How to Create a Dark Photo

Effect Action for Beginners in

Adobe Photoshop
by Marko Kožokar26 Feb 2018
Difficulty:IntermediateLength:MediumLanguages:
Photoshop ActionsPhoto EffectsAdobe PhotoshopDeconstruction
What You'll Be Creating
In this tutorial you will learn how to create an amazing dark fantasy effect from
your own photos. I will try to explain everything in so much detail that everyone
can create it, even those who have just opened Photoshop for the first time.

The effect shown on the left is the one I will show you how to create here in this
tutorial.

If you would like to create the effect shown on the right quickly and easily, then
check out my Dark Fantasy Photoshop Action:
What You'll Need
To recreate the design above, you will need the following photo:

 Retro style, portrait stock image

1. Let's Get Started

First, open the photo that you want to work with. To open your photo, go to File >
Open, choose your photo, and click Open. Now, before we get started, just check
a couple of things:

1. Your photo should be in RGB Color mode, 8 Bits/Channel. To check this

go to Image > Mode.
2. For best results, your photo size should be between 1500-4000px
wide/high. To check this, go toImage > Image Size.
 Advertisement

2. Select the Subject

Step 1
Now we need to make a selection around our subject. You can do that using some
of the following tools:

 Using the Pen Tool (P)

 Using the Lasso Tool (L)
 Using the Quick Selection Tool (W)
 Using the Magic Wand Tool (W)

There are a lot more ways for creating a selection, but in this example I am going
to use the Magic Wand Tool (W). If you decide to use the same tool, just adjust
the Tolerance and start creating the selection of your subject. Use the Shift-
Alt buttons on your keyboard to add or subtract some areas from the selection. Feel
free to change the tolerance often.

Sometimes it is easier to make a selection of the background (like in this example),

so then create a selection of the background and go to Select > Inverse to invert
the selection, and you will get a selection around the subject.
Step 2
Now go to Layer > New > Layer Via Copy to create a new layer from your
photo, using the selection you have made. Now you have your subject on a
separate layer. Double-click on the layer name and type Main Photo.
3. Create the Background
Step 1
Select the Background layer and go to Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color to
create a new solid color fill layer. Name it Background Color and choose OK.
After that, you will see another popup window asking you to choose the color.
Choose black ( #000000 ) and click OK.
Step 2
Repeat this step to create another layer with the same settings. This time use the
name Middle Light. Now we are going to add some style to the Middle
Light layer. Right-click on the layer in the Layers panel and choose Blending
Options. Check the Gradient Overlay and choose the settings below:

Step 3
Drop the Opacity of this layer to 25%.
4. Create the Light Source
Step 1
Now, to create the light source, go to Layer > New Fill Layer > Gradient to
create a new gradient fill layer.Name it Light Source and choose OK. After that,
you will get another popup window with gradient fill settings. Choose the settings
below and hit OK.

Step 2
Now we need to make sure the lighting doesn't go to the bottom of the photo. To
do that, we are going to use a layer mask. Select the layer mask of the current
layer, press D and then X on your keyboard to set the foreground color to black,
and go to Edit > Fill. Apply the settings below and choose OK.
Step 3
While this layer mask is selected, pick the Lasso Tool (L), right click anywhere
inside the canvas, and choose Free Transform. Set the Reference Point
Location and Vertical Scale as shown below, and hit Enter.
Step 4
While this layer mask is selected, go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set the
radius as below.

Step 5
Change the blending mode of this layer to Screen and drop the Opacity to 85%.
5. Blend the Subject
Step 1
Select the Main Photo layer and right click on it in the Layers panel.
Choose Blending Options and check Gradient Overlay with the settings below:

Step 2
Control-Click on the current layer thumbnail to make a selection of that layer and
go to Select > Modify > Contract. Set Contract By to 30px and choose OK.
Step 3
Go to Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal Selection.
Step 4
Go to Filter > Gaussian Blur and set the radius as below:

6. Highlight the Key Parts

Step 1
Now we need to highlight the key parts of our subject, considering the light source
direction. Select your Main Photo layer and go to Layer > New > Layer Via
Copy. Then double-click on this new layer name to rename it, and type Original
Photo.
Step 2
Now we have to remove the layer mask and clear the layer style of this layer. So
go to Layer > Layer Mask > Delete to remove the layer mask, and go to Layer >
Layer Style > Clear Layer Style to remove the layer style.
Step 3
Our whole subject will be highlighted now, and we don't want that, so we need to
create a new layer mask for this layer. Go to Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All and
then take the Brush Tool (B), pick a soft brush, press D on your keyboard to set
the foreground color to white, and just brush over key parts of your subject
according to the light direction.
Step 4
Now let's add a bit of contrast to our highlighted subject parts. To do that, select
the Original Photo layer thumbnail, press D on your keyboard to reset the
swatches, and go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map to create a
new gradient adjustment layer. Name it Original Photo Contrast and
choose OK.

