How to Make a Reflection in Photoshop and Improve the Look of Photos

Learn to make a reflection in photoshop It's a great way to make product photos look realistic. With a few simple steps, you can place your product on dramatically reflective glass; a few more steps, and you can create the illusion that your product is sitting in a clear pool of water.

For the Photoshop tutorial below, use a photo that shows the product at eye level, like the lens image below. This will make creating a reflection an easy process, compared to creating a reflection of an angled object, which is much more tedious and complicated. If the product is shot on a white background, that process is even easier.

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How to reflect or draw symmetry

To mirror in Photoshop, you need to create symmetry.

How to draw symmetry in Photoshop?

Use the function Flip vertically from the tool Transform. This feature creates a perfect mirror image of your selection. You'll then use layer masks to adjust the reflection until it looks realistic.

How to add a layer mask

How do you add a layer mask in Photoshop? You can create layer masks fairly easily by selecting the layer and then clicking the Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. We'll look at how to create a mask and how to use it to modify your reflection in the tutorial steps below.

How to Make a Glass Reflection in Photoshop

A lens image is ideal for a product reflection in Photoshop because the product is viewed head-on and the base of the lens rests along the horizon line.

Step 1: Enlarge your canvas

Your canvas size must be large enough to fit the reflection of your product. From the drop-down menu at the top of the application window, choose Image > Canvas Size.

In the dialog box that appears, click the anchor arrow pointing directly up (top middle square of the anchor array) and set the canvas height to twice its original height.

Step 2: Select your object

To reflect the shadow, use the tool Magic wand (located in the toolbar on the left side of the application window) and choose Select topic. Photoshop will create a selection of your product.

Step 3: Duplicate and flip your object

With your product still selected, copy your object by typing CTRL + C (COMMAND + C in a Mac). Then paste the product typing CTRL + V (COMMAND + V On a Mac). The isolated product should automatically appear on a new layer. Select your new layer and duplicate it by choosing Layers > Duplicate layer from the drop-down menu at the top of the application window. Rename the lowest layer to “Original«.

Rename layer 1 to «Reflection» and rename the copy of layer 1 to «Product«. Make sure the layer Reflection is under the layer Productor in your Layers panel.

Step 4: Create perfect symmetry with your reflection

Select your layer Reflection in the Layers panel and choose Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical from the drop-down menu at the top of the application window. With the Reflection layer still selected, move the flipped product image down so that it rests just below the product image using the Reflection tool. MOVER in the toolbar on the left of the application window.

You can grab the image with the tool and pull down while holding down the key SHIFT to keep the image aligned correctly. You can also type the down arrow on your keyboard while holding down the key. SHIFT until the image aligns with the product baseline. This baseline becomes your horizon.

Step 5: Add a layer mask

Once the product and its reflection are aligned correctly, create a layer mask to make the reflection fade gradually. To add a layer mask to the Reflection layer, click the mask icon at the bottom of the panel Layers.

Once your mask is created, make sure your layer mask is selected (when selected, your layer mask will look like it has a dashed line around it in the Layers panel).

In the toolbar, set the background color to black and the foreground color to white. Select the Gradient tool from the toolbar and make sure the gradient is set to black and white at the top of the application window.

Make sure you have the Reflection layer mask selected. Starting in the middle of your product, draw a straight line across the image to the bottom of the reflection. The result will look like a reflection. To make the reflection look even more realistic, reduce the opacity of your Reflection layer until you like the way it looks. Make sure you have the layer selected and not the mask.

Step 6: Clean up the shadows

If the shadows from the original image are cast behind the object, the image will not look very good. In this case, we need to think about how light works with our reflection in Photoshop. To finalize our reflection, we will need remove all shadows except for the small shadows that occur immediately below the object. You can use a soft brush the same color as the background and gently paint over the shadows that shouldn't be on the Original layer.

How to make a water reflection in Photoshop?

Add a wave effect to make the object appear to be on waterThis effect also works well if you want to create a reflection of a person in Photoshop – you can make your model appear to be standing in or in front of a body of water.

