Antelope Island 35 by Julia Starr (Creative Commons License)
Winter Beach by Colin Broug (Royalty-Free License)
Umbrella by Dovile Cizaite (Royalty-Free License)
Click the image below to view the full-size scene.
Establish a new file with dimensions of 2500px by 2500px at a resolution of 300 dpi (Dots per Inch). Ensure the Background Contents setting is set to Transparent.
Let’s begin with the Antelope Island image.
First, download the “Antelope Island 35” image listed in the Resources section. Save it to your computer, then navigate to File > Open and locate the downloaded image.
The image you’ve opened features a watermark in the upper portion.
Remove it by activating the Crop Tool (C), selecting the edge of the photo without the watermark, and pressing Enter to crop the image.
Transfer the cropped image to the main canvas by clicking on it, pressing V to select the Move Tool, and dragging it to the canvas.
After positioning, activate Free Transform (Ctrl/Cmd + T) to resize the image to match the canvas dimensions, then press Enter to confirm.
In this phase, we aim to replicate the effect of a long exposure photo, making the clouds appear as if they’re moving.
Start by separating the sky from the land using the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L), ensuring better control over the selection.
Change the view to Full Screen Mode With Menu Bar (F) for a more spacious workspace.
With the Polygonal Lasso Tool, start outside the canvas and capture the sky. Once the selection is complete, duplicate it on a new layer above and apply Motion Blur (Filter > Blur > Motion Blur) with an Angle of 0 and Distance of 200.
Return to Standard Screen Mode by pressing F twice, then proceed to the next image, “Winter Beach,” and integrate it into the scene using the Move Tool.
Remove the sky from the “Winter Beach” photo using the Polygonal Lasso Tool and adjust its angle and remove any distracting blue edges.
Combine the “Winter Beach” sky with the “Antelope Island” image, increase the sky’s length, and create a foggy horizon using the Eraser Tool.
Darken the sky with a Graduated Neutral Density (GND) Filter effect, then add an umbrella to the scene, adjusting its color, position, and lighting to match the composition.
Apply shadows and fix the perspective of the umbrella, creating a vignette to increase focus on the subject, and retouch the photo with various fill layers and adjustment layers.
Adjust the colors, contrast, and coolness of the scene with Curves and Color Balance, then flatten the image and sharpen details with Smart Sharpen.
Save the final file in the TIFF format for future editing without quality loss.
This tutorial covers the process of combining multiple photos to create a cohesive, dark, and melancholic scene. Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below if this tutorial has inspired you.
dark_melancholic_scene (ZIP, 7.91 MB)
