How to make stuff float in Photoshop

How to make stuff float in Photoshop

Objects suspended in mid-air create striking visual effects that make viewers stop and wonder how the photo was taken. This technique transforms ordinary subjects into compelling focal points through simple physics and digital editing.

The method combines practical photography setup with basic Photoshop skills to remove visible support systems, creating clean floating effects perfect for creative portraits, product photography, or artistic compositions.

Watch the Video

Video by Peter McKinnon. Any links or downloads mentioned by the creator are available only on YouTube

Practical Tips for Creating Floating Objects

Essential techniques for capturing and editing suspended objects:

  • Use clear fishing line instead of string or wire to minimize visibility and reduce editing work
  • Create anchor points with bathtub rods between walls or command hooks on surfaces when ceiling attachment isn't possible
  • Test object weight and line strength before shooting to prevent drops during the session
  • Remove fishing line gradually in Photoshop using the spot healing brush tool rather than attempting large selections
  • Work in small sections when editing areas with different background contrasts to maintain realistic textures

More Tutorials about Levitation Photography

Explore advanced techniques for creating floating and levitation effects in your photography.

Create a Levitation Photo Effect in Photoshop
In this video tutorial, you'll learn how to create a flying effect in a photo. The author shows how to use a background image and a levitating model image, explaining each step in detail. He begins by cutting the model out from the original background using the quick selection tool and magnetic lasso tool. He also shows how to refine the selection and blend the image seamlessly into the new background. By the end of the video, you'll see the model appear to be flying, with practical tips provid
Add Realistic Water Drops To A Photo
This Photoshop Effects tutorial guides you in adding realistic water drops to your photos, making it seem as though water has splashed across the image. You'll explore various filters and adjustments to create random shapes that resemble water droplets. The tutorial emphasizes the importance of using simple layer styles to enhance these shapes, focusing on adding shadows and highlights. This technique helps in achieving that lifelike quality you desire in your images. To wrap up the process, a
Paint Figures Using Splashing Water Effects in Photoshop
In this photo manipulation tutorial, Jennifer Cirpici introduces a method for creating a figure that appears to be made from water, using a stock photograph as the foundation. The process may seem complex, but Jennifer breaks it down into manageable steps, making it accessible to anyone interested. Throughout the tutorial, you will learn various essential techniques, such as blending lighting and shadows effectively. She emphasizes the importance of establishing a focal point using gradients, w
Create a Levitation Effect in Photoshop
In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a stunning levitation effect in Adobe Photoshop. The focus is on a woman floating in a dream-like setting, surrounded by ethereal lighting that enhances the magical atmosphere. You will start by working with basic photo manipulation techniques. The process includes cutting out the subject and placing her in a new background, creating the illusion of weightlessness. As you progress, you'll explore how to add unique lighting effects to make the scen

Get tutorials & freebies delivered to you.

Subscribe to the Photoshop Roadmap newsletter, a weekly roundup of new tutorials, insights and quality downloads, trusted by 6500+ readers.

You might also like

Painting Digital Art Backgrounds: Techniques and Workflow

A well-crafted background can anchor an entire digital painting, providing atmosphere, depth, and visual context for the subject. This video demonstrates practical approaches to building backgrounds from scratch using digital tools, covering brush selection, color layering, and compositional thinking. Watch the Video Practical Tips Keep these core principles in...

How to Use the Light Adjustment Layer in Photoshop

Photoshop's new Light adjustment layer brings Camera Raw controls — exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, and blacks — directly into the layers panel as a fully non-destructive, maskable layer. This means you can stack multiple light adjustments, target specific subjects, and combine them with Blend If and other adjustment...

How to Use Object Selection, Remove Background, and the Selection Brush in Photoshop

Selections determine the quality and flexibility of almost every edit you make in Photoshop. Three modern tools — the Object Selection tool, Remove Background with Harmonize, and the Selection Brush — handle the most common selection tasks with far less manual effort, while keeping your original image intact through non-destructive layers....

How to Paint a Digital Background and Composite Wildlife Into It

Building a painted digital background from scratch gives you full control over color, mood, and composition before a single wildlife photo is placed. This walkthrough covers the complete process: blocking in shadows on a black canvas, layering foliage with textured brushes, positioning bird subjects on hand-painted stones, and using...

How to Sharpen Skin Texture Using Frequency Separation in Photoshop

Retouched skin can look great up close but lose all its natural texture the moment you zoom out. Rather than relying on standard sharpening filters, you can recover that texture by duplicating the high-frequency layer inside a frequency separation setup — a method that works whether or not you'...

You’ve successfully subscribed to Photoshop Roadmap
Welcome back! You’ve successfully signed in.
Great! You’ve successfully signed up.
Success! Your email is updated.
Your link has expired
Success! Check your email for magic link to sign-in.