Step 1: Set up your canvas

If you're creating a reflection in water, you'll set up your layers similarly to how you did for a glass reflection with a few minor differences. Set your Foreground color to a dark, watery blue. Double-click on your Background layer to unlock it if it's not already unlocked. Name the layer Original.

Adjust the size of your canvas so that your image is now twice as tall. Make sure the canvas extent color is set to Background. Remember to place the anchor in the top middle quadrant. Click Accept.

With the Frame tool rectangular From the toolbar, draw a selection around the area of ​​the image you want to mirror. Choose Select > Invert from the drop-down menu at the top of the screen or click SHIFT + CTRL + I (SHIFT + COMMAND + I on a Mac) to select the inverse of the selection.

Afterwards, choose Edit > Fill or write SHIFT + F5 (FN + SHIFT + F5 on a Mac laptop) to fill the inverse selection with the blue foreground color. Choose Select > Invert again in the drop-down menu at the top of the screen or click on SHIFT + CTRL + I (SHIFT + COMMAND + I on a Mac) to select the inverse of the selection.

Step 2: Create your reflection

Copy the selected area by typing CTRL + C (COMMAND + C on a Mac) and then paste the selection typing CTRL + V (COMMAND + V On a Mac). The duplicate selection will automatically appear on a new layer.

Rename the new layer Reflection, then flip the layer vertically as you did earlier with the reflection in the glass by selecting Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical from the drop-down menu. Move the reflected layer down until its top aligns just one or two pixels below the bottom of the image on the Original layer.

Then, just like you did with the glass reflection, add a layer mask to the Reflection layer and paint a white to black gradient inside the mask. Click on the Reflection layer and reduce the layer opacity to about 80%.

Step 3: Create a water texture in Photoshop

In your document, create a new layer by selecting Layer > New > Layer or writing SHIFT + CTRL + N (SHIFT + COMMAND + N on a Mac). Name your new layer Displacement and move it to the top of your Layers panel.

Fill the layer with white by selecting Edit > Fill in the drop-down menu or by clicking SHIFT + F5 (FN + SHIFT + F5 on a Mac laptop) and choosing Blanco next to Content in the dialog box. Then click Accept.

Choose Filter > Noise > Add Noise from the drop-down menu at the top of the application window. In the Noise window, move the slider all the way to the right (400%). Select Gaussian en Distribution and make sure that Monochrome is checked. Click on Accept.

Choose Filter > Pixelate > Crystallize from the drop-down menu at the top of the window corresponding to the application. Once in the dialog box, move the slider until the "glasses" are an acceptable size. Then click Accept.

Choose Filter > Blur > Blur Select Motion Blur from the drop-down menu and set the angle to 0 degrees. Adjust the slider until the blur starts to look like real water ripples. Then click Accept.

Step 4: Distort the displacement layer

Reduce the size of your document until it is the size of a thumbnail. Click on the layer Displacement and select all the contents of the layer by choosing Select> All from the drop-down menu or by typing CTRL+A (COMMAND + A on a Mac).

Choose Edit > Transform > Perspective from the drop-down menu. Grab the bottom left corner of your document and drag to the right until you've achieved a significant perspective. Click any tool on the toolbar to make the change take effect (click Accept if a dialog box appears).

Choose Edit > Transform > Distort from the drop-down menu. Grab the top of the layer and pull it down until it aligns with the top of the reflection layer (in other words, aligns it with the horizon of the image). Click any tool in the toolbar to make the change take effect (click OK if a dialog box appears).

Step 5: Create a displacement map

Hide all layers except the layer Displacement by clicking on the eye icon next to the layers. Choose Select> All or click CTRL+A (COMMAND + A on a Mac) from the drop-down menu to select the entire layer.

Choose Image> Crop from the drop-down menu. This will remove any extra “material” that exists outside of the artboard frame (otherwise your displacement map may not line up correctly when you apply it).

Choose File> Save As from the drop-down menu or click SHIFT + CTRL + S (SHIFT + COMMAND + S) to open the dialog box Save , the. Save your document as Displacement_Map with an extension .PSD in a place you can easily find again. After this, click on Accept.

