Photo Realistic Drop Shadows in Photoshop

Step 9: Apply The Displacement Map To The Drop Shadow Layer Using The Displace Filter

We're ready to apply our displacement map. Click on the drop shadow layer in the Layers palette to select it. Then go up to the Filter menu at the top of the screen, select Distort, and then select Displace to bring up the Displace filter's dialog box:

There's two parts to using Photoshop's Displace filter. First, you set the options for how Photoshop will apply the displacement map, and then you select the displacement map you want to use. This first dialog box that appears is where you set the options. As I've circled above, set both the Horizontal Scale and Vertical Scale options to 10, if they're not already set to 10. For Displacement Map, select Stretch To Fit, and for Undefined Areas, choose Wrap Around. Click OK when you're done.

A second dialog box will open asking you to choose which file you want to use as your displacement map. Navigate to wherever you saved your displacement map from a few steps back and select it. Click Open to use the displacement map, and your drop shadow is instantly mapped to the background behind it!

To get a better idea of what's happening, I'm going to click on the eyeball icon on the far left of my type layer to temporarily hide my type from view so I can see just the drop shadow and the water behind it. Here's what my drop shadow looked like before applying the displacement map:

And here is my exact same drop shadow after applying my displacement map:

Thanks to the displacement map, the drop shadow is no longer sitting flat against the image behind it. It now curves and bends with the water, creating a much more realistic looking effect.

I'm going to click the eyeball icon for my type layer once again to bring my text back into view over top of the drop shadow, and here is my final result:

And there we have it! That's how you can create realistic drop shadows in Photoshop by mapping them to your image with displacement maps.

Want an easier way to follow along with our tutorials? Download them as printable PDFs!