We reveal how to completely change the feel of a landscape image by adding moody mist. Here’s how it’s done…
Sometimes the weather can be a photographer’s perfect ally, creating beautiful light or dramatic skies. However, at other times you can arrive at a scene only to find the atmosphere isn’t quite what you wanted.
There’s no substitute for capturing real-life weather in all its glory, but if you haven’t got the time to wait for the perfect combination of light and clouds, it’s possible to change the atmosphere of a scene using Photoshop.
In our start image, the bright sunny day doesn’t really suit the mood of the stark Welsh castle, so we’ve blown in a few misty swirls and cooled the colours. This is easier than it looks. Using a combination of the Clouds filter, Smudge and Brush tools, you can create dappled mist-like tones, then shape them into interesting patterns.
The technique also covers key Photoshop skills like Layer Masks and the Transform command. So read on to discover how to create atmospheric, mist-shrouded scenes.
01 Tone the colours
Open your start image. Go to the Layers Panel (Window>Layers). Click the Create Adjustment Layer icon and choose Hue/Saturation. Set Saturation -25, then set Channel: Blue, Saturation -80, Cyan -80, Greens -40, Yellows -60. Click the Create New Layer icon in the Layers Panel.
02 Create clouds
Hit D to reset colours to black and white, then Cmd/Ctrl+Backspace to fill the layer. Go to Filter>Render>Clouds, then Filter>Blur> Gaussian Blur. Set Radius 100px and hit OK. In the Layers Panel, change the Blend Mode to Screen, then lower the layer opacity to about 30%.
03 Copy and transform
Hit Cmd/Ctrl+J to copy the layer. Set layer opacity to 100% then hit Cmd/Ctrl+T to transform. Drag the top-middle point of the bounding box down to just above the water, then hold Cmd/Ctrl and drag the bottom left and right points outwards to add perspective to the mist.
04 Mask and repeat
Click the Add Layer Mask icon. Grab the Brush tool. Pick a soft-edged tip and set colour to black. Paint to hide the hard edges and add mist. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+J, then Cmd/Ctrl+T. Squeeze the layer to make it thinner so that the mist looks thicker in the distance, then mask again.
05 Use Smudge for swirls
Make a new layer, then grab the Brush tool. Set colour to white and click the Brush Settings in the tool options. Set Scatter 50%, Hardness 0%. Paint along the water’s edge to make scattered white dots. Grab the Smudge tool. Drag upwards over the dots to smudge them into swirling trails.
06 Build it up
Build up the swirls by duplicating the layer. Use layer masks to hide unwanted parts and lower layer opacity to blend them. Duplicate the Background Layer and use the Burn tool to darken areas. Add a Solid Colour Adjustment Layer, pick pale blue, then set Blend Mode to Soft Light.
Final Tip!
Always make your effects and adjustments on separate layers so that you have the option to tone them down by lowering layer opacity
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