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Beginner Photoshop Tutorial: Triplets | Image Editing

Step by step photoshop instructions and a whole lot of fun!

By MaryPublished about a year ago 5 min read
1
@triplets_of_mcleod

So you want to be a triplet? Maybe even just a twin? If your parents didn't bless you with a natural copy, I'll show you an easy way to clone yourself with Photoshop.

@triplets_of_mcleod

This tutorial is for those of you that don't know a whole lot about Photoshop or how to use it. It's a simple set of instructions that can leave you with endless projects. (It's addicting. Trust me.)

Meet Mary, Meg, and Mina:

@triplets_of_mcleod

Mary, Meg, and Mina were created for the sole purpose of entertainment. They were born out of boredom and created through a photo-editing program to give me two extra sisters that I have dubbed my alter-egos. I have so many plans for these ladies.

If you're looking to do the same or something similar, follow along and I'll show you the easiest way I know how.

What you will need:

A digital camera of any breed

A sturdy enough tripod

Adobe Photoshop

Two or three outfits

Patience

(optional) a wireless shutter release remote.

The remote is not necessary, but let me tell you, it makes this whole process a thousand times easier.

You need to be able to hit the timer button on your camera without moving it. So, the wireless remote is a savior. A small amount of movement is ok. However, if you wiggle-jiggle that camera around too much, you will not be able to create a cohesive photograph. Your background will be misaligned, shadows will be skewed, and it will give you a hell of a headache trying to make this work.

Alright, are you ready?

Take your pictures

Depending on how many times you will clone yourself, you may need to take between 5-10 pictures.

Set up your camera on your tripod in the desired area.

You want to be able to take a blank picture of your background.

Blank Background of My Messy Kitchen

Now that you have your background, you want to decide where your clones are going to stand.

For mine, I put Mary, Meg, and Mina spaced out doing three different tasks in three different outfits:

Mary
Meg
Mina

You don't need them perfectly spaced. However, you DO want to make sure that you are not going to completely cover one of the others. If you really need help spacing them, place a small piece of tape on the floor in the places you want your clones to stand. If you're outside, you can use a leaf, rock, stick, etc.

I took 5 photos with each clone. In each photo tried different poses, facial expressions, and added different objects. Play around a little and see what you can do! This is where the wireless remote comes in REALLY handy.

Get ready to edit

After you're satisfied with your photos, you get to start working on the fun part.

It's time to put your clones together.

**DO NOT DO ANY LIGHTING EDITS, SIZE ADJUSTMENTS, ETC. UNTIL YOU ARE COMPLETELY DONE**

Trust me...you don't want to make this mistake.

Open your background image in Photoshop.

Next up you are going to place your first photo. Choose a clone. If your clones are spaced far enough apart the order does not matter. If you have one or two overlapping, choose the furthest to the background as your first-placed clone.

File, Place...

Time for some fun. Place your second clone and rasterize the photo.

I was lucky to have a little curious pupper join in on this one. I didn't have the heart to kick her out. (She had shots the day prior)

Now that your second photo is placed, look in the bottom right corner of your Photoshop screen. You'll see the Layer panel. When your image was placed, it was placed as a NEW layer. All clones need to be in their own separate layer.

Note the layers on the bottom right

Bringing back clone #1. This is where you will need to pay attention if your camera wiggled between photos.

Stay in clone #2s layer. Do not switch layers.

Choose the eraser tool and give it a soft edge, not a solid edge. Choose whatever eraser size you're comfortable with. IF your clones are touching, you'll want a smaller eraser with a solid edge.

Use the eraser to uncover your first clone. If you had no movement, you don't have to worry much about your surroundings shifting as you erase.

Start erasing. If you've forgotten to rasterize, a box will pop up asking you to do so

You only need to erase where your first clone is standing. Do not erase over clone #2.

After clone #1 is uncovered, you can place your third photo and rasterize it.

Notice again that your third photo is placed in its own new layer. Stay in this layer.

Your third photo on top of the others

Now you get to uncover #1 and #2.

Repeat the steps above to erase and bring them back into the image.

Again, if your clones overlap anywhere, be very careful with your eraser. If you do find any overlapping, sharpen the eraser edge.

Mary, Meg, and Mina

And there it is!

Once you're satisfied with your photo, you can save it as a .jpg and share the hell out of it. Or, file it away and make 100 more for your own weird little collection.

Now that you're finished you can edit your brightness, saturation, straighten the photo, and even add to it! I put a little steam in my pot and straightened out the entire photo.

Finishing touches!

Now that we're done, I should add that this is the way that I know how to do this. This is the simplest that I've seen as well. I'm sure there are many other ways that this could be done, but this is the way I learned and it is a very easy process.

I've used this process to have a lot of fun in my spare time.

One year, I even made my own Christmas card:

@triplets_of_mcleod

It's your turn now! Get out there and have some fun!

You can find Mary, Meg, and Mina on their Instagram page: @triplets_of_mcleod

What would you do with a twin or a triplet?

editing
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About the Creator

Mary

A little bit mad, a little bit dark: with a love of horror, fantasy, and fiction.

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