Special Effects - The Photoshop: Professional Retouching and Compositing Tips, Tricks, and Techniques - page 232

Note
In Figure 4.27 , you can see that adding layers of debris at varying sizes and with
different amounts of blur creates the feeling of depth. You can add as many layers
of debris as you like, but I recommend no less than three: farthest away, in line
with the subject, and closest to the camera.
Figure 4.27 Adding multiple debris layers to create depth
Creating a Snow Scene
Here's a simple technique that I use for creating a realistic snow scene. When it's used on
a picture in which there is little or no detail in the sky, it is incredibly effective, especially
when falling snow is added.
1. With a suitable picture open in Photoshop ( Figure 4.28 ), go to Select > Color
Range. In the Color Range properties, choose Sampled Colors from the Select
menu, choose the Selection option, and choose None from the Selection Preview
menu ( Figure 4.29 ).