Step 1: Move Both Images Into The Same Document

Open both of the images you want to blend together. Theyll each appear in their own
separate documents, so the first thing we need to do is move both images into
the same document. By default, only one image is visible on the screen at a time,
but we can switch between them by clicking on their name tabs along the top of
the screen. Ill switch to my storm photo by clicking on its name tab:

Switch between photos by clicking on their tabs.

Then, to move this image into the same document as my other image, Ill select
the Move Tool from the top of the Tools panel along the left of the screen:

Selecting the Move Tool.

With the Move Tool selected, Ill click anywhere inside my storm photo and, with my
mouse button held down, Ill drag it up onto the other documents tab. Keep
holding your mouse button down over the tab until you see Photoshop switch to your
other image on the screen:

Dragging the photo up onto the other photos tab. Hold until Photoshop switches to the
other photo.

Then, still with your mouse button held down, drag down into this other document:
A white highlight border will appear around the edges of the document:

A white highlight border appears when you drag down into the other document.

Before you release your mouse button, press and hold the Shift key on your
keyboard, then release your mouse button. Adding the Shift key tells Photoshop to
center the image inside the document, and now we can see my storm photo centered
in front of the other photo:

Both photos are now part of the same document.

If we look in my Layers panel, we see that Photoshop placed my storm photo on

its own layer named Layer 1 above the photo of the couple:

Each photo sits on its own layer.

Step 2: Resize And Reposition The Photos As Needed

Since my storm photo is going to be used as the bottom half of my movie poster, I
need to move it down to the bottom of the document. I also need to resize it, and we
can do both of these things using Photoshops Free Transform command. Ill
make sure I have Layer 1 selected (highlighted in blue) in the Layers panel since its
the layer that holds my storm photo, then Ill go up to the Edit menu in the Menu Bar
along the top of the screen and Ill choose Free Transform. I could also just
press Ctrl+T (Win) / Command+T (Mac) on my keyboard to select it with the
shortcut:

Going to Edit > Free Transform.

This places the Free Transform box and handles (the little squares) around the
image. Theyll appear around the actual dimensions of the image, not just the
viewable area of the document, so since my image is larger than the viewable area,
the Free Transform box and handles appear in the gray pasteboard
area surrounding the photos (if your image is so big that the Free Transform
handles extend right off your screen, go up to the View menu in the Menu Bar and
choose the Fit on Screen view mode).

To resize the image, click and drag any of the corner handles, keeping your
mouse button held down as you drag. To constrain the proportions of your image as
youre resizing it (so you dont distort the shape of the photo), press and hold
the Shift key as youre dragging the handles. When youre happy with the size of
the image, release your mouse button first, then release the Shift key. Here, Im
dragging the top left corner handle in towards the center of the image to make it
smaller:

Press and hold Shift, then click and drag any of the corner handles to resize the image.

I also need to move the image down to the bottom. To move it, with Free Transform
still active, all I need to do is click on the image and drag it downward, again keeping
my mouse button held down as I drag. When youre done moving and resizing your
image, press Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) on your keyboard to accept the
transformation and exit out of the Free Transform command:

Clicking and dragging the image downward.

Renaming The Background Layer

If you need to resize or reposition the other photo as well, youll find that by default,
you cant, and thats because its sitting on a special layer known as
the Background layer:

The bottom photo sitting on the Background layer.

If you select the Background layer in the Layers panel, youll find that the Free
Transform command under the Edit menu is grayed out and unavailable. Even if you
just try moving the image with the Move Tool, Photoshop will toss up a warning
message saying you cant move it because the layer is locked:

Photoshop wont allow us to move or resize the Background layer.

To get around this problem, simply hold down your Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) key
and double-click directly on the name Background in the Layers panel. This will
automatically rename the layer Layer 0, and now youll be able to resize and/or
reposition it as needed:

The Background layer is now Layer 0.

Step 3: Add A Layer Mask

Lets blend our two images together using a layer mask. Select Layer 1 in the
Layers panel if its not still selected, then click on the Add Layer Mask icon at the
bottom of the Layers panel:

Clicking the Add Layer Mask icon.

Nothing will happen to the images in the document window, but we now see a whitefilled layer mask thumbnail on Layer 1, letting us know that weve added our
mask. We also see a white highlight border around the thumbnail which tells
us that the mask, not the photo on the layer, is selected:

Layer 1 now shows a layer mask thumbnail.

Step 4: Select The Gradient Tool

Select Photoshops Gradient Tool from the Tools panel:

Grabbing the Gradient Tool.

Step 5: Choose The Black To White Gradient

With the Gradient Tool selected, click on the gradient preview bar on the far left
of the Options Bar along the top of the screen:

Clicking the gradient preview bar.

This opens the Gradient Editor, and at the top is a collection of small thumbnails,
each representing a different preset gradient. Click on the Black, White gradients
thumbnail to select it (top row, third from the left), then click OK to close out of the
Gradient Editor:

Selecting the Black, White gradient.

