Step By step Blend Two exposures

Combine land and sky with selections and layer masks

01 Drag over the image

Open blend01 and 02 into Photoshop Elements. Grab the Move tool and drag the 02 image over to the 01 image tab, then down and in to copy it over. Hold Shift before releasing the mouse button. This will copy it ‘in place’ so that it sits directly on top of the other frame.

02 select the sky

Next grab the Magic Wand tool from the Toolbar. We’ll use it to make a selection of the sky. Go to the tool options at the bottom, uncheck ‘Contiguous’ and set Tolerance to about 30, then click over the sky. Hold Shift and keep clicking until the whole sky is selected.

03 refine the edge

Go to Select>inverse so that the land is selected instead, then go to Select>refine Edge. Choose ‘On Layers’ in the View option, then check ‘Show Radius’ and increase the radius until the edge covers the detail you want. You can also decrease the radius.

04 make a mask

Uncheck ‘Show Radius’ and assess the Refine Edge settings. When satisfied, choose ‘Output to: Layer Mask’ and hit OK. Next grab the Brush tool and hit D to set your brush to black and white. Go to the Layers Panel and highlight the mask thumbnail.

05 Blend the edges

There may be areas where the blend on the horizon looks unnatural. To smooth it, hit 3 for 30% bush opacity then – using a soft-edged brush – paint white to reveal the top layer, or black to hide it. Alt-click the thumbnail to toggle the mask, if you want to check it.

06 Dodge the lines

Go to Layer>new>layer. In the options choose ‘Mode: Overlay’, check the ‘Fill with…’ box and name the layer ‘Dodge burn’. Then paint with black to darken areas and white to lighten. Darken the furrows and the corners of the frame, then lighten the ridges of grass.