Hi! Your tutorials are so helpful, thank you! Will you be doing a tutorial on how you created your “about me photo”? The colors and lighting is very beautiful!

Since I began writing tutorials, I’ve tended to save my steps as I work in Photoshop in the event I want to share them later. So, Sabina, you’re in luck! This tutorial will cover adding colorful lighting to a photo and adding some really easy lighting effects. First, let me show you the photo to which we’re referring:

(Click the image to view a full size version on my Flickr.)

Touching Up the Original Image

Here’s my original image. Before I get started adding effects, I’m going to explain the basic retouching steps. You can skip ahead to the Adding Lighting Effects section if you want to get to those now!

First, some gentle airbrushing. I created a new layer on top of my original image and selected a round brush at 0% hardness. I used the eyedropper tool to select one of the lighter skin tones near the eye area, and carefully brushed over the circles beneath the eyes. I also brightened up the cheeks a little with the same method. I set this layer to 40% opacity.

I merged these layers, then made a duplicate of the newly-merged layer. I selected the top layer. Next, I went to Image → Adjustments → Selective Color. “Red” should already be selected next to the Colors dropdown. I pulled down the “Black” slider to -40%.

Using a round eraser with 0% hardness, I erased the lip area so that the original color showed through, then merged these layers again.

To give everything a subtle glow, I set my background color to white and went to Filter → Distort → Diffuse Glow. I set the Graininess to 0, Glow Amount to 1, and Clear Amount to 15. The result is a subtle white cast to the lighter parts of the image.

I used Image → Auto Contrast to adjust for the added glow.

I selected the Dodge tool, set it to 15% exposure, and used a small, 0% hardness round brush to brighten the light reflections on the eyes and lips.

I used Filter → Liquify to tuck in the cheek a little. A minor vanity adjustment. :)

Adding Lighting Effects

We’ve all seen lens flares awfully abused, so here’s an example of tasteful use. I went to the Lens Flare filter via Filters → Render → Lens Flare. In the dialog, I set the brightness to 150% and selected the 35mm lens type. For the flare center, I clicked the very top left corner of the image.

The next few steps use bokeh textures, which are a great resource for quick lighting effects. Bokeh just refers to out-of-focus points of light.

Where to get bokeh textures

The bokeh textures I used come from a search for bokeh textures on DeviantArt. There’s a lot of free stock resources on there, but DeviantArt users usually accompany these with credit rules, so ensure you follow them! I used textures from Bokeh Textures Pack by ImaginaryRosse and BOKEH COLLECTION I by proverbios31. You can also find some lovely textures on Lost and Taken, a free textures website—try these colorful, grungy textures or this big bokeh 30-pack!

I layered one of these bokeh textures over my image and erased the points of light I didn’t want with a soft brush. I reduced the opacity to 75%.

I set my bokeh layer to the ‘Screen’ blending mode.

Again, I layered a bokeh texture over my image, this time reducing the layer opacity to 30%.

I set the layer to the ‘Screen’ blending mode and merged everything.

Everything was getting a little too light for me, so I used Auto Contrast (Image → Auto Contrast) to darken up my darks a tad.

Color and Finishing Touches

I created a new layer and set my foreground color to a cyan (#12c8a8) and my background color to a magenta (#c64692). Using the Gradient Tool, I clicked and dragged across the image from top-left to bottom-right.

I set the blending mode of this layer to ‘Color Burn.’

I reduced the layer opacity to 60%.

Next, I set my foreground color to white and my background to black. With the gradient tool still selected, I switched to a radial gradient and applied it in a line from the top-left corner toward the bottom-right. I set the opacity of this layer to 50%.

I changed the blending mode to ‘Screen.’

Next, I opened a new 10×10 document. I filled the background with white, then used the Elliptical Marquee tool to select a 10×10 circle. I deleted the contents of the circle. To save it as a pattern, I went to Images → Define Pattern. The resulting pattern is a series of white diamonds, with which I filled a new layer.

I created three different layers filled with this pattern and used different types of Transform to adjust their appearance. I then used layer masks to hide anywhere I didn’t want the pattern to appear for that layer. I’m afraid it was really a series of micro-steps and tweaks that got me to my final product, but here are my layers and the resultant image.

Setting a layer to the color burn blending mode can bring out some harsh shadows, and I felt like this was coming through a little on the face. To add layer a little bit of white on top of it, I set my background color to white and went to Filter → Distort → Diffuse Glow again. I set the Graininess to 0, Glow Amount to 1, and Clear Amount to 17.

Things were feeling sharp, so I merged everything, then duplicated my newly-merged layer. On the layer below, I ran a lens blur filter— Filter → Blur → Lens Blur. I set the radius somewhere around 10 and used the defaults for the remaining options. I then used a layer mask on the top layer to show the blur only on the edges, as pictured here.

