Along the Sand

By: Nia Braccidiferro

I always enjoy learning new techniques to enhance my work. I recently acquired the skill of using non-destructive layers to mask photos differently. First, I had to find photos on the internet that were free to use without any copyright law infringements. I looked up images that were large and that were free to manipulate under non-commercial licenses. I decided that my theme would be summer, so I tried to create a beachy vibe for my compilation. I found photos of a beach, sand, a sunset, flamingos, a dolphin, starfish, a skydiver, and a coral reef. I created a Photoshop document that was 12 x 12, RGB in color and had a resolution of 150p. I placed the beach dock background as my base. I then added my sunset picture. I created a non-destructive layer to mask the part of the picture that was covering the ocean. When everything was masked to my liking, I changed the filter from Normal to Hard Light and the opacity to 76%. I placed the flamingos on the right side of the background. I also created a non-destructive layer to mask the flamingos from their background. I also added a Bevel & Emboss effect as well as an Inner Glow and Drop Shadow to make it blend in better with the base. I repeated these same steps for the starfish and the dolphin. For the parachuting man, I created a non-destructive layer to mask him out of the background. I found this part to be incredibly difficult because of the ropes connecting him to the parachute. To make him match the rest of the picture’s aesthetic, I changed the hue and the saturation of the image. Lastly, I masked the reef layer without a non-destructive layer. I also changed the opacity to 39% and changed the filter to Darken. I manipulated the hue of the picture to a lighter blue to mimic the ocean. I duplicated the layer and placed it under the flamingos to complete the photo. I am pretty proud of the finished product, and I hope to use these skills in my upcoming projects.