In this tutorial, we're going to cut out an image, and then add a shadow to it to make it look like it's sitting on your page.

Open up your image.

For this example we're using a Chinese lion. Isn't he beautiful?

Copy the image to a second layer (click the layer and drag it over the 'new layer' button at the bottom of the Layers window)

With this copy layer selected, either create a path, or use the eraser tool to 'rub out' all of the background of the image (skip the pink 'using a path' section below).

Using a path

Use your vector editing tools to create a path.

(See the tutorial 'Editing a vector shape in Photoshop')

When you have finished, click the 'load path as selection' button in your Paths window.

Photoshop will select your path (you'll see the 'marching ants').

Return to the Layers window.

From the 'Select' menu choose 'Inverse' then hit the backspace/delete key on your keyboard and the background of the photo will be erased.

Create a new blank layer and fill it with your desired background colour. Drag the layer below the 'cut-out' layer of your photo.

He looks OK - but not as though he is really part of your page yet.

We need to give him a realistic shadow.

Click and drag the 'cut-out' layer onto the new layer button to make a copy.

Select the bottom of these two cut-out layers.

To lock the layer's transparency, check the box beside 'Lock' in the Layers window (or check 'Preserve Transparency' in Photoshop 4).

Make sure that black is set as your background colour, then hit 'control and backspace' on your keyboard (that's 'apple and delete' on a Mac).

Just the object's shape on that layer should fill with black.

Unlock the layer's transparency.

Select 'Gaussian Blur' from the 'Filter' menu. Use the sliding scale to blur your shadow a little. Take a look at the shadows on the object itself. Your new shadow should be blurred about the same.

Next choose 'Edit', 'Transform', 'Scale' and scale your shadow down. (Transform is under the 'Layer' menu in Photoshop 4).

The taller the shadow, the flatter the image will look on your page. We want this lion to look like he's standing upright on the page, so we've made the shadow quite short.

If you want you can use other transformations such as 'skew' and 'distort' to move the shadow into a shape that fits the shadows on the object.

Here he is!

Just because of a little shadow, and the background of the image, he really looks like he belongs with this text, doesn't he?