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Mirroring a photoshop file. How to easily mirror an image in Photoshop

IN this lesson In Photoshop we will look at how you can create realistic reflection, from complex objects.


Final result

Let's start the Photoshop lesson

Original image. ↓


1. Open the original image ( File > Open(File > Open / Keyboard shortcut "Ctrl+O")) and copy each object from which it will be reflected to a separate layer. Select the object (for example using → Polygonal Lasso Tool(Polygonal Lasso Tool / "L" Key)) and press Ctrl+J. These layers will then become reflections.

2. Let's move the layer with the original image to the very top, because reflections should be under the objects and flip all layers with reflections to 180 degrees:



3. Let's start with the body. Rotate the canvas Image > Rotate Canvas > 90˚ CCW(Image > Rotate canvas > 90˚ counterclockwise). Select the body and apply Filter > Distort > Shear(Filter > Distort > Warp) with the following options: ↓



We combine the bottom of the body and the corresponding point of its reflection. The result is something like this (here the transparency of the layer has already been changed. See below.): ↓



4. We repeat the same sequence with the film, because reflection should begin over the entire contact area.


Filter > Distort > Shear(Filter > Distort > Warp): ↓



We have: ↓


5. You can do the same with the lid, but you can do it more cunningly, because... the object is quite simple and only the edge will be reflected (the inside will not be visible). Let's move the lid down (one seems to lie on top of the other):



Call → Image > Adjustments > Curves(Image > Adjustments > Curves / Keyboard shortcut "Ctrl+M") and move the markers so that the shadows on the object match the shadows on the reflection: ↓



Let's lighten using → Image > Adjustments > Levels(Image > Adjustments > Levels / Keyboard shortcut "Ctrl+L"): ↓




5.1. And for the trick to be completely successful, we use Edit > Transform > Perspective(Edit > Transform > Perspective). Now the reflection will match the object: ↓



6. Now let's change the transparency of the reflection layers Opacity(Opacity): 50% .

By mirroring photographs, you can change the perception of the frame and make it more expressive. It is believed that people looking to the right in a photo are perceived more positively than people looking to the left. To the left - as if back into the past. In landscape and city photography, the situation is approximately the same: bridges, rivers, streets going to the right - this is movement into the future.

But, in addition to changing the perception of the image, you can achieve some interesting effects using mirroring and copying.

Let's take a look at how to mirror an image in Photoshop.

Open the image in Adobe Photoshop. Our photo will be opened as a Background layer. And, by default, no changes can be applied to such a layer. This is done on purpose so that when working you always have the original frame. To make it possible to change the base layer, you need to double-click on the lock icon on the right side of the layers panel. This will unlock the layer. Another option is to simply copy the layer and apply all changes to the copy.

In order to mirror a layer in Photoshop, there are two commands. They are on the menu Edit/“Editing” → Transform/“Transformation”.

Flip Horizontal/“Flip horizontally”- allows you to flip a photo horizontally.

Performs vertical mirroring.

Let's look at another example that shows how to mirror a layer in Photoshop and achieve a kaleidoscope effect.

First, let's create a copy of the original layer. To do this, you can either select the menu item Layer/“Layers” → Duplicate Layer…/“Create a duplicate layer…”, or drag the layer icon with the mouse onto the icon for creating a new layer in the layers panel.

Now let's increase the size of the canvas so that all parts of the future “kaleidoscope” are visible.

We need a menu item Image → Canvas Size.

We need to set the parameters in such a way that the canvas expands to the right by an amount equal to the width of the original image - we will add on the opposite side mirror reflection. Therefore the settings will look like this:

As an anchor point Anchor/"Location" we set the left edge of the image - it will remain in place. And they indicated that the width of the canvas should increase by 200% relative to the original width. We will leave the height unchanged for now.

After pressing the button Ok and applying all changes made Photoshop window will look like the picture below.

We make sure that the top layer is active and mirror it relative to the vertical axis using the command Edit → Transform → Flip Horizontal. Then use the mouse to change the location of the two layers so that they align along one of the edges.

For precise and accurate positioning, it is convenient to use the Up, Down, Right and Left keys on the keyboard.

Now let's make a mirror image in another plane.

