
In this article, you learn how to add a water reflection to an image. We go through the process step-by-step.
Step 1: Choose a Photo to Add a Reflection
Making the right choice of photograph to create a reflection for is a first and very important step. Not all photos are suitable.
Pre-visualize how a Photoshop reflection will look on the photo. See if elements in the foreground overlap with the area you want to make a mirror image of. This makes it more complicated.
Choose a photo with a clean line at the bottom of the part you want to reflect. This means the result can be more realistic looking.
For this tutorial, I have chosen a photo of a house at dusk. I have cropped the bottom of the photo where there was nothing of interest.
If I had not cropped it, there would be too much dark space between the house and the reflection. Keep this in mind when you choose a photo to use.
Unlock the layer by clicking the padlock icon in the Layers panel. Duplicate the layer by selecting the layer and using Ctrl+J (Command+J) on your keyboard. And rename the layers to make it easier to track which one you are working with.
Make both layers Smart Objects by right-clicking them in the Layers panel. Then choose Convert to Smart Object. Then drag the duplicated layer into the space below your original layer.
Now you need to create a new file to help make the reflection more realistic. Don’t make this file too big. Make it the same shape as your reflection image but a smaller size. Otherwise, Photoshop may not be able to save it. I made mine 30% of my reflection image size.
Next, select the Paint Bucket Fill tool and fill the image with black. Unlock the background layer by clicking on the padlock icon in the Layers panel.
Making a reflection in Photoshop is often much easier than capturing one with a camera. Use these simple steps to create an interesting mirror image. You can enhance somewhat dull photography!
The key is choosing the right image, as not all photos are suitable for creating a reflection. As you experiment and gain experience, you learn which photos the technique works well on.