How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop

This tutorial will show you how to create a cool Picture in Picture effect with Adobe Photoshop by taking a single photo and creating the illusion that a smaller, cropped version of the same photo is inside it. We'll crop and rotate the smaller image around the main subject, add a border and drop shadow to highlight it, and finally convert the original photo behind it to black and white.

Step 1: Open the photo

Start by opening your photo.

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
The original image will be used in the Picture in Picture effect.

Step 2: Make a copy of the Background layer

In the Layers panel , the image will open on the Background layer:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Photoshop's Layers panel shows the original image on the Background layer.

Make a copy of the image by dragging the Background layer down to the Add New Layer icon :

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Drag the Background layer to the Add New Layer icon

A copy appears above the original:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
A duplicate layer appears above the original Background layer.

Step 3: Rename the copy to Small

The copy will be used to create a smaller image inside the larger one. So double-click on the Background copy name and rename the layer to Small. Press Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) on your keyboard to accept:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Rename the layer to Small.

Step 4: Turn off the Small layer

We don't need the Small layer right now, so turn it off by clicking on its visibility icon:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Click the visibility icon of the Small layer.

Step 5: Select the Background layer

Before creating a smaller version of the image, we'll convert the original image to black and white. Click on the Background layer to select it:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Select the Background layer in Photoshop's Layers panel.

Step 6: Add a Black & White adjustment layer

Then click the New Fill or Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Click the New Fill or Adjustment Layer icon in Photoshop's Layers panel.

And select a Black & White adjustment layer from the list:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Add a Black & White adjustment layer above the original image

The adjustment layer appears between the Background layer and the Small layer. This means it will only affect the Background layer below it, not the Small layer above it:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
A Black & White adjustment layer is added above the Background layer.

And the image is instantly converted to black and white:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Result after adding Black & White adjustment layer.

Step 7: Click the Auto button

The controls for the Black & White adjustment layer appear in Photoshop's Properties panel. You can fine-tune the black and white conversion by dragging the individual color sliders (Red, Yellow, Green, etc.) to adjust the brightness of different parts of the image based on their original color:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Drag the color sliders for the Black & White adjustment layer in the Properties panel.

But since the effect is really just for the background and will mostly be hidden by the smaller image, clicking the Auto button will give you good enough results:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Click the Auto button.

Step 8: Select and turn on the Small layer

Now we will create a smaller, full color image inside the original image.

Back in the layers panel, click on the Small layer to select it:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Select the Small layer in Photoshop's layers panel.

Then click the layer visibility icon to turn it back on:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Turn on the Small layer.

The color version of the image will reappear:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Result after turning on Small layer.

Step 9: Select Rectangle Tool

In the toolbar, select the Rectangle Tool. Don't select the Rectangular Marquee Tool near the top because that's a selection tool. Select the Rectangle Tool, one of Photoshop's shape tools:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Select the Rectangle Tool from the Photoshop toolbar.

Step 10: Set Tool Mode to Shape

In the Options Bar, make sure the Tool Mode is set to Shape , not Path or Pixels:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Set Tool Mode to Shape.

Step 11: Set the shape color to black

Set the shape color to black if you haven't already. The color doesn't really matter, but black is easier to see when we draw the shape.

Click on Fill color swatch :

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Click the Fill color swatch in Photoshop's Options Bar

Then, click the Color Picker icon in the upper right corner of the dialog box:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Click the Color Picker icon to select a color for the shape.

And select black from the Color Picker by setting the R, G, and B values ​​to 0. Then click OK to close the Color Picker:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Select black from Photoshop's Color Picker.

Step 12: Turn off strokes around shapes

By default, Photoshop adds a 1 pixel wide black stroke around the shape, which we don't want. So let's click on the Stroke color swatch :

Click the Stroke color swatch in the Options Bar.

Then, click the No Color icon in the upper left corner. Press Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) to close the dialog box:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Click the No Color option for the stroke.

Step 13: Draw a shape around the main object

Drag a rectangle around the main object. The shape will become a smaller version of the image, so make sure to surround everything that will appear inside it.

Click the upper-left corner of the object to set the starting point for the shape. Then, hold down the mouse button and drag toward the lower-right. As you drag, only the outline of the shape appears:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Draw a rectangle around the main subject in the photo.

How to reposition shapes

To reposition a shape as you draw, hold down the mouse button and press and hold the spacebar on your keyboard. Drag the shape to the location you need, then release the spacebar and continue dragging the rest of the shape.

How to perfect the shape

Release the mouse button when you're done to complete the shape, at which point Photoshop will fill the shape with black:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Release the mouse button to complete the shape.

