The year is almost over. Sooo......I thought I would put together a Photoshop how-to. Let's make some Realistic water Reflections.

The Original image is what we'll start with and finish up with Water Reflections.

I downloaded the original photo from http://www.deviantart.com/. This image was created by Sergiba. I have permission to re-distribute & edit.

I chose this image because the straight shore line makes it easier to mask for those with limited skills in Photoshop. You can choose any image you have or download this one. I'm using Photoshop CC 2019, but most versions after CS6 should work just fine. Don't hesitate with any questions or problems. If your having a problem with a particular step then some else may also be having the same problem. So Please Ask.

First I cut off the bottom of the image at the shore line. Use the Rectangular Marquee Tool and draw a box from the top left corner and stopping just below the shore line on the right side. My measurements were 1450 x 568 pixels.
Use Image\Crop to eliminate the bottom half.

Find the dimensions of the image and remember them. Image\Image Size.. Mine measures 1450 x 568 with a resolution of 150. If your measurements are different don't worry, this is not rocket science.

Next make a smart object. Select Layer\Smart object\Convert to Smart Object. you should see a symbol in the lower left corner of the layers thumbnail like the one below.
{photo1.jpg}

Next resize the canvas. Select Image\Canvas Size..
1. Anchor point: select the upper middle box.
2. Change pixels to percent. In the Height box start with 200. This will make the image height 2x. I chose 175% because I didn't want that much reflection. Experiment with this setting to meet your needs.
3. Change Percent back to pixels and remember the settings. I have: width:1450 & Height:994

Next make a duplicate of the layer and name it reflections. Layer\Duplicate Layer...

Make sure the reflection layer is selected. Edit\Free Transform.
{photo2.jpg}

Top middle you should have a selection handle. Press Shift + Click on handle and drag to the bottom of the canvas. release. You should see something similar to fig. 3.

Click & drag on the reflection layer and drag to the bottom of the layer0
{photo3.jpg}

With the reflection layer selected go to Filter\Blur\Motion Blur. Set Angle to 90. Distance to 20. You can choose different distance settings. 20 works for this image.

NOTE: If you haven't saved, now would be a good time.

Let's create another layer. At the bottom of the layers panel. You should see 6-7 icons. If you hover over the 2nd one from the right it should display "Create a new layer". With the reflection layer selected, hold the Ctrl key down and click on the 2nd icon from the right. This should create a new layer at the bottom. Label this layer blue.

Select blue layer and Edit\Fill. Contents: Color. This will bring up the color picker. Select a nice light blue color.
Mine was H:195 S:82 B:75
{photo4.jpg}

Select the smart filter layer. We'll add a gradient map to this layer so that the shore area will be more out of focus then the front.
Gradient Settings: Select the gradient tool. Then at the top, below the menu bar. Select Linear Gradient and black to transparent
{photo5.jpg}

Press the shift key, click and drag from the bottom of the canvas to the shore line

Next select the reflection layer. At the bottom of the layers panel the 5th icon from the right should be "add layer mask". Next to the original layer image should be a new box. This is the mask for that layer.
Click on the mask to highlight it. Select the gradient tool and press the shift key, click and drag from the bottom of the canvas to the shore line.

NOTE: Now would be a good time to save

{photo6.jpg}

Select The reflection layer, Press shift + Click on blue layer. Both layers should be highlighted
Next select Layer\Smart Objects\Convert to Smart Object
Save

You should have a image that looks similar to {photo7.jpg}
OK. That's it for this section. I'll post the rest later tonight.