Photoshop: How to Create an Embossed Photo

Embossing photos in Photoshop can be done fairly easy. There are two ways that I know how to do the embossed look. There may be other ways to do it but this is the only two ways that I know. In this tutorial I will show you how to give your photos that embossed look.

First Way to Emboss a Photo in Photoshop

Open your Photoshop program up. Next click File > Open at the top of your Photoshop window. When the dialog box appears, locate the photo that you want to use and click Open. That will open your photo in your Photoshop window.

Next you will click on Image > Adjustments > Desaturate at the top of your Photoshop window. This will turn your photo grey.

Next you will need to Duplicate your layer. If you do not see your Layers Panel then click on Window > Layers at the top of your Photoshop Window and that will bring your Layers Panel up. You will see your original layer in your layer panel called Background. Right click one time on that layer and select Duplicate Layer. The Duplicate Layer dialog box will appear. You can click Ok and leave it as it is or you can enter a name in the As field. I will rename mine to Background 2. Click Ok once you are finished.

Now click on Image > Adjustment > Invert at the top of your Photoshop window. Now your photo should look like an x-ray picture. Now set the Opacity in your Layers Panel to 50%. Don't worry, the photo will turn grey. You haven't done anything wrong. J

Look in your Tool Panel and select the Move Tool. The Move Tool is the arrow head icon. Now press the right arrow key and the down arrow key until you get the look that you want.

Second Way to Emboss a Photo in Photoshop

The second way to emboss a photo is a little easier but doesn't look exactly like the first one.

Open your Photoshop program up. Next click File > Open at the top of your Photoshop window. When the dialog box appears, locate the photo that you want to use and click Open. That will open your photo in your Photoshop window.

Now click on Filter > Stylize > Emboss at the top of your Photoshop window. The Emboss dialog box will appear. Enter the following into the fields.

Angle - -8
Height - 3
Amount - 35%

Then click OK. And there you have it. This way isn't as embossed as the first one. But you can play around with the options to get it the way you want it.