Finally, I ran a low-radius smart blur (Filter → Blur → Smart Blur) on the image. It’s a minor difference, but it brought me to the final work!

As always, I hope you find this tutorial useful! Feel free to comment with any questions.

Before we start, a tremendous thanks for your e-mails, comments, and linkage. I’m having such a fun time with this blog, and that is thanks to you! ♥ :)

Final Image Preview

Assets

• Tribal 3 Bend. For this tutorial, I’ve downloaded the full version and resized it to 900 pixels wide, so note that my brushes will be sized accordingly.

The Process

The first step is to create the path for our streak. If this looks difficult, feel free to check out my simple introduction to using the Pen Tool in Photoshop to create streaks first for a quick primer.

Start by selecting the Pen Tool from the Tools panel. Add a single click in the area to the upper-right of the hand, like so:

Next, we want to add our first curve. In the image below, I show you how this is done: click in the spot shown on the hand, continue holding down the mouse button, and drag to the left and slightly downward to curve the line.

Continue to use this click-and-curve method to create a series of curves. I’ll show you all the points I made. Moving down her arm:

Near the shoulder:

By her waist:

Top of the leg:

Moving down the leg:

The foot:

And finally, I finish by moving just off the toes:

So here’s our final path:

Now we want to give our path some solidity. Select the Brush Tool from the Tools panel and open the Brushes panel (Windows » Brushes). Set the options to 9px, 100% hardness, and white. Check the Shape Dynamics item and set Size Jitter to Pen Pressure in it.

Create a new layer, name it Streak, and ensure it’s selected.

Go to the Paths panel (Windows » Paths). Right-click the path you created and go to Stroke Path. Make sure that Brush is selected from the dropdown and that Simulate Pressure is checked. Click OK. To stop showing the path on your canvas, just click in the gray, empty area in the Paths panel to deselect.

You should now see your new stroke:

Since the tapered edges are a little thin, I like to duplicate my streak a couple times to brighten them up. Duplicate your Streak layer twice (right-click and Duplicate, or just drag the layer on to the New Layer button). Select all three Streak layers by holding down CTRL and clicking each one. Then go to Layers » Merge Layers:

Next, we’re going to mask the areas of the streak we don’t want to show. I have a quick, easy introduction to Photoshop masking for those unfamiliar with the technique.

Select your Streak layer. Open the Masks panel (Window » Masks) and click on the Add Pixel Mask button. You should now see a white box appear on your layer. That’s your mask.

Anything we paint in black on the mask will be hidden. Anything we paint in white will show. By default, the whole thing is white. Select the Brush Tool, set it to black, 100% hardness and 9px. Ensure the layer mask (white box on your layer) is selected.

Start painting over any area you don’t want to show in black. Think of it as erasing—but if you mess up, you can just switch your brush color to white and paint that part of the image back in.

So here we go, starting from the top. I erase over the hand and a part of the arm:

See how it looks like the streak goes behind the arm? I do this for the rest of the body, too:

I’ve discussed using Blending Options to create a glow on streaks before, but I don’t really use this method any more. I prefer to blur as I feel it gives me a little more control over the way my light disperses. The choice is yours, but I’ll be showing you how to use blur for this one.

I do two blurs: one that’s close to the streak, and one that’s a little more dispersed.

For our first blur, duplicate your Streak layer. Name this new layer Blur 1. Right-click the mask on this layer and select Apply Layer Mask. All the parts that were previously just ‘hidden’ because of our mask are now officially erased.

Go to Filter » Blur » Gaussian Blur. Set the Radius to 8 pixels. The result:

For a more general blur, duplicate your Blur 1 layer and name it Blur 2. Go to Filter » Blur » Gaussian Blur again and set the Radius to 15 pixels. Result:

Now for a little sparkly texture!

Duplicate your Blur 1 layer, name it Sparkles 1, and put it above everything else. Change the Blending Mode to Dissolve. (Blending Mode can be changed through the little dropdown on the top of the Layers panel.)

Layers that are set to Dissolve will show edges that fade (dissolve, even) into a diffusion of sparkle-esque pixels. Since our layer was blurred and had no edges, it just gave us a random spread of sparkles. The only issue with this is that when we decrease the opacity, we just get fewer sparkles, not lower-opacity sparkles. Let’s solve this!

Create a new layer below Sparkles 1. Select the Sparkles 1 layer, and go to Layers » Merge Down.

Now our Sparkles 1 layer no longer has the same Blending Mode, but it still retains the look! We can adjust the opacity freely, so set it to 25%.

For more depth to our sparkles, duplicate the Blur 1 layer again and name it Sparkles 2. Set the Blending Mode to Dissolve. To decrease the number of pixels, decrease the opacity—I set mine to 7%:

Finally, for a little cleanup, take the eraser tool and remove any sparkles from unwanted areas—on her dress, for example.

Final Image

Thank you for reading! Don’t forget, I’m always happy to answer questions; just leave ‘em in the comments!

