Interweaving Strips

You will use selections and masking to create the effect that this photo has been cut into strips and they are woven together.

You will start with the given Taylor Swift photo, and in the end you will add your own photo…

Grid

The starting file has the layers set up like this…

Open Preferences (CTRL+K) and go to Guides, Grid & Slices category, then pick the blue color so it’s easy to see and set the size to 30. Make sure Subdivisions = 1.

Go to View > Show > Grid.

Also go to View > Snap To > Grid

Hide all layers except the white-filled layer.

This gives us an easy way to see the lines for the next steps…

Horizontal Stripes

Click on the Rectangle Marquee Tool and set to Add to Selection.

  1. Click and drag from the top left of the canvas to the bottom right of the first row.
  2. Skip a row and then click and drag to select 2 rows
  3. Repeat, skipping 1 row and selecting the next 2 rows until you reach the bottom.

Select and show the Horizontal Stripes layer. Add a layer mask to it.

You should see something like this (if you don’t, undo and try again).

Vertical Stripes

Keep the white layer showing and hide the Horizontal Stripes layer…

CTRL+D to deselect so you have a fresh start. Then start dragging columns from top left to the bottom right of columns, 2 columns at a time like this…

Then select/show the Vertical Stripes layer and add a layer mask to it.

It will look like this…

Hide the grid by going to View > Show > and unselect Grid.

It will look like this…

Squares

Hide the top layers and make the white layer active.

Fill the layer with black (ALT+BACKSPACE).

Hide the black layer and select the original photo layer.

Make a copy of the original photo layer (CTRL+J).

Rename it squares 1.

Right-click on the mask thumbnail for Horizontal Stripes and choose Add Mask to Selection.

Right-click on the mask thumbnail for Vertical Stripes and choose Intersect Mask with Selection.

This should give you selected squares like this…

Select the squares 1 layer and add a layer mask.

Hide the original photo layer…

… and you should see this.

Duplicate the squares layer (CTRL+J) and rename it to squares 2.

Alternating Squares

Set your colors to default (D) and then switch (X) so white is foreground, black is background.

Select the Rectangle Marquee tool again, this time normal mode.

Make sure only the squares 1 layer is showing and make the mask part of the layer active.

Select one photo area at a time and Delete, alternating across and then down until you have something like this…

Your mask will now look like this…

CTRL+click on the mask thumbnail for squares 1 layer to select the photo areas.

Show squares 2 layer only and click on the mask part.

Then Delete.

CTRL+D to deselect.

Clipping Masks

  1. Make all your layers visible again.
  2. Move squares 1 above Horizontal Stripes layer and make it a clipping mask (holding ALT)
  3. Move squares 2 above Vertical Stripes layer and make it a clipping mask (holding ALT)

Outer Glows

Select the squares layer above the Horizontal Stripes layer and add layer style Outer Glow.

In the window that opens, change the settings as follows:

  1. Reset to Default
  2. color black
  3. blend mode ‘Multiply’
  4. opacity ~60%
  5. size ~40

It should look like this…

Then add Outer Glow to the other squares layer (it will automatically be the same settings).

Your photo should now look like interweaving photo strips…

If it looks like this (with 1/2 circles for the glows) …

… it’s because the Contour is not right.

Fix the Contour to this one for both Glow styles.

Own Photo

Double-click on any of the photo smart object icons to open the source photo.

You should be in a new tab…

Then find a different photo and paste it in, resize it using CTRL+T so it’s covering/filling the canvas.

[Enter] to apply the resizing.

Then CTRL+S to save the photo file.

Go back to the project working tab…

You should see it updated like this in all the layers.

And your new photo should look like interweaving strips…