Step 6: Drag Out A Black To White Gradient On The

Layer Mask
With the Gradient Tool and the Black, White gradient selected, and my layer mask
thumbnail selected on Layer 1, Ill click near the top of my storm photo to set the
starting point for my gradient. Then, with my mouse button still held down, Ill hold
down my Shift key on my keyboard and drag down a short distance towards the
boat. Holding the Shift key down as I drag limits the angle at which I can move,
making it easy to drag straight down:

Dragging out the gradient on the layer mask.

Ill release my mouse button, and the spot where I release it becomes the end point
for my gradient. Photoshop draws my gradient, and because it was drawn on the
layer mask, not on the photo itself, we dont actually see it in the document window.
Instead, we see the two photos now blended together, with the area between the
start and end points of the gradient becoming the transition area from one photo to
the other:

The two photos are now blended together.

If you want to see the actual gradient itself on the layer mask, press and hold
your Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) key on your keyboard and click on the layer mask
thumbnail in the Layers panel:

Hold Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) and click on the masks thumbnail.

The black to white gradient appears in the document window. What were seeing
here is the layer mask itself, not the contents of the layers (the photos). To switch
back to the photos (the layer contents), once again press and
hold Alt(Win) / Option (Mac) and click on the layer mask thumbnail:

Viewing the gradient that was drawn on the layer mask.

Step 7: Merge Both Layers Onto A New Layer

Next, we need to merge our two existing layers onto a new layer above them. The
easiest way to do that is with a handy keyboard shortcut.
Press Shift+Ctrl+Alt+E (Win) / Shift+Command+Option+E (Mac).
Photoshop merges both layers onto a new layer named Layer 2 above the original
two layers:

The two layers have been merged onto a third layer.

Step 8: Add Noise

Lets add a little noise to the image to help the two photos blend more seamlessly
together. Go up to the Filter menu at the top of the screen, choose Noise, and
then choose Add Noise:

Going to Filter > Noise > Add Noise.

This opens the Add Noise dialog box. First, set the Distribution option
to Gaussian and make sure theMonochromatic option at the bottom of the
dialog box is checked. Then, set the Amount value by dragging the slider a little
towards the right. A value of between 2-6% usually works best, and it will depend on
the size of your image. Dont add too much noise or youll make the image look
overly grainy. We need just enough noise to add a little bit of uniform texture. When
youre done, click OK to close out of the dialog box:

The Add Noise dialog box.

Step 9: Add A Black & White Adjustment Layer

Next, well remove the original colors from the images and create a custom black and
white version of the composite using a Black & White adjustment layer. Click on
the Black & White icon (third icon from the left, middle row) in theAdjustments
panel:

Selecting the Black & White adjustment layer from the Adjustments panel.

This adds a Black & White adjustment layer above Layer 2, which we can see in the
Layers panel:

The Layers panel showing the newly added Black & White adjustment layer.

It will also create an instant black and white version of the image in the
document window. The controls for the Black & White adjustment layer are found in
the Properties panel. Here, we find a series of sliders, each labeled with a
different color (Reds, Yellows, Greens, and so on). Drag the sliders left or right to
adjust the brightness of different areas in the black and white version based on their
original colors. For example, dragging the Reds slider towards the right will lighten
any areas that originally had red in them, while dragging the slider towards the left
will darken those areas. Each slider works the same way, allowing you to increase or
decrease the brightness of any areas that originally contained that color. You can
experiment with the sliders as much as you want until youre happy with the results,
or you can simply click the Auto button above the sliders to have Photoshop take a
guess at what the black and white conversion should look like:

Drag the color sliders to create a custom black and white version.

Heres my image after converting it to black and white:

The black and white version of the composite image.

Step 10: Add A Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer

Well colorize the image using a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Click on
the Hue/Saturation icon in theAdjustments panel (first icon on the left,
middle row):

Adding a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.

The Hue/Saturation adjustment layer appears above the Black & White layer in the
Layers panel:

The Layers panel showing the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.

Once again, the controls for the adjustment layer appear in the Properties panel.
First, select the Colorize option by clicking inside its checkbox. Then, drag
the Hue slider left or right to choose a color for your image. A live preview of the
color appears in the document window as you drag the slider. Ill choose an eerie
orange color for my image by setting the Hue value to around 30. Ill also increase
the saturation of the color a little by dragging the Saturationslider to a value of 35.
Of course, the color you choose for your image may be completely different:

Make sure you check the Colorize option before dragging the sliders.

Step 11: Change The Blend Mode To Color

Finally, back in the Layers panel, change the blend mode of the Hue/Saturation
adjustment layer from Normal toColor. Youll find the Blend Mode option in the
top left corner of the Layers panel. The Color blend mode lets us add color
without affecting the brightness values of the image (which weve already set using
the Black & White adjustment layer):

Changing the blend mode to Color.

Here, after colorizing my image and changing the blend mode to Color, is my final
movie poster result: