Starting Photo
Click on the photo below and copy the full-size image…
… or you can use one of these other ones
Create a new PS document, size 1000 x 585 px.
Paste in the photo. If you want to be able to change your photo later, you can make it a Smart Object.
Save the file before continuing.
Add Text
Click on the Text tool. Go to the Options Bar at the top and change the font type to “Impact” or another thick font type. Set the size to 150 to start with.
Click on the canvas and type out “NEW YORK” or another 1-2 words.
It doesn’t matter what color your text is, but if you want to change it to black, select the text and go to the color square on the pop-up toolbar.
Type what you want and click in an empty area of the Layers panel to apply the changes.
Resize Text
Make the text layer active, then CTRL+T to transform.
Deselect the maintain aspect ratio button in the Options bar.
Move the text layer down near the bottom and stretch it across the width of the canvas.
[Enter] to apply the transformation, or click on Done.
White Layer
Click on the padlock icon on the Background layer to unlock it. It will then become “Layer 0”.
Select the white layer and move it so it’s under the text layer.
Reduce the opacity to 70%.
Then CTRL+T to transform and squish it, reducing the height (but not the width). Make sure the link icon is not selected in the options bar.
[Enter] or click on Done to apply the transformation.
White Layer Style
With the white layer still active, go to the layer styles button and choose Outer Glow…
In the window that opens up:
- change the opacity to 100%
- set the size to 15
- and change the contour to “Cone”
It should look like this now…
Your white layer will now have the Effects > Outer Glow.
Text Layer Styles
Make the text layer active and go to the layer styles button and choose Outer Glow again…
In the window that pops up, you don’t have to change anything for the glow, it will automatically be the same settings as before.
Then click on Blending Options at the top of the list on the left…
- Reduce the Fill Opacity to 0%
- Set Knockout to “Shallow”
You will see the Outer Glow style as well as little squares besides fx.
The problem is the text knocks out everything in this folder, showing the folder below…
The text layer should still be active. Hold SHIFT and click on the white layer so they’re both selected. Then CTRL+G to group them.
Now the text is knocked out to show the photo below.
