It's Snowing

We can accomplish many dramatic changes to our images using program such as Photoshop. In this tutorial we looking at adding more snow and brightening the image as it usually becomes a little brighter as it snows. We will add some falling snow and a soft vignette to complete the transformation of the starting image.

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First duplicate the Background Layer by drag it over the Create a New Layer icon. Holding down Alt on the keyboard whilst doing this will open the Duplicate Layer dialog box where you will be able to name the new layer -- in this case we enter the name Levels

Calling up the Levels palette from the Image> Adjustments Menu (shortcut Ctrl L) move both the black and white sliders so they just meet the images histogram.

As with most snow scenes we are still left with a colour cast but using Photoshop 7's new Auto Colour commands found under the Image > Adjustments Menu this easily removes the colour cast.

To add some extra snow and lighten the image, first duplicate the levels layer by dragging it over the Create a New Layer icon. The new layer can be renamed by clicking on the text and entering a name of your choice, or as in this case Find Edges. From the filter menu select Filter > Stylize >Find Edges and click OK. Don't be alarmed, this effect does look rather strange at this stage, but by inversing the Find Edges filter Select >Inverse, shortcut Ctrl I, the image begins to take on the effect we are looking for.

The effect can be further enhanced by blending it with the layer below using the Blend Modes found in the Layers palette. From the drop down menu select Lighten and reduce the opacity on the layers palette to around 50% and the image will now be transformed.

If you've not used the Blend Mode before it's worth trying a few of the mode settings to see what effects can be achieved. You'll be amazed!

To add the falling snow first click on the Create a New Layer icon to add a new empty layer above the Find Edges layer. It can be renamed 'Snow' as before by double clicking on our new layer. Now make sure you have the default colours set to Black foreground and White as the background (press D). Fill the snow layer with black using the bucket tool or try using the shortcut Alt + Delete which will also fill the empty layer with Black.

Working on the new snow layer call up the Add Noise filter found under Filter > Noise >Add Noise. Set the amount to around 140% and the Distribution to Gaussian and tick the Monochromatic box.then click OK

To create the falling snow you will need to apply the filter Gaussian blur to this layer found under the Filter > Blur menu. Set the radius to approximately 4 pixels, it's worth experimenting with this setting as the greater the radius the larger the snowflakes become

Calling up the Brightness /Contrast palette from the Image > Adjustments > Brightness / Contrast menu set the Contrast to +100 and the Brightness to approximately -9. Increasing the amount of Brightness will give you larger snowflakes and reducing the Brightness will create the opposite effect, so it is well worth experimenting with these settings.

To give the impression of falling snow select Motion Blur - Filter > Blur > Motion Blur and set the Angle to around -79 and the pixels to 15 approximately. Using the Distance setting in motion blur filter you can create anything from a gentle snowfall to a full-blown blizzard so be careful !!

At this stage it looks as if the snow is falling at night against a black background, but using the blend modes you can change this completely. From the Blend Mode drop down menu on the layers palette select Lighten - the dark/black pixels will be lightened leaving just the snowflakes visible. Magic!

Finally to add a vignette style frame to the image, click on the Create a New Layer icon on the layers palette to create a new empty layer above the snow layer. Choosing the Freehand lasso you can start dragging it around image just inside the border, don't worry, you can make this as wavy as you like.

To complete the vignette you will need to Inverse the selection by using Select > Inverse or short cut Shift Ctrl I - you will see the familiar double row of marching ants. To soften the edge of the vignette choose Select > Feather adjusting the radius to around 10. This may vary depending on the file size so you may need to experiment. Set the foreground colour to White in the Tool box and call up the Paint Bucket. Click inside the line of marching ants with the Paint Bucket and this will fill the area with white. Press Ctrl D to remove the marching ants and the vignette and image is complete.

The finished image

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