This is a technique that is easy, but gives a great touch to your page. I'll show you the basics - but the possibilities are endless.
Open a new document at 12*12 inches. Add a background paper that fits your photo.
Place your photo in the middle of the page.
Use the marquee tool and mark a square around the main object in the photo - or the part you want highlighted. Use select-transform selection to turn the square a little - then press ctrl+ J to copy the selected area. Make the layer with the main photo invisible to see the copy better.
Duplicate the copied layer, make the upper copy of the photo invisible - select the bottom copy of the selection and use round marquee selection to cut out parts off of the photo.
Make the upper copy visible and add these layer styles to the upper layer:
Shadow: 75 - 5 - 0 - 10
Stroke: Inside, 40 pxl, and your colour (I prefer white)
To the lower layer of the photo (not the main photo - but the selection)
Shadow: 75 - 35 - 20 - 35
Make the main copy visible. Make it selected by clicking in the layer window while holding the control button down.
Choose selection - feather - 250 (try out the amount of feather) and then invert the selection and press delete (you might want to press delete a few times to make sure that the edges are completely "smudged"
Now you can either choose to reduce the opacity on the original photo, or use different blending modes.
50 % opacity
Overlay - 100 % opacity.
Linear Lightning - 50 % opacity.
Then - add you personal touch by adding scrapbook supplies like swirls, ribbons and bows, photo fasteners and more.
Here is my version.
For the readers of this tutorial, I am happy to offer both a 50 % off coupon on the page set Mathilde, and for a limited time only – two quick pages for free – made with the Mathilde page set.
To get the 50% off on the page set – use the code – mathilde – at checkout.
I have gotten so many replays all over and questions on how I did this layout.
I'll try to explain the best I can.
First - I used a grungy background with texture and one with a flowerish pattern - both from my kit Joyful time - available here.
Then I had the picture - the original looks like this:
I also used a picture taken of my mother roses in the late fall - as you can see they are almost dead.
And this one.
The first thing I did was to blend the two backgrounds together, I put the bright one on top of the other and reduced the opacity to 70 %
Remember - don't merge any layers unless I say so (LOL)
Then I took the picture of the roses and selected it by clicking the image in the layer palette.
I set the feather to 250 and reversed the selection (ctrl+alt+d=250 and then ctrl+shift+i) and then hit the delete button four times - until I got a realy soft edge to the photo.
And then I reduced the opacity to 30 %
I doubled the main image (ctrl+j) and on the top layer I used the lasso selection tool (feather at about 10) and cut the girl out of the background.
The second copy of the image I did the same as the roses. Selected the image and by clicking the image in the layer palette, and then feather - 250 and reverse selection and delete 4 times - and reduce opacity to 40. If you hide the top copy - the image of the girl without the background it will look like this.
Then I took the picture of the other flowers, and put up in the corner above the girl - blending it the same way as the other images (feather 250 and delete and opacity=30)
Put a copy of the bright background over the layers above and reduce its opacity to 30.
Now - merge the layers that you see above - NOT the cut out image. Increase contrast with 40 a,d add more color with hue and saturation (I used +30, but you have to try this out yourself).
Use the brighten tool with a soft brush to brighten the edges of the images
Now - the cut out image - increase contrast and color to make it a little brighter than the rest - to make it stand out. Reduce the opacity to about 75-80.
Then I added the flowers . They are from my designs at SBE.
Then in the end I put the frame from Mossa's Philosophic on top.
