Photo Effects

The Photoshop Slice Effect That Takes 5 Minutes and Looks Like It Took All Day
Video Tutorials

The Photoshop Slice Effect That Takes 5 Minutes and Looks Like It Took All Day

There’s a category of client request I’ve learned to dread over my fifteen years in commercial work: “Make it look editorial. You know, interesting.” That’s it. No reference image, no art direction, just vibes. I’ve built a small library of go-to effects I can reach for in those moments - effects that look considered and intentional without requiring a three-hour compositing session. The portrait slice effect is one of the best of them.

How to Turn a Real Lipstick Kiss Into a Custom Photoshop Brush (Step-by-Step)
Video Tutorials

How to Turn a Real Lipstick Kiss Into a Custom Photoshop Brush (Step-by-Step)

Custom brushes are one of those Photoshop tools I consistently underestimate. I’ve built actions that call brushes, built presets around brushes, and tracked the hours saved because of brushes, but I rarely stop to think about making them from scratch using real-world source material. That’s what pulled me into this tutorial. In this Aaron Nace (PHLEARN) tutorial, Watch the full tutorial on YouTube, he walks through the process of scanning an actual lipstick kiss from paper, cleaning it up in Photoshop, and converting it into a reusable custom brush.

How to Paint Realistic Splatter Effects Using a Custom Brush in Photoshop
Video Tutorials

How to Paint Realistic Splatter Effects Using a Custom Brush in Photoshop

There’s a specific category of retouching request I get from ad agency clients that used to slow me down every single time: adding painterly, organic-looking elements to an otherwise clean photograph. Powder bursts, ink splashes, paint splatters. The kind of thing that looks effortless in the final comp but eats up an hour if you’re doing it by hand with a generic round brush. What I eventually figured out, and what this tutorial nails cleanly, is that the real solution lives inside Photoshop’s Brush Settings panel, a place most people open once, get confused by, and never return to.

Master the Light Blur Effect: A Non-Destructive Workflow in Photoshop
Video Tutorials

Master the Light Blur Effect: A Non-Destructive Workflow in Photoshop

Composite portrait work makes up a significant chunk of what I do for ad agency clients, and the single biggest complaint I hear from art directors is that the subject looks “pasted in.” The background is sharp, the person is sharp, and nothing feels like it was shot together. What actually sells a composite is controlled imperfection: the right amount of blur, some light bleed, a little grain. Getting that to feel photographic rather than digital is the whole game.