How to create a mirror image effect in Photoshop.
Want to create a surreal feel for your image? Learn how to create a mirror image effect in Photoshop to dazzle your viewers.
What’s better than one image? Having your photo look at itself in the mirror to make two. If you want to add a surreal feel to your photo, then it’s easy to create that mirror effect using Adobe Photoshop.
How to create a mirror image effect
Ready to create a mirror image effect? All it takes is a quick duplicate and a flip. Just open the image you want to mirror in Photoshop and follow these easy steps:
- Duplicate the background — In the Layers panel, right-click the background and select Duplicate Layer.
- Expand the canvas — Click the Image tab on the top toolbar and select Canvas Size. Use the drop-down menus to change the units to Percent and set the width to 200. This will expand your canvas horizontally to fit both the original and the mirrored image.
- Mirror the image — Highlight the newly duplicated layer, and in the Edit tab on the top toolbar, choose Transform, and then Flip Horizontal.
- Move the mirror image — First, click the View tab on the top toolbar. Make sure Snap is active. Then, choose the Move tool on the left toolbar, hold the Shift key, and drag the flipped image to the blank side of the canvas.
Once your duplicated background snaps into place, you should have a perfect mirror effect of your original image.
Repeat as desired.
You can leave your image as it is or follow the process again to create an even more surreal mirror effect.
Since the first mirror effect flipped the image horizontally, you can choose to expand the canvas on the Y axis (top to bottom) and flip your already-mirrored image vertically to create four mirrored images. Repeat the process as often as you want to create a truly unique mirror effect.
Want to learn more photography tips? Discover what more you can do with Photoshop to create stunning photo effects.