Thank you and I couldn't agree more. Problem was that there were hundreds or maybe a thousand layers. I was working with mainly smart objects too. So all that stuff really was lagging my computer. At the end even a rotation was taking 10 minutes and a save was over 45 minutes. The reflection was the last thing I worked on and it was a huge pain in the butt. I pretty much could not do it any better due to the lag.

I was so afraid to flatten/rasterize the Smart Objects in case I wanted to change something, but at this point with everything done that won't be an issue. I can just open it (while waiting 20 minutes), rasterize what I can, and wait 10 minutes each time until the lag subsides. Then I can do as you say. I was hoping to get away with it but your Eagle Eyes dialed right into that error.

I probably need to learn how to manage those Smart Objects and stuff.

use the principle of "green screen" as a background to make selection extraction easier and you have ONE clear simple jpg to play with.

Well I tried. I researched reflections extensively for hours. Watched many Youtube videos, read many tutorials, and Google Imaged till my eyes bled. It seems when the subject is level with the ground/water, the reflection is basically a "mirror" of the actual subject. As for the shape of the reflection, there may be some slight Skewing or maybe some types of light/medium distortions caused by complex light sources, but none of it appeared drastic or changed the overall shape of the reflection. Yes the reflecting surface may cause various types of "ripples", especially water, as well as Hue/Sat/Contrast etc changes, but I am saying that the overall shape of the reflection is consistently VERY similar to the subject's. It seems you basically take the subject, flip vertically... Voila!, instant reflection.

In my searches and tutorials I am not seeing any Perspective changes where the reflection appears to be coming "at us" in the way a shadow would act. I made some gifs and one jpg here so you can see what I am saying. https://imgur.com/a/QHr7qi5

Also here is a Google image search for "bicycle reflections" and "mountain reflections". The results were the same no matter what I searched for on Google. As a not, severe blacklisting from sunsets seemed to make the most difference in the shape of the reflections.

www.goo.gl/1oVo1r
www.goo.gl/sKR4bk

So, I am pretty stuck as to what to do. I think I may gradually mask it, blur it some, maybe turn down the contrast, de-saturate or otherwise mess with the color, and call it a day.

For my final thoughts, the reflections seem to be going "downwards" rather than "at us" like a shadow would. Perhaps one of our Photographers or other Photoshoppers can chime in, or maybe you can show me some Chops or images that replicate your idea. That would be way cool.

Mahalo seestah.

Mahalo Z. Started off making an oval for the the body and went from there.

Mooohalo lolu.

TY seestah.

Haha.

Thanks

Thanks Drivenslush !

Thanks still26 !

ah ah Thanks !

Thanks!

I agree, the poor butterfly won't last long if he doesn't flee...
Thanks for the tip BW, you're so full of resources

Oooh you did it. The bird has more depth now and doesn't look so flat. Pretty simple huh? Make sure to use Clipping Masks when doing this so that the darks get painted only on your subject.

That's a bit because of you

Merciiii