Adding Reflections To Sunglasses In Photoshop

Step 9: Duplicate The "Left Reflection" Layer

With the "left reflection" layer still selected, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac) to duplicate the layer. A copy of the layer, which Photoshop names "left reflection copy", appears above it in the Layers palette. Click on the new layer's name and rename it to "multiply" (you'll see why in a moment):

Step 10: Set The New "Multiply" Layer To Be Clipped By The "Left Lens" Layer

When we duplicated the "left reflection" layer, Photoshop created a copy of it for us but left us with a small problem. The original "left reflection" layer is being clipped by the "left lens" layer below it, but the copy we just created is not being clipped, which means it's not being confined to the inside of the lens and is currently just sitting there on top of the original image. All we need to do to fix that is do the same thing we did with the original "left reflection" layer. Either go up to the Layer menu and choose Create Clipping Mask or use the keyboard shortcut Alt+Ctrl+G (Win) / Option+Command+G (Mac) to clip the "multiply" layer to the "left lens" layer so the only part remaining visible is the area inside the lens. We can now see in the Layers palette that both the original "lens reflection" layer and the "multiply" layer are being clipped by the "left lens" layer below them:

Step 11: Change The Layer Blend Mode To "Multiply"

The reason we renamed the new layer to "multiply" is because we're going to change it's layer blend mode to Multiply, which is going to enable us to darken the image inside the lens so it's not so bright. To do that, simply 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 "Multiply" from the list:

As soon as you change the blend mode, the image inside the lens appears much darker:

If you find the image inside the lens now appears too dark, simply go up to the Opacity option in the top right corner of the Layers palette and lower the opacity of the "multiply" layer until you've brightened the image back up to the point where you're happy with the results. Or, if you want to make the image even darker, click on the "left reflection" layer to select it and lower it's opacity value. By lowering the opacity of the "left reflection" layer, you begin to mix in some of the solid black from the "left lens" layer below it (which is why we filled our lens selection with black earlier in the tutorial). Here I've lowered the opacity of the "left reflection" layer to 80% to mix in just a hint of the black from the "left lens" layer:

My reflected image now appears even darker, giving the lens a tinted look to it:

It's entirely a judgment call on your part how dark to make the reflection, if you even want to darken it at all.