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Now this can just be a whole lot of fun doing this effect, or you can take it seriously and do something contructive with it

Take a look at the comparison image and what I've done to that poor Juvenile Crimson Rosella



Probably one of the simplest effects do as well. A couple of things before we get started. It doesn't matter what size the image may be, there will be no need to adjust any of the settings. It might be useful to use an image where the subject is a little off center. As you'll see with the image you might like to practise on below, it isn't essential - but you'll soon be able to judge which images to use. so, lets get on with it. You can use the image below to practise on if you, click through for the larger image. copyright is mine etc.,



Open the image in Photoshop, then duplicate the b/ground layer by pressing Ctrl + J on the keyboard, or dragging the layer to the new layer icon at the bottom of the layers palette. Click on the eyeball next to the b/ground layer to hide it. Next go to the top tool bar and Click on View and make sure that 'Snap" has a tick next to it. See image below.



Go back to the 'View' menu in the top tool bar and click on 'New Guide' - a small dialogue box will appear - punch in the numbers that I have below. The guide will be placed at the exact vertical center of the image. If you ever want to find the exact centre of one of your images - go ahead and run the new guide again, but change vertical to horizontal. Where the 2 guides intersect will be the exact centre of your image.



Select the move tool by pressing V on the keyboard, or going to the side tool bar and selecting it. Whether you move the image left or right at this point will be entirely up to you. I'm going to move the image to the right , then I'll show you a screenshot with the same image moved to the left.



Once you have done that, select the rectagular marquee tool from the side tool bar and select the right hand side of the image - see image below - then press Ctrl + J on the keyboard to put the selection on its own layer.



Immediately after putting the selection on its own layer, press Ctrl + T on the keyboard to bring up the Transform Tool. Move the small rotation point in the middle of the image to the vertical guide, it should snap to it when it gets close. See image below.



Then go to Eit>Transform>Flip Horizontal. Press the Enter key on the keyboard to accept the transformation, then go to View>Clear Guides. And that is all there is to it. You can go through the image and see if there is any tidying up that needs doing. The first image below is straight after creating the mirror image, the second is after some fixing up. The third shot is the exact same technique, but with the mirror effect done the opposite way, and not fixed. Have fun.