Contrast will be applied to the whole photo, but we want it to be applied only to
highlighted subject parts, so go to Layer > Create Clipping Mask.

Step 5
Change this layer blending mode to Overlay and drop the Opacity to 11%.
7. Add Particles
Step 1
Now we are going to add some small particles. Go to Layer > New > Layer to
create a new layer. You can use the default layer name as this layer will be
removed in the next few steps. Press D on your keyboard to set the foreground
color to black and go to Edit > Fill > Foreground Color.

Step 2
Now go to Filter > Pixelate > Mezzotint and set the type to Coarse Dots. Now go
to Select > Color Rangeand, using the Eyedropper Tool, select the white color by
clicking on some of the white particles in your photo, and set the Fuzziness to 200.
Step 3
Now go to Select > Refine Edge and choose the settings below. Then go to Layer
> New > Layer to create a new layer and name it Particles_1.
Step 4
Press D and X on your keyboard to set your foreground color to white, go
to Edit > Fill, and apply the settings below. Go to Select > Deselect, select Layer
1, and go to Layer > Delete > Layer.

Step 5
Change the blending mode of this layer to Overlay and now, depending on how
many particles you want, you can repeat this step to create more. I have repeated it
twice more, so I got three particle layers.
Step 6
Now select the top particle layer (in my case Particles_1), hold Shift on your
keyboard and select the last particle layer (in my case Particles_3). Then go
to Layer > New > Group from Layers. Name the group Particles.

Step 7
Create a selection of your subject by holding Control-Click on the thumbnail of
the layer Main Photo. Press D on your keyboard to set the foreground color to
black and go to Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal Selection. While this layer mask is
selected, go to Image > Adjustments > Invert to invert the layer mask.
Step 8
Now, while this layer mask is still selected, go to Window > Properties. Inside
the Properties panel, set the Feather to 160 px, and drop the Opacity to 54%.
8. Create the Color Look
Step 1
Now we are going to create a nice color look. Go to Layer > New Adjustments
Layer > Color Balance to create a color balance adjustment layer and name
it Color Look.

Step 2
Double click on this layer thumbnail and choose the settings below:
9. Make Adjustments
Step 1
Now we are going to make some final adjustments to our photo, using several
adjustment layers. First we are going to add saturation. Go to Layer > New
Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation to create a new hue/saturation adjustment
layer and name it Overall Saturation.

Step 2
Double click on this layer thumbnail and select the settings below:
Step 3
Now we are going to add some contrast. Reset the swatches by pressing D on your
keyboard, and go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map to create a
new gradient adjustment layer. Name it Overall Contrast.

Step 4
Change the blending mode of this layer to Overlay and drop the Opacity to 31%.
Step 5
Now we are going to adjust the brightness. So go to Layer > New Adjustment
Layer > Levels to create a new levels adjustment layer and name it Overall
Brightness.

Step 6
Double click on this layer thumbnail and select the settings below:
Step 7
Finally, let's add some sharpening to our photo. Press Control-Alt-Shift-E on your
keyboard to make a snapshot. Go to Filter > Other > High Pass and set the radius
to 2 px.
Step 8
Double click on this layer name to rename it and type Overall Sharpening.
Change the blending mode to Hard Light and drop the Opacity to about 64%.
10. You Made It!
Congratulations, you have succeeded! Here is our final result:
11. Customize Your Results
You can now customize the final effect; I will give you a few tips.

 Select the Light Source layer, double-click on its thumbnail, and change
the Angle and/or Scale.
 Select the layer mask of the layer Original Photo, pick the Brush Tool (B),
pick a soft brush, and brush white/black into the mask to make a different
area to be highlighted.
 Select the Background Color layer, double-click on its thumbnail, and
change the color.
 Select the Color Look layer, double-click on its thumbnail, and inside
the Properties panel change the settings for a different color look.

Here is what I got:

Awesome Work!
If you would like to create an even more advanced dark fantasy effect as shown
below, using a single click in just a few minutes, then check out my Dark Fantasy
Photoshop Action.
The action works so that you just brush over your subject, play the action, and the
action will do everything for you, giving you fully layered and customizable
results. The action will also create 25 preset color looks for you. It comes with a
detailed video tutorial that demonstrates how to use and customize the look of your
action to get the most out of the effect.