Photoshop Tutorial: Tearing A Photo To Reveal Another

Step 12: Drag The Second Image Into The Document

It's time to add our second image into the document. We want the image to appear behind our main image, which means we need to be placed on a layer below the main image in the Layers palette, so click on the Background layer in the Layers palette to select it. The second image will then be placed between the Background layer and "Layer 1" when we drag it into the document, which is what we're going to do next. With both images open in their own document window on the screen, grab your Move Tool from the Tools palette or press V on your keyboard to select it:

Then, with the Move Tool selected, click anywhere inside the second image and drag it over and into the main document:

Close out of the second image's document window after you've dragged it into the main document.

If we look in the Layers palette of the main document now, we can see that the second image has been placed on its own layer between the Background layer and the main image layer ("Layer 1"), and has named the new layer "Layer 2":

Step 13: Resize And Reposition The Image With The Free Transform Command

Press Ctrl+T (Win) / Command+T (Mac) to bring up Photoshop's Free Transform handles around the second image and drag any of the corner handles to resize the image as needed. If you can't see the corner handles because the image extends beyond the viewable area of the document, press Ctrl+0 (Win) / Command+0 (Mac) to fit everything on the screen. Hold down Shift as you're dragging to constrain the image proportions. Also, click anywhere inside the image and drag it around the screen with your mouse to move it into position. In my case, I want the guy in the photo to appear inside the area I just "tore out" of the main photo, so I'm going to make the image smaller by dragging the corner handles and then I'll click inside the image and move it where I want it:

When you're happy with the size and position of your image, press Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) to accept it.

Step 14: Desaturate The Second Image

We want the image that appears behind the main photo to be in black and white, so let's quickly desaturate it using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+U (Win) / Command+Shift+U (Mac):

Step 15: Add A Layer Mask To The Second Image

With "Layer 2" still selected, click on the Add A Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:

This adds a layer mask, and a layer mask thumbnail, to "Layer 2":