STEP BY STEP PLACING A PERSON INTO A SCENE

Use compositing skills in Affinity Photo to combine images and add realistic shadows

01 SELECT THE SUBJECT

Open the portrait and grab the Selection Brush from the toolbar. Check ‘Snap to Edges’ in the options at the top then paint over the figure. Use the ] and [ keys to resize your brush tip as you paint, and hold Alt to subtract areas if it picks up unwanted details.

02 IMPROVE THE SELECTION

Click the Refine button, then increase the Border Width to refine the edge. Use the Matte brush to paint over the edges of the hair and exclude the tricky bits. Use the Foreground and Background brushes to designate any other areas. Set Output: mask and hit Apply.

03 COPY THE CUTOUT

Copy the cutout (Cmd/ctrl+c), then go to the other image and paste (Cmd/ctrl+v). Use the Move tool to position and resize the layer until it’s where you want it. Next, hold Cmd/ctrl and click the mask thumbnail to load it as a selection, then make a new pixel layer.

04 SQUASH THE SHADOW

Drag the new pixel layer below the cut out layer, then go to Edit>fill to fill it with black. Get the Move tool and drag the top point down to squash the layer, so it looks like a shadow. Add a layer mask and paint black to fade out the top of the shadow and hide unwanted areas.

05 BLUR THE BACKDROP

Filter>blur>gaussian Blur to fade the shadow a bit. We can also blur the backdrop. Highlight the bottom layer, then go to Layer>live Filter Layer>blur>depth of field. Set Mode: Tilt-shift, then adjust the centre point to sit over the feet. Increase Radius to blur the backdrop.

06 SKEW THE COLOURS

A tonal change will help this all mesh. Highlight the top layer, then click the Adjustment icon and choose Curves. Go to the Blue curve channel and drag the bottom point upwards to add blue into the shadows. Drag the top point down to add yellow to the highlights.