Adding A Shadow To Your Stock Photos

 Today we are going to learn how to add a shadow to your stock photos. We will do this for two of our stock photos;  the one that was taken with the light source on the left and the one that was taken with the light source on the right. Below are two pictures. The top picture is a "before" picture and the bottom picture is an "after" picture. In between the two are some basic instructions. These are brief instructions and you will need to use some of your existing Photoshop experience, but it's definitely enough to get you started. Finally, there is a video posted at the bottom. Watch it and enjoy.

1. Take your image and open it in Photoshop
2. Create 2 duplicate layers of the background. Label 1 of them "shadow" and the other one "object".
3. Remove the white around from around the "object" layer.
4. Desaturate the "shadow" layer.
5. Add a gaussian blur to the "shadow" layer.
6. Move the "shadow" layer slightly to the right and down if the light source is coming from the left. Do the opposite if the light source is coming from the right.
7. Paint white over any leftover sections near the sides and top portion of the "shadow" layer.

This exercise is all about using layers, so be aware of what layers are selected while you are working.

When you are done, save your 2 photos as JPEG files and I will come around and grade them all at once on Wednesday. (40 pts.)

How To Add A Shadow In Photoshop from Michael Pagliara on Vimeo.