Let's merge the two current layers into one. This can be done with the command *Layer/“Layers” → Merge Visible/“Merge visible”. Let's increase the canvas size in the same way as we did before, but this time vertically. The anchor point will be at lower limit, and we will increase the height by 200%.

It will turn out like this.

Let's create a copy of the top layer (which already includes the original and mirrored images). And apply the mirror command to this copy Flip Vertical. After that, use the mouse to place the mirrored layer in a new place.

This kaleidoscope effect can be achieved by mirroring images in Photoshop.

Mirroring in Graphics Adobe editor Photoshop classified as special case arbitrary transformation. However, in several sections of the editor menu there are two separate lines with commands for mirroring the image in two planes (horizontal and vertical). There are several ways to access these commands.

You will need

  • Graphic editor Adobe Photoshop

Instructions

Expand the “Image” section in the graphics editor menu if you want to mirror the entire document, including all graphic, text layers, masks, etc. In this section, go to the “Image Rotation” subsection, where you will find two mirroring commands - “Flip canvas horizontally” and “Flip canvas vertically”. Select one of them, and Photoshop will carry out the necessary transformations on all layers of the document.

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Click the layer you want in the layers palette if you want to mirror only its contents, and not the entire document. Then expand the “Editing” section in the menu and go to the “Transform” subsection. It contains more transformation tools than were listed in the corresponding subsection in the “Image” section, and the “Flip Horizontal” and “Flip Vertical” commands you need are placed at the very end of the list. Click the desired one and the image in the selected layer will be reflected in the corresponding plane.

Can be used Alternative option action described in the previous step. To do this, you must first select the layer that you want to mirror by clicking the mouse. Then you need to press the M button on your keyboard to turn on the Rectangular Marquee tool. This can also be done by clicking on the corresponding icon on the toolbar. Then right-click the image and in the drop-down context menu select " Free transformation" A frame with anchor points will appear around the outline of the image of this layer, but you do not need to do anything with it, but just right-click the image again. This time the drop-down menu will contain all those items that you saw in the “Transform” section on previous step, including the searched “Flip horizontally” and “Flip vertically”. Select the command with the desired mirroring direction.

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When working in graphic editor Adobe Photoshop often needs to mirror an image. Depending on the properties of the document being processed, as well as the type of transformation required (vertical or horizontal), the actions that need to be performed to solve this problem will vary.

You will need

  • - Adobe Photoshop - original image.

Instructions

Load the image you want to flip into Adobe Photoshop. Press Ctrl+O on your keyboard or click on the "Open..." item in File section main menu of the application. A dialog will be displayed. Go to the directory with the required file and select it. Click the "Open" button. You can also simply drag a file from an Explorer window, folder, or file manager during working hours Adobe area Photoshop.

Analyze the uploaded image. From the Layers panel, find out whether it consists of one or more layers. If there are several layers, view their contents. To do this, first turn off the visibility of all elements by unchecking the checkboxes in the Layers panel, and then, alternately switching between them, temporarily make them visible. Decide whether you need to flip the image in some specific layers without affecting others, or whether you need to rotate the entire image. In the first case, go to the fourth, and in the second, go to the third step.

Flip the entire image. Expand the Image section of the main application menu, select the Rotate Canvas item. Next, select Flip Canvas Horizontal if you want to flip it horizontally and Flip Canvas Vertical if you want to flip the image vertically.

Flip the image on one or more layers. In the Layers panel, set the visibility checkboxes and select the elements corresponding to the layers on which the image should be reflected. Several elements can be selected at once by clicking on them with the mouse pressed. Ctrl key. Expand the Transform section of the Edit section of the main menu. Select Flip Horizontal or Flip Vertical to flip horizontally and vertically, respectively.

Save the reflected image. In the File section of the application's main menu, select "Save As...". You can also press the key combination Ctrl+Shift+S. In the dialog that appears, specify the required format, as well as the file name and the directory where it will be placed. Click the "Save" button.

Related article

From yesterday Photoshop lesson you could learn how to rotate an image around its axis. Today I am publishing another simple tutorial on how to mirror an image in a picture vertically or horizontally. This simple Photoshop technique is often used when preparing complex illustrations, collages and banners. For example, to create the effect of an object reflecting in water, a mirror or from a polished surface.

The model for this lesson will be the forest girl from yesterday's Photoshop lesson, whose image we successfully rotated at different angles.

