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Catalog > Free Tutorials > The Best Way To Use Lens Flares in Photoshop
  • The Best Way To Use Lens Flares in Photoshop

  • by Aaron Nace
    November 20, 2014
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Lens Flares

When are flares appropriate in photos? Why can’t you customize the Photoshop Lens Flare Filters?? In today’s episode, we show you the best way to use Lens Flares in Photoshop and answer those burning questions!

Be Appropriate!

The first step in using Lens Flares is knowing when they make sense in an image, and when they do not. If the Light is coming from anywhere behind the subject (aka backlit), there will be flare in the camera. You can also think in terms of the camera; as long as the camera sees the Light source, flare will occur.

Defy the Rules!

Create a New Layer and go to Filter – Render – Lens Flare. A dialogue box will pop up telling you that the Action you’re trying to complete is not allowed. (Gasp!) So, we have to wiggle around the rules a bit.

Create a Stamp Visible Layer by clicking Shift + Option + Command + E. This is a layer that you can make a lens flare on. Woohoo! Now, hold Shift + Delete and fill the layer with black. Go back to the Filter menu and choose Lens Flare at the very top of the menu (this will repeat the last Lens Flare you created).

All you have left to do is change the Blend Mode to Screen, and you are able to edit the lens flare however you’d like. Some things we suggest are changing the Hue, Saturation, and adding a Gaussian Blur.

Catalog > Free Tutorials > Unlock The Secrets To The Lens Flare in Photoshop
  • Unlock The Secrets To The Lens Flare in Photoshop

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Unlock The Secrets To The Lens Flare in Photoshop

When properly used, the Lens Flare Filter in Photoshop can add a nice effect to backlit photos. One issue people have with the Lens Flare Filter is that you can’t apply it to a blank layer. That means that you are not able to adjust the lens flare after it has been applied.

In this episode we show you how to unlock the secrets to the Lens Flare in Photoshop, getting around the limitation of the Filter.

Catalog > Free Tutorials > How to Create Beams of Light and Lens Flare in Photoshop
  • How to Create Beams of Light and Lens Flare in Photoshop

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Creating a Lens Flare/ Lighting Effects

This tutorial is perfect for those images that have a strong backlight, such as when you are shooting into the sun. We show you how to enhance a Lens Flare and create Lighting Effects that will make your image more interesting. These techniques only take a couple of minutes and can be used on any image with a backlight.

Use Curves Adjustment Layer

We start by changing the atmosphere Colors around the Light, bringing the black Levels up on the red and green Channels in a curves adjustment layer. This step adds a nice base for the Lighting Effects.

After creating the base we create another Curves Adjustment Layer and brighten it up. We then use a large hard edged Brush to create some flare. This is a great time to play around and place the flare wherever you want.

Next we create a Spatter Pattern on a Layer Mask of another Curves Adjustment Layer and use the Radial Blur to simulate Light streaks. This is a $500 technique that we are giving away for free.

To finish off the image we create a double Vignette, making the area around the subject lighter and darkening the edges of the image.

The Best Way To Use Lens Flares in Photoshop

  • Review
    5.00 out of 5
    11 Reviews
  • Difficulty
    Easy
  • Length
    1.5 hours
  • Videos
    6
  • Software

Description

Learn how to create stunning, realistic light effects in Photoshop like sun rays, lens flares, bloom, glows, and more!

THIS COURSE INCLUDES

  • 9 Sample Images
  • 5 Sample PSDs
  • 1 Photoshop Brush

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Table of Contents

Course Preview
  • 01 - What You'll Learn
    1:04m
Lighting Effects
  • 01 - Learn the Basics & Create a Lens Flare
    23:59m
  • 02 - Paint Light Rays From Scratch
    30:15m
  • 03 - Combine Light Rays & Custom Dust Brush
    15:13m
  • 04 - Create Romantic Bloom Effect
    5:23m
  • 05 - Use Bokeh & Photo Effects for Added Depth
    10:17m

Lens Flares, Sun Rays & More

light effects photoshop

light effects photoshop

REALISTIC, DRAMATIC LIGHTING

ORIGINAL

Create Light Effect From Scratch

Learn how to use Adjustment Layers, Layer Masks, custom brushes, and even some simple compositing skills to add dramatic lighting effects to your photos in Photoshop! Follow along through several examples where we create realistic light rays, lens flares, glows, and bloom effects from scratch.

Realistic Light with Levels

Levels Adjustment Layers are the key to creating realistic lighting effects in Photoshop. By making small adjustments to the natural lighting in an image, and then using Layer Masks to make those adjustments appear as soft beams of light, you’ll have more dramatic lighting that looks like it was all captured in-camera.

