Making product images look compelling goes a long way toward helping those products sell.
In this video tutorial, I will show you how to isolate part of an image onto a white background and then add a drop shadow to that selection, which is the exact technique you'll need to create compelling product images. This tutorial is aimed at Photoshop beginners and developers that wish to improve their graphics skills.
You'll watch as I cover four different techniques offered in Adobe Photoshop CS4 that can be used to isolate part of an image.
- The Eraser Tool is used to remove a portion of the image. I'll show you how to use the eraser tool to erase everything but the object you want isolated.
- The Lasso Tool has three parts to it, the regular Lasso Tool, the Polygonal Lasso Tool, and the Magnetic Lasso Tool. I will show you how to use each Lasso Tool to make a selection around the portion of the image you want to isolate.
- Layer Masks use different values to either show or hide a portion of an image. I will also cover how to correct mistakes made with Layer Masking.
- Use the powerful Pen Tool to make smooth, curved selections rather than jagged selections, and manipulate the Bezier Pen Tool to create the selection you want. I will also show you how to take a pen path and create an editable selection.
After going over isolation techniques, I will show you how to place your isolated image on a white background and then use the effects offered in Adobe Photoshop CS4 to add a drop shadow. I will also cover the different settings that can be applied to a drop shadow. By the end of this tutorial you should be able to isolate a portion of an image, place that selection on a white background, and add a drop shadow to it, creating a terrific product image.
