I live in California, and many parts of my state have been suffering from a water shortage.  A few months ago, we had our first small rain shower, and we were so excited!  I raced outside once the small storm had passed, to snap a picture of the rain on the pine tree in our yard.  I admit I didn’t want to go out when it was raining to do this; I didn’t want to get my camera wet!  So I was inspired to digitally recreate the rain, and other stormy weather conditions.  The result is my new Stormy Weather Overlays.  This is a set of (9) 12″ x 12″ overlays, with various weather effects.  They’re super simple to use!  Let’s take a look!

Here is my original photo.  Let’s add some rain back into this photo.

1. The Stormy Weather Overlays simulate snow, rain, and general stormy weather.  I am going to use Overlay #3, which simulates rain.

2. Place the Overlay on a layer above the photo. This photo is larger than the Overlay. That’s okay. We can just stretch the Overlay to cover the photograph.

Control + T will bring up the Transform tool. Just grab the side handles and drag the Overlay until it covers the entire photo.

3. Change the Blend Mode of the Overlay to Screen.   Blend Modes are at the top of the Layers Panel. Click on the down-pointing arrow (next to “Normal”) to access options; choose Screen.

Here is the result:

If you’re happy with the result, you’re done!

I decided I wanted to change the angle of the rain just a little.  I brought up the Transform tool again (Control + T) and rotated the Stormy Weather Overlay slightly to the right. When I rotated the overlay, it didn’t quite reach the upper right and lower left corners.  That’s okay.  I just stretched it like we did in Step 2.

I liked the angle better, but thought that the rain effect was a little too harsh for this particular photo.  I added a Levels Adjustment on top of the Overlay (Image>Adjustments>Levels  or  click on the Levels Adjustment in the Adjustment Panel. If you use the 2nd method, which will add the Levels Adjustment as a separate layer, be sure to clip the Levels Adjustment to the Overlay).  (If you need help with Clipping Masks, here is a quick tutorial for you: How to Create a Clipping Mask.)

With the Levels dialogue box open, click on the black triangle under the histogram, and drag it to the right until you are happy with the result.

Here’s a Before and After comparison.

Experiment with the Stormy Weather Overlays on your own photographs or page layouts. A simple Blend Mode change can give you amazing results, or you can modify your results as much as you like by adding Masks (to brush away the effect in unwanted areas), adding Levels Adjustments, changing Blend Modes, and/or by combining Overlays for unique looks every time!

If you are a visual learner, you can watch this tutorial as a video demonstration on YouTube: How to Use Stormy Weather Overlays

You can find Stormy Weather Overlays 01 at:

SnickerdoodleDesigns   |     Oscraps  

Here is a Sampler for you to experiment with on your own photos!

Click on the image below to download!

 Thanks for stopping by today!