Create great action shots in Photoshop

Beginning in June and coming hot on the heels of the most exciting Premier League finish ever, Euro 2012 looks set to turn half the world football crazy, and indeed football mad once more. To celebrate the tournament, we’ve created this ultra-stylised football scene, with a fantastic ‘stuttered blur’ effect that helps to emphasise the action. Here’s how it’s done in just six easy steps…

Step 1: Select the Player

Open ‘footy_before.jpg’ (above) and grab the Quick Selection tool from the Tools Panel. Paint a selection over the player on the left. Use the ] and [ bracket keys to resize your brush tip, and if the tool goes wrong, hold down Alt and paint to subtract from the selection. Continue until you have the whole body selected.

Step 2: Refine and Copy

Click Refine Edge and choose the ‘On black’ view. Check Smart Radius then set Radius 3 and Smooth 1. Check Decontaminate Colors and choose Output to: New Layer. Grab the Refine Radius tool and paint over any green edges. When you’re happy hit OK, then press Cmd/Ctrl+J three times to make three more duplicate copies of the layer.

Step 3: Prepare the Second Player

Highlight the Background Layer and make duplicates of the player on the right in the same way. For each player, highlight the second from top copy and set the layer Opacity to 30%. Next, click the layer below and set Opacity to 20%. On the bottom copy, set the Opacity to 10%.

Step 4: Nudge the Layers

Grab the Move tool, then highlight the second from top layer. Repeatedly tap your left arrow key to nudge the layer over. Highlight the layer below then nudge it out slightly further. Do the same with the layer below that, then repeat for the other player, this time nudging the copies slightly up and to the left.

Step 5: Darken the Background

Highlight the Background Layer, then click the Create Adjustment Layer icon and choose Exposure. Set Exposure to about -12, then grab the Brush tool. Choose a soft brush tip and set brush Opacity to 40%. Paint with black over the foreground grass to gradually hide the adjustment. Next, highlight the top layer and press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E.

Step 6: Add a Lens Flare

Go to Filter > Convert for Smart Filters, then go to Filter > Render > Lens Flare. Choose 105mm Prime, position the flare in the top right corner and then hit OK. Next, add a Photo Filter Adjustment Layer set to Warming Filter (85). Finish with a Black and White Adjustment Layer with the Blend Mode set to Overlay and Opacity of 70%.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 19th, 2012 at 10:41 am and is filed under Tutorials. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a comment. Pinging is currently not allowed.