Step 14: Resize the shape if needed

Since the shape completely obscures the image behind it, it’s hard to tell if the shape is drawn exactly where we need it to be. So to see the image through the shape, reduce the Opacity of the shape layer in the Layers panel to 50%. A quick way is to press 5 on your keyboard:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Reduce the shape's opacity to 50% in Photoshop's Layers panel

Then, click and drag any of the handles around the shape to resize it as needed:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Resize the shape by dragging the handles

Reset shape opacity to 100%

When you're done resizing the shape, reset the shape layer's opacity in the Layers panel to 100% by pressing 0 on your keyboard. The shape will once again block the image from view:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Reset the shape layer opacity to 100%.

Step 15: Drag the Small layer above the shape

Next, we'll place the image on the Small layer into the shape. In the Layers panel, the shape is now above the image:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Photoshop's Layers panel shows the shape layer above the image.

We need the image to be above the shape. So click on the Small layer and drag it above the shape layer. When the blue highlight bar appears above the shape layer:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Drag the image layer above the shape layer.

Release the mouse button to drop the Small layer into place:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
The image has been moved above the shape layer.

And in the document, the image now blocks the shape from view:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
The photo is currently blocking the shape below it.

Step 16: Create clipping mask

To place an image into a shape, click the Layers panel menu icon:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Click the Layers panel menu icon.

And select Create Clipping Mask:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Select the Create Clipping Mask command.

Photoshop cuts the image on the Small layer into the shape layer below it:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Photoshop's Layers panel shows the image layer clipped to the Small layer.

And the full color image now appears only within the boundaries of the shape, while the black and white version on the Background layer reappears around it:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Result after clipping Small layer into shape layer.

Step 17: Select the shape layer

To help smaller images stand out, add a white border and a drop shadow. We'll start with the border.

In the Layers panel, select the shape layer:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Select the shape layer in Photoshop's Layers panel.

Step 18: Add white strokes around the shape

Then click on the layer effects icon (the “fx” icon) at the bottom:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Click the layer effects icon in Photoshop's Layers panel.

And select Stroke from the list:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Add a Stroke layer effect to the shape.

Color stroke

In the Layer Style dialog box , change the stroke color by clicking the color swatch:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Click the Stroke color swatch in Photoshop's Layer Style dialog box.

And in the Color Picker, select white by setting the R, G, and B values ​​to 255. Then click OK to close the Color Picker:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Select white from the Color Picker.

Stroke position

Back in the Layer Style dialog, make sure the Position of the stroke is set to Inside to keep the corners of the border nice and sharp:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Set the Position of the stroke to Inside.

Stroke size

Then drag the Size slider to set the width of the border. The size you need will depend on your image. For example, I'll set my image to 40 pixels:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Use the Size slider to set the border size.

And here's the effect with a smaller border around the image:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Effect with border added.

Step 19: Add a drop shadow

To add a drop shadow behind the image, click the Drop Shadow option in the vertical effects column on the left of the Layer Style dialog box:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Select Drop Shadow effect

Angle and Distance of the Shadow

Then click and drag inside the image to set the Angle and Distance of the shadow. Here, I'm dragging down and to the right so that the light source for the shadow comes from the top left corner:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Drag the shadow down and to the right of the image.

Or you can enter specific Angle and Distance values ​​in the dialog box. The example will set the Angle to 135 degrees and the Distance to 50 pixels. You may need a smaller or larger Distance value depending on your image:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Enter specific Angle and Distance values.

Ball size

The Size value controls how soft or opaque the shadow edges are. For example, we'll set it to 15 pixels:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Soften the shadow edges by increasing the size.

Shadow Opacity

And you can adjust the intensity of the shadow (how light or dark it is) by dragging the Opacity slider . But for the example we'll leave it at the default value of 35%:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Keep shadow opacity at default value.

Click OK when you're done to close the Layer Style dialog box. And here's the effect with the border and drop shadow added to the smaller image. Just one more thing to do:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Picture in Picture effect with border and shadow added to smaller photo.

Step 20: Rotate the shape

Finally, you can add some fun to the effect by rotating the shape around your subject.

In the Layers panel, make sure the shape layer is active:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Select the shape layer in Photoshop's Layers panel.

And with the Rectangle Tool still active in the toolbar, hover your mouse pointer just outside one of the shape's handles. The pointer will change to the Rotate icon (a curved line with arrows on both ends):

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Hover near a handle to get the Rotate icon.

Then, click and drag to rotate the shape. The image inside the shape will remain fixed in place. Only the shape itself, along with its outline and shadow, will rotate, making the photo look like it was taken at an angle:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Rotate the small photo around the main subject.

Step 21: Make any final adjustments to the size of the shape

Check to make sure that the rotated shape doesn't cut off parts of the subject and resize the shape again if necessary by dragging the handles.

When you're done, hide the border and handles around the shape by pressing Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) on your keyboard.

And here, after stretching the bottom of the shape to avoid cutting off part of the woman's thumb, is the final picture-in-picture effect:

How to create Picture in Picture effect in Photoshop
Final result.
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