How to put one image inside another image
May 18, 2008 – 1:12 pm
There is an ad campaign in London at the moment for Portuguese tourism. You can see 48-,24- and 16-sheet adverts in the tube with giant portraits of famous Portuguese celebrities (Cristiano Ronaldo, José Mourinho) with a landscape showing through the image. Something similar to this effect that can be achieved with only a few clicks in Photoshop.
It helps to find a picture, like the one below of José Mourinho, that is lit from the side so half the face is white and the other half black. However, failing that, find a portrait that has a white background. Once the image is chosen, cmd/ctrl-click on either the red, blue or green channel in the Channels palette. This will give you a selection.
Now find your “background” image and paste it over your portrait image. Now click on the New Layer icon in the Layers palette to give you a blank new layer. With the selection still live, fill this layer with white. To do this either go Edit > Fill… and in the resulting pop-up box chose White for your fill (the quick key for this pop-up box is shift-F5) or simply go cmd/ctrl-delete to fill the selection with the background colour (the default background colour is white; to get the default foreground and background colours, simply press D). You knew that!
You may want to copy this white layer (cmd/ctrl-J) or alter it’s opacity.
This is a simple and effective way of putting one image inside another with interesting and eye-catching results.
Amazing.. I never thought that it’ll be that much easy.. but yet to try it
10 Responses to “How to put one image inside another image”
Interesting, I was able to achieve something similar by grouping the “background” layer to a doctored copy of the “portrait” layer—your technique is a lot quicker, though! Who are you going to be cheering for in the Champions’ League final tonight? (since you’re in London, I guess the obvious answer is Chelsea, but you never know…)
By ND on May 20, 2008
Yes, ND, in the image of José Mourinho and the beach half his face is white which means they’ve left that portion of the picture untouched on top. Actually, my method isn’t really the same as that and your way is probably closer to theirs. I’ll amend the article accordingly. There’s always so many ways to do things in Photoshop!
Anyway, no, I won’t be cheering for Chelsea. I’m a West Ham United supporter and we don’t like to see our neighbours do so well. And I think Man Utd play more attractive football. Enjoy the game!
By Rob Cubbon on May 20, 2008
I am a photoshop self learner and I learned a new technique from your blog article and the blogs followed. I like it. Thanks for sharing these information.
By système d'alarme on May 20, 2008
No problem, système d’alarme, I’m glad it’s of some use to you.
By Rob Cubbon on May 23, 2008
Hi Rob,
A really simple method, but as per your example shows the results can be pretty spectacular. I’m sure a lot of people will have fun with this one.
Appreciate the guide.
All the best.
By Aurora Graphic Design on May 26, 2008
Thanks, Aurora Graphic Design, I hope people have fun!
By Rob Cubbon on May 26, 2008
Thanks for sharing this tip. I just try it out on Photoshop and I love it.
By Adam on Jun 2, 2008
This blog let me stay a long time to learn all that new and simple techniques. When I saw the image, I didn’t believe that we can do so in an easy way. Thanks for sharing all your personal experiences.
By Tom on Jul 6, 2008
Wow
Amazing.. I never thought that it’ll be that much easy.. but yet to try it
By College Picks on Jul 8, 2008
Hello Adam, Tom and College Picks. Thanks for your encouragement, I’m glad you’ve found something of use in this website. It is quite easy to do. The difficult part is choosing two pictures to do it with.
Peace!
By Rob Cubbon on Jul 8, 2008