In this Photoshop tutorial, we’ll come up with one good photo by working with several flawed ones.
This tutorial is different from many of my others, because the issues you encounter with the photos you’re working with will doubtless be different from mine.
As I go through this, just follow along and see how I accomplish my goals. You will use similar methods for your own projects.
This tutorial will work just as well with Elements as with Photoshop. I’m using Photoshop 2020. Versions won’t matter here.
As we go through this tutorial, you’ll see me demonstrate the following tools and techniques:
- Analyzing photos
- Using selection methods
- Moving parts from one file to another
- Making the whole photo come together
Family photos: you have to love them. You’re trying to get everyone to look at the camera and not at the dog, get everyone to smile before the baby starts to cry, and catch them all in between blinks. It’s hard.
But, if you take enough shots, you’ll get parts you can use to put together a great photo that everyone will like.
Tip: When shooting photos of a group, always take several!
Make a Plan
- After a careful evaluation, make a plan. I’m going to make a new file which will be my target file. The three photos just above will be my source photos. These source photos will supply the parts I need to make this family portrait.
File > New … Name your file and then save it as a PSD. (File > Save as…)
2. Open all of your potential Source photos. Go to Window > Arrange > Float All in Windows. You may have lots of files open. That’s fine, but, as you decide you’re done with one, close it.
One of your photos can start out as your background. Choose the Move tool and drag it onto your PSD file. Label this layer “Target.” This will now be known as your Target layer on your Target file.
In my desktop below, the file on the upper right is my Target file.
Get Going
3. Choose an appropriate selection tool and select part of another image to add to the Target. I’m going to be replacing the girl and Grandpa’s head (because of the eyeglass reflection).
Don’t get too compulsive with a cleaned-up selection at this point. You can clean it up, if you need to, when it’s part of the Target.
At the left, I used the Object Selection tool and a Lasso to select the girl.
4. With the Move tool, drag her over to the Target file. Close that Source file and then Ctrl-S to save on the new file.
5. Do the same with Grandpa’s glasses. Make a loose selection of part of his face. Again, don’t worry about making an exact selection.
Use the Move tool to bring his head over to the Target image.
I’m going to use the same image as source for the feet. Select and drag the whole bottom part of that image over to the target photo. Ctrl-S to save the Target and close all of the Source files when you’re done with them.
Label all of the layers in your PSD file.
Moving along
6. Move things to where they need to be and resize or rotate as necessary. Before you do any resizing or rotating, though, be sure to duplicate the layer (and make it invisible).
7. Add a Layer Mask to neaten up edges of parts you’ve added. At the left is Grandpa’s new face with his glasses de-glared.
Next, I’m going to work on the feet. Because the canvas is not large enough to accommodate the feet, we’ll add a piece.
Go to Image > Canvas Size. The screenshot at the right shows how I positioned the dot. Click Relative and then add in however much more canvas you need.
I duplicated this layer and then used an Edit > Transform to resize the feet layer so that it fit the Target photo.
Now I’ll have a look at the girl. Because of her positioning, she will be a bit more work than her Grandpa. What I’m doing here is really recreating background where the girl was, so that she won’t have 4 arms and 4 legs!
Make a new layer and label it “background cloning.” In the Layers Palette, drag this layer to just above the Target layer. With the Clone Stamp Tool 
chosen, have a look at the Options bar. Sample should be on Current and Below. Mode Normal, Opacity 100%.
Alt-click on Source pixels and then paint new pixels into where you want them.
Changing our minds
And sometimes we change our mind! I am looking at the source photo for the girl and I see that there’s lots of background that I didn’t get when I moved her out of that photo to the target.
Sooo… I’m going to reopen that file and reselect. This time, I’m going to take some of that background up around her face with me!
Lots of work brought me to this point. But I’m still not happy with that mulch, because the mulch that came with the new feet is redder than the other mulch. And I have enough room at the bottom that I may as well fix that shoe.
Tidy it up
To fix the color on just that one layer, I’ll make a clipped Adjustment Layer:
- Click the layer for the mulch/feet.
- Click the Add Adjustment Layer button.
- Choose Hue/Saturation. Don’t change anything yet.
- With this H/S layer clicked, do Alt-Ctrl-G to clip the layer to the one right beneath it. This will make the adjustment you’re about to make apply to just that one layer.
- Double-click the H/S thumbnail and then adjust your coloring. Here, I dragged Saturation way down. Of course, this also made his ankles and her shoes too gray!
So we click the Mask for the H/S Adjustment Layer. Choose a soft brush and black and paint away that adjustment on your canvas.
And now to finish up the bottom. It’s just mulch and I can easily clone in more mulch. Make a new layer above all of the other layers and label it. Clone stamp the new mulch.
When cloning, sample often and from different parts of the image. You definitely don’t want patterned mulch!
Remember how his shoe was cut off? With mulch, it’s easy to make it look like that shoe is just digging into the mulch slightly.
And here’s my final result:
I hope you enjoyed coming along with me on this Photoshop tutorial, and I hope you got some ideas for ways to rework your own pictures!