How to create realistic falling snow in Adobe Photoshop

Add festive falling snow to your winter photos to give them an added wintery touch. Follow these simple steps to spice up your creations.

Pick your photo
We’ve chosen this shot for its fun appeal – all it needs now is some snow. Once you’ve chosen yours, open it in Photoshop by clicking File>Open and navigating to the file. Or just drag and drop the file into an open Photoshop window.

Make a layer filled with black
To add a base for your snow, create a new layer in Photoshop. Make sure the layers palette is visible by clicking Window>Layers

Click the New Layer icon at the bottom (or click Layer>New>Layer).

Fill the layer with black by selecting Edit>Fill. Select Contents: Color, choose black, and click OK.

Add ‘Noise’ to create snow
To add noise, select Filter>Noise>Add Noise. Make sure Monochromatic is selected, and switch to Gaussian distribution. Drag the slider to around 150%, and click OK.

Switch to ‘Screen’ blending mode
To make sure the snow layer ‘floats’ above the rest of your photo, take a look at the top of the layers palette (Window>Layers) – you should see a dropdown menu at the top that says ‘Normal’. Make sure the snow layer is selected, then click the dropdown and select Screen blending mode.

This is the effect you should see over your photo.

Add a ‘Gaussian blur’
To soften the edges of the snowflakes, click Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Set the blur radius to around 0.4px. Don’t worry if the snow is a funny size at this point – we’re going to resize it soon.

Reduce the noise to create less snow
To add spacing to the snowflakes, we’ll be using a ‘Levels’ adjustment. It allows us to alter the light and dark areas of the image and, as we’re using a ‘Screen’ blending mode, anything dark will disappear. To add the adjustment, click Image>Adjustments>Levels. Drag the two outer sliders to change the effect of the snow. Experiment until you’re happy with the density of the falling snow.

Turn your layer into a Smart Object
Locate the layer in the layers palette, right-click the name of the layer and select Convert to Smart Object. Making an object ‘Smart’ protects it from being distorted/damaged when changes are applied to it. Working in this way is ‘non-destructive’, meaning you’re free to change your mind without having to start again. It’s how the pros work, and a good habit to get into.

Save
Save your document somewhere safe. File>Save.

Add a Motion Blur
To make the snow look as though it was in motion when the shot was taken, add a Motion Blur. Click Filter>Blur>Motion Blur, and adjust the intensity and direction of the blur until you’re convinced it looks natural. Make sure Preview is ticked, so you can see your changes happening in real-time.

Resize your snow layer
Zoom out to give yourself some space – either hold the Alt(Option) key and scroll your mouse wheel to zoom out, or click the Zoom Tool(Z), hold Alt and Left-click to zoom out. Then select Edit>Free Transform (Ctrl+T/Command+T) to resize the snow layer. Drag the corners to resize, and hold Shift whilst dragging to stop the snow layer from changing shape. Resize until you feel convinced that you’re looking at the real deal. Press Return on the keyboard to set the image at your chosen size.

Rinse and repeat
Snow is looks better in layers – repeat steps 2 to 7 to add more layers of differing size and blur direction. Keep adding layers with different sizes and blur directions until you’re happy.

Share your work!
Show the world your creation. Share it here too! – we’d love to see how you get on. If you have any questions, just ask.

Tips

• Increase the Gaussian Blur to increase the size of the snowflakes
• Adjusting the Levels can have a big impact on the look of the snowflakes
• Erase parts of the snow by ‘Rasterising’ the snow layer (Right-click the layer on the layers palette, and click Rasterise). Use the Eraser Tool to remove unwanted snowflakes
• Try using Filter>Pixelate>Crystalize to create more effective large snowflakes
• Check more Photoshop Tutorials for designing business cards or design watercolour-themed greeting cards here.