Photoshop Elements: Blend Photos Like A Hollywood Movie Poster

Step 6: Merge Both Layers Onto A New Layer

With the top layer still selected, press Shift+Ctrl+Alt+E to merge all three layers onto a new layer at the top of the Layers palette:

Step 7: Remove The Color From The Merged Layer

We're going to remove all the color from the image at this point so we can add our own color, which we'll do in a moment. To remove the colors, go up to the Enhance menu at the top of the screen, choose Adjust Color, and then choose Remove Color, or use the keyboard shortcut Shift+Ctrl+U:

Step 8: Add Noise

Let's add a little noise to the image to help the two photos blend more seamlessly together. Go up to the Filter menu at the top of the screen, choose Noise, and then choose Add Noise. This brings up the Add Noise dialog box. Set the Amount to somewhere between 2-6% depending on the pixel dimensions of your image. I'm working on a low resolution image for this tutorial, so I'm going to set mine to 2% just to add a hint of noise. Make sure Distribution is set to Gaussian, and also make sure the Monochromatic option at the very bottom is checked:

Step 9: Add A Solid Color Adjustment Layer

All that's left to do is add our own color to the image. For that, we're going to use a Solid Color adjustment layer. Click on the Create Adjustment Layer icon at the top of the Layers palette and select Solid Color from the top of the list that appears:

Photoshop Elements' Color Picker will appear. Choose the color that you want to use for your image. I'm going to select a light orange for my color:

Click OK once you've chosen a color to exit out of the Color Picker. Don't worry about choosing the "right" color at the moment because you can always change it later.

Step 10: Set The Layer Blend Mode To "Color"

After clicking out of the Color Picker, your image will now be filled completely with the color you chose, which isn't exactly what we wanted. To fix that, with the new Solid Color adjustment layer selected in the Layers palette, go up to the Blend Mode option in the top left corner of the Layers palette, click on the down-pointing arrow to the right of the word "Normal", and select Color from the list:

Your image will now be colorized with your chosen color rather than being blocked from view by it. If you decide you're not happy with the color you chose, just double-click on the Solid Color fill layer's color swatch icon in the Layers palette:

When you do that, the Color Picker will pop back up and you can choose a different color. Since the Solid Color adjustment layer is already set to the "Color" blend mode, you'll be able to see a live preview of how your current color choice looks with your image.

I'm going to stick with my initial color selection, and here, after changing the blend mode to "Color", is my final result:

And there we have it!