Photoshop's Relight Layer Is the Compositing Cheat Code I've Been Waiting For

Photoshop's Relight Layer Is the Compositing Cheat Code I've Been Waiting For

Compositing has always had one brutal problem: you can cut a subject out perfectly, place them into a gorgeous background, and still have the whole thing look completely wrong because the light doesn’t match. The direction is off. The warmth is off. The whole image screams “I made this in Photoshop” in a way that isn’t a compliment. I’ve spent embarrassing amounts of time manually painting in light effects, duplicating layers, messing with blend modes, and praying that nobody zooms in.