Detailed instructions for beginners on how to mirror a photo in Photoshop

1. Open Photoshop and load the selected image into it that we want to reflect: File -> Open…

2. From the main menu of the program Photoshop choose Image -> Rotate Canvas -> Flip Canvas Horizontal:

As a result of executing the command, we get a horizontally mirrored image:

Similarly, you can mirror the image vertically. To do this, just run a similar command Image -> Rotate Canvas -> Flip Canvas Vertical. As a result, we get the following picture:

3. Save the result of mirroring the image using the menu item File -> Save for Web and Devices…

When creating complex collages and illustrations in Photoshop, mirror reflection is used along with rotating an object, duplicating a layer, partially deleting a picture, setting translucency and many other effects.

Today we will tell you about how to make competent reflections in photoshop. 3D reflections, product reflections, and a couple other types of great reflections. We'll discuss everything from transformations to blending modes and more. It doesn't matter if you're a beginner or a pro, you can still learn a thing or two.

You'll probably think that reflections were extremely popular a couple of years ago, but today they've fallen out of favor a little, and you'd be right. However, you can see various examples on many websites on the Internet, including Apple.com. Of course, you can't go overboard with reflections in an attempt to keep up with web2.0 styling trends, but it's worth noting that sometimes reflections can give a presentable look to some boring element.

Reflection of a three-dimensional object

What if your object is complex? For example, what if our object is a box?


If we go through the steps of turning the object over, it can lead to disaster. This will give us a completely terrible reflection.


In general, flipping a box is much easier than flipping text. You don't even have to transform anything, you just need to duplicate the box layer and place the boxes on top of each other.


Next, we apply a mask and reduce the display level and thus we get a perfectly reflected box!


This trick works with many shapes. For example, the iPhone photo at the very beginning of the article can be easily reflected using this technique. Next, you only need a little processing to get the correct reflection lined up. All modification will take a few seconds.

Displaying a photo of the product

And now, I can already hear exclamations: “Not so fast!” What are the chances that you will ever have to make a reflection of an old flat box? Someday this may happen suddenly and, in addition, it is much more likely that you will need to take a reflection of a product photo or something more complex.

This is exactly the problem I encountered recently when I was designing dog food ads. See what happens if we apply this technique to the actual product photo.


As you can see, the image on the box spoils the whole effect. It should be upside down. We will have to implement this to get the correct reflection.

Keep in mind that Photoshop has many 3D utilities that can help you in this situation. Once you've created a 3D object, you can easily move it around as you please. However, you won't always have time to create 3D objects, which is why it's important to know how to effectively simulate the 3D effect.

The first thing you need to do is flip the image vertically.


Next, press CTRL and click on the layer preview to create a selection of the object. While holding down the ALT key, deselect the sides of the box so that only the front part remains selected.


With this selection active, do Free function Transform (CTRL+T) and then, while holding CTRL, grab the middle pointer in the image below and drag so that it is neatly moved to the bottom of the main box.


Now do the same with the remaining sides of the box. Here, be sure to only select the sides of the box and use the middle left indicator when selecting. This will allow you to create the perfect reflection of the box. Now you might be concerned about the bottom part of your reflection, because here we have everything mixed up.


The good thing here is that you can completely ignore this point. Don't forget that we'll have a fade effect here, so the bottom won't even be visible.

This is what the final version looks like. Not so bad considering this complex shape and the fact that it only took a couple of minutes. Once you get the hang of it, it will take you much less time.


A little about blending modes

It's definitely worth noting that when working with reflections in Photoshop, you shouldn't stick to the default blending mode. Experiment. Try it different modes and see how they will affect the reflection.

Each reflection you create may contain different colors, and therefore some specific mode mixing may work much better than standard.


If you're looking for some fun, you can even try doing two takes of the reflection with different settings mixing modes. This sometimes helps to get a more realistic image of the reflection.


Conclusion

IN last years reflections were used quite often. The purpose of this article is to help in the implementation of competent reflections, separating yourself from painful unnecessary tasks and operations. Remember that reflections in a design should not be used so often, which also applies to other effects (shadows, gradations, framing, etc.).

You must be able to determine when reflection should be used and when it will be unnecessary. You should also be able to create reflections like simple elements, and complex elements.