How to Make a Composite Dreamscape in Photoshop with Two Photos

Hey, guys! I’m Jaxson Pohlman. In this post, I’m going to show you how to create a composite dreamscape using two photos in just a few steps using Photoshop.

Using sunrise or sunset photos will add some spark to your final creation. Begin by opening the foreground photo in #Photoshop. We are going to mask a portion of the background out to create a smooth transition between the horizon and stars.

Use the Rectangular Marquee tool (M) and click and drag across the photo. Make sure to select in between the horizon and the top border of the photo.

Go to Select -> hold the “Shift” key and click “Select and Mask.” Adjust the edge by dragging the “Feather” option to approximately 200px, then click ok.

Next, use the Move tool (V), click and drag the selection over to your star photo (background). Make sure the foreground layer is above the star layer. Use the Crop tool (C) to extend visibility. Using the Move tool, drag your foreground layer down to the bottom of the cropped area.

Duplicate the foreground layer by going to Layer -> and click “Duplicate Layer.” Label it as “no. 2” and click Ok. Select the original foreground layer. Go to Edit -> “Free Transform” and increase the vertical size. Double click to confirm, and then drag the photo down so that is transitions smoothly into the stars.

Using the Brush tool (B), we are going to add a bright star to make the transition between the horizon and sky feel a bit more real. Click the Brush Preset picker and adjust to 25px with a hardness of 50%. Change the mode the “Lighten” and have an 85% opacity and flow. Select the duplicate layer “no. 2” and apply the brush where the horizon fades into the stars.

After applying the brush to create a star, we are going to apply a second brush to give a glow to the star. Adjust your brush settings to 175px, 0% hardness, 50% opacity, and 25% flow. Apply this brush over the star just created.

Add final touches such as exposure, contrast, color balance, etc.

And that’s how you can create a simple composite dreamscape!

About the author: Jaxson Pohlman is a popular photographer on Instagram known for his surreal dreamscapes. You can find more of his work on his website, Instagram, and Twitter. This tutorial was originally published by Adobe.