It can be said that a natural reflection is one that contains an image of itself in itself. Natural reflections occur when a landscape or sky are near a lake or a pool of water. When the same reflections are framed in a mirror or a window, they identify not only the land masses or skies but the culture and time period of the reflection they represent. Reflections can transform an otherwise dull image into one bursting with life and color, and creating them is easy and it's fun. All you need is a vivid imagination and an image editor such as Paint Shop Pro.  In this tutorial we will discuss how to use some of PSP's basic tools to make this type of image creation possible.

Figure 1. The Raw Image This image was taken facing directly into the window. If you look hard you can the sillouette of the person taking the shot. As it stands, this image is dull and probably qualifies for the garbage heap, but it will make the perfect subject for our tutorial and when we're done we just might want to keep it.

Figure 2. Creating a Duplicate Layer Th first thing we want to do i to create a duplicate layer from the background. The background layer and the duplicate layer will be used to sandwich the reflection and float it so that it can be positioned whereever we want inside the window. To make a duplicate layer, go to the Layer window, Right click on the word Background and then when the Pop-up window appears select Duplicate.  PSP will create a duplicate layer of the background.

Figure 3. Renaming the Layer Let's rename the layer which is the copy of the background. Place the mouse pointer on the layer name 'Copy of Background' and Right click the mouse. When the Pop-up window appears, click Rename and ive the layer a new name. Let's call it Window.

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Reflections Copyright 2003 - JMA - All Rights Reserved

Figure 4. Selecting the Window Panes To make a selection of the window pane click the Lasso Tool icon on the tool bar. Set the values as shown above. To begin the selection, place the cursor at the top left hand corner of the top leftmost pane. Click the left mouse button once and drag the cursor to the top right corner of this pane. Click the left mouse button again (once only) and drag the cursor to the bottom right corner of the pane. Continue the process until you reach the point of origin. Then click the mouse button twice to complete the pane selection.

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Figure 5. Completing the Window Selection To complete the window selection we need to select the remaining panes. In PSP 7 we did this by pressing and holding the shift key. In PSP 8, the process just got easier. To add to your selection click the drop down arrow in the Mode box and select Add (Shift). Then repeat the steps outlined in Figure 4 above, until all 12 panes are selected.

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Tip: When making critical selections set your tool preferences to use the Precise Cursor instead of the Brush Outline Cursor. The Precise Cursor, will enable you to select the corners of the window panes more accurately without having to adjust the selection later. You can change the cursor type by selecting File > Preferences > General Program Preferences. Click the tab labeled Display and Caching and then check the box labeled Use Precise Cursors.

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Figure 6. Copying the Reflection Image We can now copy the image that we want to use as the reflection into our work area. First Open the image you want to copy. Then Using the Edit > Copy to place a copy of the image in memory. Then click the window image and use Edit > Paste > Paste as New Layer to copy the reflection image into the window work area. The reflection image will be placed in the center of the window image and become the topmost layer,  Layer 2. Notice that the selection lines will remain displayed in the foreground even though the window layer is now below the reflection layer.

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Figure 7  Positioning the Layers. At this point, the reflection layer, Layer 2 is the active layer. To move the reflection layer one position down in the layer stack select Layers > Arrange > Move Down on the Main Menu bar. The reflection layer will be positioned between the window layer and the background layer. At this point, Press the Delete key to delete the contents inside the selection and display the reflection layer through the window as shown.

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Figure 8. Moving the Reflection Inside the Window With the selection lines still showing, click the Move tool icon on the tool bar or press the letter 'M' on the keyboard. Place the Move tool cursor anywhere on the reflection layer. Click and hold the left mouse button and move the reflection layer around until you have the desired effect. Once you are satisfied with the location reduce the opacity of the reflection layer to 75%. This will give the reflection a touch of realism, because the window is not a perfect mirror.

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Figure 9. Creating the Sunset Lighting.Effect Because our reflection is of a sunset, the lighting from the sky would also produce a color cast on the house. To simulate this effect we use the Auto Color Balance feature. On the Photo tool bar select Enhance Photo > Automatic Color Balance. In the dialog window, move the Color Temperature slider to the left until it reads 2500. This value will produce a very warm orange tint on the entire image to simulate a color cast typical of sunset.

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Figure 10. Paying Atttention to Detail The lamp near the window adds a nice accent. To add a very pleasing effect we would like to turn on the lamp. This effect is easily produced with the Sunburst light feature in PSP. On the Main menu bar select Effects > Illumination Effects > Sunburst. In the dialog window position the crosshairs near the bulb and set the Light Spot Brightness to 20 as shown.

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Figure 11. Light Dispersion from the Lamp The light emitted from the lamp would normally be reflected and dispersed forward, along the sides and through the opening at the bottom of the lamp. This dispersion effect can be created by making three selections using the lasso tool in Freehand mode. Make the first selection on the left side of the lamp as shown. Then on the Tool Option palette set the mode to Add (Shift) and repeat the selection on the right side of the lamp and finally on the bottom. Next go to the Main menu bar and click Selections > Modify > Feather and set the feather value to 20.

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Figure 12. Casting the Light With the selections feathered, go to the Main Menu bar and select Adjust > Brightness Contrast > Curves. When the Curves dialog box opens set the Input value to 117 and the Output value at 136 as shown. These settings will lighten the area inside the selection. The feathering that was applied in the previous step will smooth the light transition.

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Closing: When creating reflections, try to keep the light balanced between the window and the reflection image. Do not mix a brightly lit window with a night scene and vice versa. Pay attention to details such as lights and other objects in the scene and add the proper color cast for the time of day. Remeber that as the day progresses, light changes from cool in the morning sun, to warm in the afternoon sun and back to cool again at night.

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