(Disclaimer: I use a Macbook, in the video I am telling you the Windows commands as well.)
Hi everyone, I am back! I hope you are well in the middle of the summer. I am currently a little bit tired, as I just woke up 30 minutes ago, but hey: it’s life. I thought while I am going to drink my morning coffee, I might as well start writing. From past weeks of experiences, I have learned you need a bit of technical help with a few issues.
It may be PhotoShop, Canva, Pinterest, or even styling your images, so I am here to help. Apart from creating visually appealing images and selections for my articles, I want my platform to be educational. I want to be able to share what I have learned, as I believe in a supportive community.
Starting my career as a fashion stylist years ago was hard because I was alone. Another fact I can tell about the industry: it is not supporting in any way possible. You are out there on your own, with ZERO marketing skills and networking.
It was not easy and I could start rumbling, but I will not. Instead, let’s jump to the part where I help you out! Whether you are an enthusiast, who is about to create beautiful images or professional, having some questions, I am here for you! In this article, I am going to show you how to create this Bedroom.
You will be able to apply this knowledge into any area of a home, but I thought let’s start with the sweetest spot. We all love sleeping or napping, so why not design the space for it? It is going to be Bedroom PhotoShop Basics 1, as my next article will be a more in-depth tutorial.
Before we head down to the written tutorial, if you need more information, please visit THIS Youtube video. Also, while you’re there: please don’t forget to hit the subscribe button, ring the bell and comment if you have any questions!
- Here we go!
This is the image, which I will put together. Now please note, the selection has been done by me and positioned pre-filming. What it means, this time we are only focusing on placement not design.
When I was creating this image, I was focusing on depth, as it was a horizontal image first (which I will break down in my next article with another 2 for the same elevation).
Now, you may or may not now, I have quite a big following on Pinterest, which I am extremely proud of! For this reason, I had to create an images, which will be rewarded by the platform.
It means the image HAS TO be 1000 x 1500 pixels. This is something you can’t argue, Pinterest rewards vertical images on their platform. I put the bed and its surroundings to the top and added all the finishes with the door to the bottom. This way I already created some depth and dimensions with the placement of the items.
Console Table lamp on Console Bench Wood Carpet Nightstand Table Lamp Wallpaper
2. Placement in action:
You can see how I am setting every image on top of each other here as well as another important thing. The layers are named. It is not a must, but quite useful, when you are layering furniture on top of each other. You need to be able to understand what goes where. When you have a bigger room with much more elements to add, it is impossible to remember every single layer you use. For this reason naming helps a lot. As well as grouping, but that will come in my next tutorial.
3. Drop shadow
The trick, which I add to ALL of the layers. Why? As the name suggests, you are creating DEPTH with a shadow. You can choose a deep or a short one with the kind of opacity you wish to have. This is how you can do it:
Step 1: Click on the layer you’d like to add a shadow.
Step 2: Right Click on that same layer.
Step 3: Click on “Blending Options”
Step 4: Tick the square for “Drop Shadow”.
Step 5. On the top right corner you can change depth and opacity to your liking.
Pro tip: Don’t forget to have your PREVIEW box ticked, since without it you will only see results, once you saved them.
4. Inner & Outer Glow:
Another beautiful trick, which you can use in Photo Shop. It is best to have them in your skill set, when you are adding lights to the selection. Why? Because glow makes the lights beam a bit more.
Step 1: Please repeat Step 1-3 from before.
Step 2: Tick the box for Inner Glow and look at the result. If you are not satisfied, you can modify depth/opacity on the right side, where you see the settings for this tool.
Step 3: Tick the box for Outer Glow and look at the result. If you are not satisfied, you can modify depth/opacity on the right side, where you see the settings for this tool.
Pro tip: For this particular light, I added a Drop shadow as well, as I felt there was more to it.
And something else…
5. The real glow of lights:
If you want your lighting look even more realistic, you can add another layer called “In Sun Ray”. You just download a PNG image without a background and put it behind the light and adjust the size accordingly (dimensions are coming up at 7).
You can download some from here. (It is FREE)
6. How to cut out the background:
Most images come with a background. When we want a more realistic image, we need to get rid of them, so we can apply shadows for example to the objects. There are many ways to do it, in this article I am going to show you the most convenient one.
(I dropped the nightstand image from Pinterest to the PS page, so you can see how it is done)
Step 1: Select the layer you want to modify.
Step 2: On the left side of your screen, click the “Magic Wand” tool.
Step 3: Click on the colour you want to get rid of. Magic wand selects by colour, which means it is you biggest help with a background, which is one colour mostly. (I can go into detail about the Magic Wand tool, if you are interested, let me know in the comments, if so).
Step 4: Use the combination Command + X. This way the background will be cropped and you have a clear image only.
7. Modifying dimensions:
When we are designing, we need to pay attention to scales. It is crucial to understand how the sizes should work in relation to each other. You can’t design an image and send out to your client saying “Here you go” then the bed is half the size of the nightstand. I know it sounds funny, but it is quite important.
The people, who don’t work in the design environment will not understand why it is so big and you are creating unnecessary questions from their side by making everyone’s life harder. If you are unsure, check the dimensions, on Pinterest I have a board for different dimension, which may help you. Another great tip is you can have a look at bedroom and see how the furniture is standing in relation to one another.
I know it sounds like a lot, but small details like this are making a huge difference. They also make you look more professional, so why not do it then?
Step 1: Select the layer, you want to modify.
Step 2: Click on the “Select” tool from your Tools on the left side.
Step 3: You can see the layer is covered with a dotted square, which means the Select tool is active. The corners and the middle of the corners have little squares. Grab one of corner squares and start pulling in or pushing out with your cursor, depending on what you would like to do. Pulling in will shrink the image, while pushing out will enlarge it.
Step 4: Modifying height and width. It is quite easy, you repeat the first 3 steps, mentioned here. BUT, you click on the squares of the middles on any sides. Top or bottom will modify height, while sides will modify width. So you have selected everything, now you just need to move in or out with your cursor, WHILE holding Shift.
Step 5: You just modified your item!
With all of these tools in mind, you can create simple images look impactful!
There you have it! A basic tutorial in Photo Shop for any design work you need to do! I hope you enjoyed it and also, if you still have questions, please leave me a comment or: