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Photoshop Photo Effects Tutorials

Photo To Sketch With More Detail In Photoshop

In a previous tutorial, we learned a way to convert a photo to a sketch in Photoshop that works great for portraits. In this tutorial, we learn a slightly different way that’s better at bringing out fine details when converting other types of images to a sketch! Plus, learn how to create the entire effect in 60 seconds or less!

Punch Through Image Effect In Photoshop

In this Photoshop effects tutorial, learn how to create a popular “punch through image” effect, often seen in sports and movie ads, as if a person or object has punched a hole right through the page or image!

Color Grid Design In Photoshop

In this Photoshop effects tutorial, learn how to turn a photo in a grid of randomly colorized squares! We’ll use Photoshop’s guides and rulers, a couple of rarely used selection tools, the Magic Wand, adjustment layers, blend modes, and more! Any recent version of Photoshop will work!

Realistic Cast Shadow Effect In Photoshop

Photoshop’s Drop Shadow layer style may be great for adding simple shadows to images or text, but for creating realistic looking shadows of people or objects, it just doesn’t cut it. In this tutorial, learn an easy way to create a realistic cast shadow effect!

Snowflakes Photo Border In Photoshop

Learn how to create a simple snowflakes photo border, a fun finishing touch for photos of family and friends during the holidays or of any snowy winter scene!

Dead Zone Blur Streaks Effect With Photoshop

In this photo effects tutorial, learn how to colorize a photo using a Color Balance adjustment, then how to select and stretch a single column of pixels across the image to create a cool motion blur effect!

Add A Realistic Rainbow To A Photo With Photoshop

In this photo effects tutorial, learn how to brighten your stormy skies by adding a rainbow, or even a double rainbow, to a photo using one of Photoshop’s ready-made gradients. We’ll also learn how to flip the order of the colors in a gradient to create a more realistic double rainbow effect!

Screen Jumping Effect In Photoshop

Sometimes, the action in a movie, sports event or video game can be so intense, it seems to jump right off the screen, especially if you’re using Photoshop! In this tutorial, learn how to create this popular and classic photo effect.

Overlapping Text With An Image In Photoshop

Every month, magazine covers show people or objects overlapping text (usually the name of the magazine along the top). In this tutorial, learn how layers in Photoshop make it easy to recreate the same effect with your own images and text!

Worn, Torn Photo Edges Effect In Photoshop

Learn how to easily combine the Eraser Tool with one of Photoshop’s built-in brushes, along with a few layers and some layer styles, to give a photo a worn, torn edges effect!

Film Strip Photo Collage in Photoshop – Part 2

In the first of this two-part Photoshop tutorial, we created a film strip shape to use as a photo frame. In this second part of the tutorial, we’ll use multiple copies of that film strip to create our photo collage!

Film Strip Photo Collage in Photoshop – Part 1

In this two-part Photoshop tutorial, learn how to create a fun photo collage using a film strip as a photo frame for multiple images. In this first part of the tutorial, we’ll see how Photoshop’s various shape tools make it easy to draw the actual film strip itself, which we’ll then use in Part Two to create the photo collage!

Creating Photo Borders With Photoshop Brushes

Learn how easy it is to create interesting photo border effects using Photoshop’s brushes, including how to load additional brush sets and combine multiple brush strokes with different tools, like the Eraser Tool, for virtually endless creative possibilities!

High Key Glow Effect With Photoshop

In this Photoshop photo effects tutorial, learn how to give your images a romantic, magical look by adding a glow effect to just the highlights in the photo, an easy effect to create thanks to Photoshop’s Color Range command.

Halftone Pattern Photo Border With Photoshop

Learn how to create a fun and simple halftone pattern photo border in Photoshop! We’ll use Smart Filters in Photoshop CS3 and CS4 to keep the effect fully editable even after it’s completed, but this photo border can be easily created with any version of Photoshop, including Photoshop Elements!

Create Cinematic Panoramas With Photomerge In Photoshop CS4

Photoshop has been somewhat capable of creating panoramas for quite a while now, but it wasn’t until Photoshop CS3 came along with its dramatically improved Photomerge command that its ability to stitch photos together really began to shine. Now Photoshop CS4 makes it easier than ever to create seamless cinematic panoramas!

Mirror Image Effect With Photoshop

In this Photoshop tutorial, learn how to easily create a mirror image effect with a photo, turning the right half of the image into a mirror reflection of the left half!

Outlining The Action With Photoshop

Bring the action in your images to the forefront by highlighting the main subject of your photo with an easy to create outline effect in Photoshop!

Photoshop Snow Effect – Add Falling Snow To A Winter Photo

We may not be able to control the weather outdoors, but thanks to Photoshop, we do have some control over it in our photos! In this tutorial, learn how to add falling snow to a winter scene, and see how the same basic technique can be used to create entirely different effects!

Gritty, Overprocessed Photo Effect With Photoshop

Learn how to give a photo a gritty, overprocessed look to it with extreme levels of contrast and sharpening, noise and washed out colors. The final effect looks rather harsh, but Photoshop makes creating it quick and painless.

Darkening Photo Edges In Photoshop

Learn how to easily darken or burn the edges of a photo in Photoshop, creating a vignette effect, using a filter that was actually designed to remove unwanted vignette effects!

Split Toning Black and White Photos With Photoshop

Looking for a way in Photoshop to spice up a black and white photo? Try a classic split toning effect! Learn how to quickly create your own custom black and white version, then add more visual interest by tinting the highlights and shadows with different colors, all without harming a single pixel in the image!

Photoshop Puzzle Effect

Photoshop can certainly seem puzzling at times, but using it to turn any photo into a puzzle is easy! In fact, Photoshop even comes with a free puzzle texture to get us started, but in this tutorial, we’re going to take things a bit further and give our puzzle effect a “work in progress” look to it!

Soft Focus Lens Effect With Photoshop

In this tutorial, we look at how to easily create the look of a photo taken with a soft focus lens or diffusion filter, and since we’re doing it all in Photoshop, we have complete control over the final result!

Fun With Silhouettes In Photoshop

Learn how to create a basic silhouette from a photo in Photoshop, then learn how to fill the silhouette with an image to create interesting designs!

Classic Starburst Background Effect In Photoshop

Learn how to recreate the classic starburst-style background you’ve seen hundreds of times in grocery stores, department stores and weekly flyers, using a little-known but very powerful feature in Photoshop – Transform Again.

Easy Soft Focus And Glow Effect In Photoshop

Whether you’re a wedding photographer, nature photographer or you simply enjoy taking photos of family and friends, learn how to quickly and easily add a soft focus or glow effect to a photo and see if it doesn’t make your images look a bit more magical.

Add Light Streaks To A Photo With Photoshop

Learn how to add colorful streaks of light to a photo by combining paths with Photoshop’s brushes and layer styles! Also learn how to simulate pen pressure with a brush even if you’re not using a pen tablet!

Casting Light Through Window Blinds In Photoshop

Learn how to create the illusion that light is being cast on to the subject of your photo through window blinds, using a displacement map to bend and wrap the shadows around your subject while a simple adjustment layer helps create a more natural light source.