Create Your Own Custom Landscapes in Photoshopby Fabrizio Panattoni on May 27, 2013Home Photoshop Tutorials Photo Manipulation Learn how to create your own custom backgrounds in Photoshop! You'll learn how to combine and blend multiple landscape photos, mask using channel data, and finish it up with a strong gradient color effect.

 

Preview of Final Results

Tutorial Resources Landscape 1 – B-r-a-c-i-a-t-a Landscape 2 – B-r-a-c-i-a-t-a Mountains – Public Domain Pictures

Step 1Open the image ‘Landscape 1′.

Step 2Open the image ‘Lanscape 2′ and place it above the ‘Landscape 1′ like you see below.

Step 3Place your mouse on the ‘Landscape 2′ image and add a clipping mask by clicking the button I show you below.

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Step 4Now we have to delete the unwanted parts of ‘Landscape 2′ image by painting with black on the clipping mask.I painted with a big soft brush at 100%. When I was closer to the image below I set the Opacity of the brush at 20% so that the blending is better. We want the effect that it’s only one image!

Step 5We have now to fix the light of this field. Add a Curves Adjustment Layer only for the ‘Landscape 2′ image and set it like you see below. (Output 110; Input 141).

Step 6Open the image ‘Mountains’ and place it above everything.

Step 7Now we have to fit this image with the rest. You have to activate only the first layer (like shown below).

Step 8Place yourself on ‘Channels’. Check which channel has more contrast between the land and the sky. In this case it’s the blue channel. (Your work will be now in black and white but son’t worry, it’s ok!).

Step 9Right click on the Blue channel and choose ‘Duplicate Channel’. A pop up window will appear. Click ‘Yes’ and you will have the Blue channel duplicated. Activate only this channel.

Step 10Let’s add some more contrast. Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels. Give more contrast moving the tree little arrows like you see below. Your images will be more contrasted.

Step 11As you can see there are some parts that are not covered by black. Just paint over them with black color!

Step 12Now keep pressed the button CTRL (CMD for mac) and click the Duplicated Blue channel. You will have the top part of the image selected.

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Step 13Delete the Duplicated Blue channel and reactivatee the other channels. Go back to Layers. Below you can see that the colors are back!

Step 14Go to Select > Inverse. The selection will be inverted.

Step 15Just add a Clipping mask the the ‘Landscape 1′ image and… Voilà! The sky has gone away!

Step 16Reactivate all layers and put the ‘Mountain’ at the bottom, below everything.

Step 17To have a better blending we will add a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer only for the ‘Landscape 1′ Image.We will set the Lightness to -44.

Step 18We don’t want that this adjustment affects the whole image, but just the top.Add a clipping mask and with the black color we will paint on it to cover the bottom part of the image.

Step 19We need to illuminate a bit the centre of the image.Create a new layer above everything and with a soft brush and color white paint something like that:

Step 20Apply Gaussian Blur: 100px

Step 21Set the Layer to Overlay with Fill 35%.

Step 22Time to add some adjustments!Gradient Map: Violet to Orange.Set it to Soft Light with Opacity and Fill at 90%

Step 23Levels Adjustments to give a bit of contrast.

Step 24Curves Adjustment:

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Final Results