Add Dramatic Shadows to Photos with Paint Shop Pro

Creating shadows for photos can be tricky. Paint Shop Pro provides plenty of tutorials that can offer you assistance in doing just about anything with a picture. Adding shadows to a picture can be difficult if you do not know the right steps to take. Trying to add special effects to a picture can ruin the photo if you don't know what you're doing. Below are the necessary steps to take to add shadows to any type of subject.

Step 1: Choose a Photo

Choosing a photo for this type of effect can be a bit of a challenge. When you are starting out, start with a picture to which it is easy to add shadows. A simple portrait or a picture of a single object with a plain background would be a good thing to start with. The idea is to have only one subject so that you will need to add only one shadow. When you have trained yourself adequately with such simpler pictures, you can move on to more complicated pictures.

Step 2: Add Mask

Too 'add mask' go to the 'toolbar' on the left hand side of the screen. From there, you will see the mask selection. Select the 'source luminance' option and then keep 'invert mask data' not selected. From there you will need to 'split' the mask.

Step 3: Blur Function and Grey Scale

The blur function will be found in your tool bar. You'll need to blur the entire image to give off the illusion of a shadow with the gray scale image.

The 'gray scale' image needs to be set to sixteen point seven million colors after you have successfully blurred the image.

Step 4: Magic Wand

From the source image, you'll need to get the 'magic wand;' you'll find this in the tool palette. You'll need to hold down your shift button while you click onto the background of the photo. When you do this, you will be selecting just your image but not the actual background. To copy the image you'll need to press both control and 'C'. Once you have done this, you'll need to switch back to the shadow and press control and 'E'. Once you have done this, you'll need to move the image around to get the desired shadow effect. Play around with it and move the image around depending on the type of effect you wish for the shadow to have.

Step 5: Darker Shadows

You can easily darken the shadow if you wish to make it look even more dramatic. In order to do this, you will need to reduce the image back to sixteen colors before you blur it. After you have done this, play around with the palette to get the entire image black with the exception of the background. After you have done this, switch it to two hundred and sixty five colors then blur the image. Then, go back to sixteen point seven million colors, press control and 'C' following with control and 'E' to get your image back on top.

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