A blog & community for non-professional web designers, programmers, webmasters, and other web savvies.

Zoom Effect in Photoshop

May 12, 2008 - 12:00am -- Haily

In this tutorial, I will cover how to create a zoom-type effect. This effect is great for backgrounds, but surprisingly works better with horizontal dimensions.

I will demonstrate this effect using a 400x150 pixel image at 72px/in. Feel free to experiment with different dimensions.

First we will need to use the gradient tool. I will use Black (000000) and Blue (0000FF). I chose black to create a visual effect that will make the zoom look even more realistic.
 
Now, we want to use the gradient above, but we also need enough black in the image to satisfy the zoom effect. Apply the gradient into about 2/3 of the image but in the center. Use the following images as a guide.
 
 
Using the Wave filter, try to produce a similar trend depicted below. The Wave filter can be found under the Filter menu > Distort > Wave. These are the settings I used for this specific tutorial, but any slight differences with the settings below will not produce a drastically different image.
 
 
Repeat this action using Ctrl+F (for Windows) or Command+F (for Macs) and you should have something similar to this.
 
Next, use the radial blur filter (Filter > Blur > Radial Blur) with the following settings: 100; zoom; best. This should be your outcome.
 
If you have any questions or comments, please post your thoughts below.

@IceCaves on Twitter

    Stay Connected

    Twitter Facebook Tumblr Google+ Glaciallis Google RSS

    *Follow us on Twitter or Facebook to also follow minor site updates that don't make it to the homepage news.