Recreate The Magic Of Golden Era With Free Transform Command

By Author: Trisha White
Total Articles: 7
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The 1930s ... the golden age of high style and high fashion! You saw it everywhere—in ads, in magazines, and at the movies. Who can forget those wonderful black-and-white glossies of the rich and famous as they glanced wistfully off camera while dappled sunlight broke pensively across their languished brows? Okay, reality check; these photos were set up studio shots, but they still had quite a nice dramatic quality to them, and what's even better is that in the 2000s you can re-create this effect using just Photoshop.

Into the shadows

In this article, we'll show you how to add shadow scrims to a photo by first pasting scrim shapes onto our portrait photo. Then, we'll manipulate the shapes using the Free Transform command. Next, we'll modify them using the Gaussian Blur and Liquify filters. Finally, we'll adjust the scrim's intensity to achieve a dramatic but believable appearance.

Composition is a criterion

To begin, open an image on which to add our shadow scrim effect. You'll want to choose a portrait that, to start with, is more than the standard ...
... head and shoulders shot.
If the composition of the photo is more than the standard head-and-shoulders shot, a few well-placed shadows will add a bit of dramatic atmosphere to the shot.

Scrounging for a scrim

Next, we need to look for a scrim. So, by now you might be asking, "What is a scrim?" A scrim is a device, usually a frame and filter material, which you would hold in front of a light to alter the way the light falls on a subject. The material might be a gel, a diffusing screen, or a barn door. It also might be a cutout pattern of such things as blinds, grates, or leaves. People have used scrims for decades in the theater and in movie and photo studios to control lighting and add special effects.

While we can't, of course, hold up a scrim in front of the key light illuminating our subject, we can create an effect using the same principle. The image you use for your scrim pattern should be simple and clean to avoid a result that looks indiscernible.

Laying down the layers

Once you've found an image for the scrim, copy and paste it into your portrait photo. On the Layers palette, name the layer Scrim 1.

You may wish to continue working in color, but from this point on we're going to change the image to black and white to stay with the 1930s look. We'll do this, not by changing the Image Mode but by desaturating our layers. This way we can also see our result in color. Choose Image > Adjustments (Adjust) > Hue/Saturation. In the resulting Hue/Saturation dialog box, move the Saturation slider all the way to the left, and the Scrim 1 layer then appears black and white.

Transforming your scrim image

Next, let's position and manipulate the scrim image so it will have a realistic appearance relative to our portrait image. Choose Edit > Free Transform. Then, scale and rotate it to an approximate position using the bounding box. Press [enter] to set the transformation. Since we want to use this as the basis for a shadow to fall across to back wall, and since we'll apply the Blur and Liquify filters to the Scrim 1 layer next, we need to make a duplicate of the Scrim 1 layer on the Layers palette and name it Scrim 2.Use the Free Transform command to rotate and scale the scrim image to achieve a realistic appearance relative to the portrait image.

Adjusting, blurring, and liquefying, oh my!

Since real shadows are soft, solid, and wrap around curved surfaces, we must next use a combination of commands and steps to give our Scrim 1 image that same look.
By blurring, erasing, and liquefying the scrim image, you can change it to realistic-looking shadows falling across the subject's face, hand, and shoulder.

Let's now decrease the opacity of the Scrim 1 layer to add to the realism of the scrim effect. In the Layers palette, move the Opacity slider to about 35%. Then, press [enter] and the layer becomes translucent.

If the shadows on one side of the image and in the background clutter the composition, erase them. Choose the Eraser tool from the Toolbox, and remove the areas.

Use the Liquify command to create a slight curved distortion in that area. Choose Filter > Liquify. In the resulting Liquify dialog box, select a Brush Size that will just cover the area without disturbing anything else. A brush size of about 64 will work nicely, so enter that value in the Brush Size text box. Click and drag the mouse pointer over the shadow area you want to distort, moving it slightly up and to the right. Then, click OK.

Background check

Finish off the composition by adding a shadow scrim to the background area of the photo.
Select the Scrim 2 layer from the Layers palette. Repeat adjusting, blurring, and erasing the layer as you did with the Scrim 1 layer. However, since the shadows appear to be farther away from the viewer, increase the Gaussian Blur value to about 30, and the shadows will have an even softer appearance.

Made in the shade

Placing a few shadow scrims in a photo is an easy way to add a bit of high-toned drama and impact to a photo. You can use this technique on all types of images, not just portraits, to add interest and for a change of pace. All it takes is a few simple steps and your imagination.