jimmy2________________________________________________________________

This great effect takes about 30 minutes to create and can add such an incredible dimension to your photograph! Definately a fantastic effect to use if you are making someone a birthday card!

Open your image in Photoshop.

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Right click your background layer and select “duplicate layer”

Then double click your background layer and when the new layer box pops up click “ok”. (you just turned the background into a normal layer)

Now with the lower layer selected - choose your square marquee tool and make a selection around your subject in the photo (leaving portions of the subject out of the selection - these portions will be the pieces that fall out of your frame) Now because we need to make the selection match the perspective of your image - Choose Selection > Transform Selection.

Hold down the Ctrl button while you drag the corners outward or inward to match the directional perspective of your photo (this will depend entirely on what picture you are using - take a look at my perspective selection if you are unsure of what I mean)

 

Now with your selection selected you can click on the add layer mask button underneath your layers menu (the little black square with the white circle inside it)
A layer mask will appear in your layers menu next to the picture on the layer your have selected. The layer mask will replicate the shape of your selection.

Click on your top layer and set your opacity on this layer to about 50% and with your polygon lasso tool draw around the pieces of the subject that fall out of the frame (can be a rough selection as we are going to refine it in a moment)

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Now create a layer mask for this layer as well. The shape will replicate the selection you just made. Set the opacity back to 100%. Click on the layer mask of your top layer (the white square next to the image) and then select your paintbrush tool from your tools menu. Right click on your image and make sure the hardness is at 100% and the size is very small for careful detail.
You are now going to neaten up your selection.

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Because you are drawing onto the layer mask and not the image itself you will only be using black and white paint. Press ‘D’ to set your paint to black and white (default colour). X will toggle between them (so you can just press X when you want white and then X again to flip back to black)

Now you need to create two new layers. Both with white backgrounds. Then click on these layers one at a time and holding the mouse button down - drag them to below the two image layers in the layers menu.

Click on the second lowest layer.
Now select your paint brush with a very soft ‘hardness’ setting and a medium to large size (we are about to make shadows underneath the bits of your subject that are falling out of the frame) Now paint where a shadow would be if your subject was stepping out of or sitting out of the border lines of your frame. (don’t worry about them being big black blodges while your are drawing.)

When you are done - set that whole layers opacity to about 15 - 20%.

You should have nice shadows now.

Now right click your lower picture layer and select ‘blending mode’ and add a drop shadow by ticking the little box next to drop shadow and then clicking on ‘drop shadow’ to adjust the settings of your shadow to your preference.

Right click the very bottom layer and select Merge Visable.

You are done!