Final Image Preview

Tutorial Video

This video demonstrates a quick way to do this if you have a pressure-sensitive tablet.

The Process

Open your starter image. This is mine:

Select the Brush Tool and set the foreground color to White.

If you have a drawing tablet:

This is the method I use in the video.

1. Set the brush size to 65px at 0% hardness. Turn on Size Jitter.
2. Create a new layer above your original image.
3. Use the pressure-sensitivity of your tablet to dot orbs of various sizes in your desired area. Do this until you achieve a pattern with which you’re happy.

If you do NOT have a drawing tablet:

1. Set the brush size to 3px at 0% hardness.
2. Create a new layer above your original image.
3. Click in several spots to dot small orbs around your desired area.
4. Increase your brush size to 10px. Dot three or four of these size orbs in the area.
5. Increase your brush size to 20px. Dot one or two of these size orbs in the area.
6. Continue to adjust your brush size and add more orbs until you achieve a pattern with which you’re happy. My result:
   

More Glow

1. Duplicate the layer with your orbs. Go to Filter » Blur » Gaussian Blur. Set the radius to 5px.
2. Duplicate your original orbs layer again. Go to Filter » Blur » Gaussian Blur. Set the radius to 15px.

Final Image

Final Image Preview

The Process

1. Open a new, 400×400 canvas and fill the background with black.
2. Create a new layer above the background and name it Streak.
3. Use the Brush Tool to draw series of white lines like this:
   
   I’ve used a pressure-sensitive tablet with size jitter on to achieve the tapered effect. If you don’t have a tablet, just erase the edges so that it looks similar.
4. Go to Filter » Blur » Motion Blur.
5. In the Motion Blur dialog box, set the angle to 55 degrees and the distance to 160 pixels. You may need to adjust the angle depending on the direction your lines are going. Here’s how mine looks:
   
6. Duplicate the Streak layer. Select this new layer and select the Move Tool. Use the right arrow on your keyboard to move the new layer slightly to the right to fill in the gaps. Result:
   
7. Select the Streak layer, hold down SHIFT, and select the Streak copy layer. This should select both at the same time. Go to Layer » Merge Layers to merge them.
8. For a more pronounced streak, duplicate the Streak layer again. Select the Move Tool and move the layer upward and to the right. You can play around with this to create a streak you like.
   

Final Image

This completes a basic burst streak. For the final image, I just duplicated, rotated, and moved the streak a few times. I hope you enjoyed the tutorial!

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions.

Free Wallpaper

To kick off this series, here is a 1920×1200 wallpaper for you that features all three of the lighting effects we’ll be covering:

Preview

Download the Starter File

You can apply these instructions to a blank canvas without issue, but for a more practical application I’ve created a PSD file that I’ll be working with for this tutorial. Download it here.

Create the Light Streak

1. Create a new layer above the Glowing Girl layer. Name it Streak.
2. Select the Pen Tool.
3. Click once in the middle of the girl’s neck and once near the top-right of the canvas, like this:
   
4. Click and hold in the middle of the line, dragging outward toward the right. This will create an anchor point in the middle of your path that will allow you to curve the line. Your path should look like this:
   
5. Select the Brush Tool. Set your brush size to 5px, foreground color to white, and set the Size Jitter to Pen Pressure (not sure how? See this tutorial).
6. Open the Paths panel (Window » Paths).
7. Ensure the default Work Path is selected. (You should still see what is in the screenshot in Step 4.) Right-click the Work Path and choose Stroke Path.
8. In the Stroke dialog box, ensure Brush is selected from the dropdown box and Simulate Pressure is checked. Click OK.
9. A white stroke should appear over the path. Click anywhere in the Paths panel that is not Work Path path to deselect the path. You should see this:
   

Duplicate the light streak

1. Return to the Layers panel. Duplicate the Streak layer by right-clicking and selecting Duplicate Layer and clicking OK for the default options.
2. Select the Move Tool from the Tools window. Ensure the Streak Copy layer is selected. Click and drag the layer to move the second streak below the first:
   
3. With the Streak Copy layer still selected, go to Layer » Merge Down to marge the two streak layers.
4. In the Layers panel, click and drag the Streak layer so that it is below the Glowing Girl layer.
   

Adding the Glow

1. Right-click the Streak layer and select Blending Options.
2. In the Blending Options dialog box, check and go to the Outer Glow menu item.
3. Set the glow color to white and size to 10px. Click OK.
   
4. Duplicate the Streak layer.
5. Right-click the new Streak Copy layer and select Blending Options.
6. Return to the Outer Glow menu item and change the size to 35px. Click OK.
   

Final Image

This concludes the tutorial on creating light streaks. For the final image, I added a couple more streaks using the same method.

Next Time

Thanks for following my tutorial! Next time, I’ll explain how to create “burst” motion streaks.