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Step 6: Apply the displacement map

Hide the layer Displacement and make the layers visible Original and Reflection. Select the Reflection layer in your panel Layers. Choose Filter > Distort > Displace from the drop-down menu. In the dialog box, set your Horizontal Scale to a value greater than 10.

You may have to experiment to find what looks best; the higher the value, the more prominent your “waves” will be. Set the Vertical Scale to 0. Make sure that Stretch to fit y Repeat pixels border are selected. Click Accept.

A browser window will appear on your screen. Choose the image you just saved as your displacement map and click Open. You should now have a domino effect applied to your reflection

Step 7: Add depth to your water

Drag your layer from Displacement hide down until it is just below the layer of Reflection and click the eye icon next to the layer to make it visible again. Set the displacement layer's blending mode to Overlap. You can then make an adjustment to the layer opacity until you are satisfied with the results.

Eliminates glare and reflections from glasses

Many times, the subjects in your photos have glare and reflections of light on their glasses. Could it be becoming more common due to the aging of baby boomers? This is another problem that you can eliminate with Photoshop Elements. You already know how to make a reflection in Photoshop, now we will tell you how to remove it. Here are the steps you need to follow:

Step 1:

Open the photo with the glow. Eliminate glare and reflections It mainly involves using the Healing Brush and the Clone Stamp tool. The main difference between the two tools is that the Healing Brush blends some texture from the original area and the Clone Stamp completely covers the area with the new area that was sampled from.

Step 2:

Zoom in on the eye with the least amount of glare using the Zoom tool (shortcut: Z). In our example, that's the eye on the right. When you zoom in for repair work, it's nice to work up close. But the zoomed in view can get a little distorted due to the pixels expanded.

In those situations, we like to open a duplicate of the image at 100% view so we can see how it will look when viewed at normal size and also see the correction in relation to the rest of the image.

To open another copy, go to the menu View and choose the top option: New window for. If the new copy passes over your enlarged view, grab the tool MOVER (shortcut: V) and drag it so you can see both views. Now when you make changes in the large view, you'll see the results reflected in the smaller view.

Step 3:

On the palette Layers, Click on the icon Create new layer to add a new layer above the Background. That way all the changes will be on a separate layer and the original will not be modified.

Select the tool Brush corrector from the toolbox. In the toolbar Options, click on the number after the word Brush to bring up the Brush Picker (see image below).

Make sure the slider Hardness is either all the way to the left or at 0%. Continuing from left to right in the options bar, choose Normal, Sampling, Mark Aligned y All layers. Make sure you are working on the new layer you created earlier.

Step 4:

Hold down the key Alt (Sword: Option) to sample an area of ​​your image where there is no glare, but is similar to where you want to replace glare and reflections. Your cursor will turn into a bull's-eye as you sample. Release the key. Alt (Sword: Option) and move the cursor over the reflection.

Now simply click and drag with your cursor over the glow to blend it into the sampled area. Remember that you can resize your cursor by pressing the left and right bracket keys until your brush is the size you want.

Work on the enlarged image but check the progress on the full-size image. If you don't like the results, try taking a sample from another area and painting over the area again with the new sample.

Step 5:

Now let's switch to the left eye and try out the tool Clone. Click on the tool Clone to select it and then make sure the same options are selected in the toolbar. Options that we use for the Healing Brush.

The first thing we're going to do is sample the right eye we just fixed. We'll adjust our brush size using the bracket keys to sample the entire iris, but not much beyond. Hold down the Alt (Sword: Option) and click to sample.

Step 6:

Hover your cursor over the iris of the left eye on the right and click once or twice until it looks right. Now it's just a matter of sampling good areas and then painting over the glow and reflections.

Take samples from different areas to avoid repeating patterns and adjust your brush size as needed. Eventually you'll get it looking natural and get rid of all the glare and reflections. Here's the before and after:

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Final thoughts

There you have it, we have reached the end of this tutorial on how to make a reflection in Photoshop and how to remove it. If you have any opinions, questions or requests, feel free to express them through the comments section. Photoshop has a lot of tools with which you can do magic with images; you don't have to accept that glare or do without it if you want to, you can use the elements offered to you to modify it as you wish.