How to Photoshop a Custom Reflection to Sunglasses

Hey Guys, in this episode we learn how to add a custom reflection to sunglasses in Adobe Photoshop. To achieve this we are going to be using masking and image adjustments to make it look real.

Drag and drop the image you are going to use into Adobe Photoshop, in the layers panel select the background layer and press Ctrl & J to make a duplicate of the image. Drag and drop the image you are going to use as the reflection and roughly position it into place, turn down the opacity so you can see the sunglasses behind and re size the image by holding Shift & Alt and dragging the corner of the image inwards or outwards. Always remember that re sizing in this way is the best method to maintaining the aspect ratio of the image and less likely to pix elate. Click the check mark or press enter to exit Transform.

In the layers panel hold Ctrl, select the "sunglasses layer" and the "Reflection layer" so they are both highlighted blue and right click and select Merge Layers. Select your original background layer and hide the newly merged layer above by clicking the eye icon in the layers panel. Choose the Quick Selection Tool in the top left and make a selection of the inside of the sunglasses. If you are unsure of how to use the Quick Selection Tool then check out this tutorial before continuing.

Quick Selection Tool - Change Background on a Difficult Edged Image https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GJIssaY21Q&list=UULub44i5kP9spMqFRGE1f-A

Once you have the lenses of the sunglasses selected show the merged layer then select Refine Edge in the top panel. Have the settings roughly as follows. (feel free to adjust this as settings will vary from image to image)

Smooth - 0 Feather - 0 Contrast - 0 Shift Edge - -78%

Using the brush tool in Refine Edge paint around any small areas that the Quick Selection Tool has missed to build the image back in. Press OK. Now delete the middle layer which shows the image before Refine Edge made a new layer. You should be seeing the sunglasses with just a refection.

Select Image, Adjustments, Curves in the top panel and drag the line at two points to make a curve either upwards or downwards. A downwards curve makes the image darker and Upwards lighter. Press OK. Select Image, Adjustments, Vibrance, you can increase or decrease the vibrance and saturation of the colors to bring them through more or less in the reflection. Select Image, Adjustments, Hue-Saturation, use these settings if you want to change the color of the sunglasses lenses. Check colors first then play around with the settings to suit your project. If you have strange shaped or curved sunglasses then select Filter, Distort, Spherize, adjust the amount bar to add a curve to the reflection. You have now completed Adding a Custom Reflection to Sunglasses Photoshop Tutorial!

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