step By step Broken Backdrop portraits

Broken backdrop portraits are easy to capture and fun to play around with

01 Load into stack

You’ll need three photos for this, like the ones we’ve used, all taken with a tripod to keep them in alignment. We can use Bridge to load them into one document. Hit Cmd/ctrl+click to highlight the three images, then go to Tools>photoshop>load Files into Layers.

02 arrange the Layers

Go to the Layers panel and rearrange the layers so that the ‘empty’ image is at the bottom, then ‘hands’, then the ‘face’ image on top (double-click the layer names to rename them). Click the eye icon to hide the top layer, then highlight the middle layer.

03 Hide the body

Click the Polygonal Lasso tool to make a selection that covers the body but ends at the wrists, tracing along the fence. Double-click to close the selection then hold Alt and click the Add Layer Mask icon in the Layers panel to convert selection to mask.

04 make a Hole

Reveal the ‘face’ layer, then click the Add Layer Mask icon. Use the Polygonal Lasso tool to trace along one of the holes in the fence, then go to Edit>fill, choose Contents: Black and click OK. Hit Cmd/ctrl+d to deselect your selection area.

05 create more gaps

Select another space and fill it. We’ll use a shortcut to make it easier: press D, then X to set colour to black, then hit Alt+backspace to fill. If you need to fine-tune the mask, you can also paint black (hide the layer) or white (reveal the layer) with the Brush tool.

06 enhance the tones

Continue selecting and filling to build the effect. Next, finish off by enhancing the tones. Click the Create Adjustment Layer icon in the Layers panel and choose Curves, then make an S-shaped curve, as shown, to boost contrast and colour.