Dust & Particle Effects

Use the included custom Photoshop Brush to add dust and particles to any light effects you create. Adding detail and atmosphere to any added effects will help them blend seamlessly into the rest of the environment.

light effects photoshop

light effects photoshop

CREATE LENS FLARES

ORIGINAL

Lens Flares

One of the most popular lighting effects, lens flares are a subtle way to add more visual interest to your photos. Learn how to create lens flare effects by extracting lighting from other images.

Simple Compositing Techniques

One of the best ways to create realistic lighting is to borrow effects from other images. We include 4 images of bokeh that you can use alongside some simple compositing tricks to add flares, bursts, and rays to your own photos.

Analyze Lighting

We show you how to analyze lighting to find the perfect images for lighting effects. By finding images that are backlit, and by determining the direction of the light, you can create powerful, realistic effects of your own.

Add Interest & Drama

light effects photoshop

Light Up Your Photos


Lighting effects can help transform a great image into something extraordinary. Get creative with lighting with these easy and powerful Photoshop skills.

light effects photoshop

light effects photoshop

PAINT WITH LIGHT

ORIGINAL

Special Effects in Photoshop

Special effects can help to take your photos to new and exciting places. For more inspiration, check out How to Create a Glow Effect, Film & Vintage Coloring in Photoshop, and Light Effects & Color Toning with Gradients!

Filters & Blurs

Learn how to use a variety of Photoshop Filters and Blurs to create photorealistic lighting in just a matter of clicks. From Gaussian Blurs and Box Blues to Noise & Grain, these versatile techniques can help you solve any creative problems that try to get in your way.

Layer Masks

This course focuses heavily on editing and modifying Layer Masks to create realistic effects. New to Layer Masks? Be sure to watch How to Use Layer Masks in Photoshop and our complete Beginner’s Guide to Photoshop.

DUST & PARTICLE EFFECTS

PAINT WITH LIGHT

Picture Perfect Sunsets

Enhance sunsets and existing sun rays in a photo, adding additional atmosphere, depth, color. Want to learn more about lighting and coloring your photos? Then check out Advanced Lighting & Coloring in Photoshop.

Custom Photoshop Brush

Add dust and particle effects to light rays to add more depth and atmosphere to your effects. Once you download it, this brush is yours to keep forever!

Paint with Light

Learn how to use the Brush Tool to literally paint lighting effects into any image. This technique provides all of the control and variation you’ll need to create ultra-realistic effects.

Class Instructor

Aaron Nace

PHLEARN Founder – Class Instructor

Aaron Nace is a photographer, Photoshop artist and founder of PHLEARN. He is the #1 Photoshop instructor in the world with millions of YouTube subscribers.

View More Classes by Aaron Nace

Reviews

  1. another series of wonderful easy to understand tutorials. Aaron is easy to understand and presents the tutorials at a pace that is easy to follow. PAHLEARN tutorials are probably the best ones on the internet. keep up the great work

  2. As usual, Aaron Nace has put together a very useful set of exercise ‘follow along’ tutorials, this time focused on Lightening Effects. The way I get the most out of a Phlearn exercise is to go through it once, then go through it a second time; and then, a third time to really pin down the techniques and concepts. Aaron, you have taken my work to the next level on several occasions by: 1) increasing my Photoshop skills, 2) strengthening my image development techniques and 3) helping me think outside the box with respect to post processing. This has made a significant difference (+++) in my work. For me, it’s been enriching on several levels for which I am delighted. Great stuff. Take care. Peace! John Guild, Texas

  3. Another super cool tutorial

  4. Love it! I always learn so much and it is so easy to follow along. Love your way of teaching photoshop.

  5. As always, very interesting, Simple and effective.

  6. Excellent tutorial… The musical instrument in chapter two of “Lighting Effects” is called a sitar…

  7. Im doing your tutorials everyday, and evertime i learn something. Thanks for your content it’s so nice to be able to learn from such a great instructor !

  8. Great tutorial as always, simple and impressive. Thanks Aaron

  9. Great Tutorial, learned a lot regarding changing colors with Levels adjustments. Aaron just knows how to teach. Really enjoyed this one. Will go back and review this one a few times, the tutorial is simple, however grasping the levels color adjustments firmly will require a few more looks.

  10. Great Tutorial as ever Aaron.

  11. Brilliant .. as always!

Catalog > Free Tutorials > How to Turn on Headlights in Photoshop
  • How to Turn on Headlights in Photoshop

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BEFORE

AFTER

Tutorial Description

This episode is a real turn on! Car lovers rejoice: Learn How to Turn on Headlights in Photoshop! Learn all the tricks to creating realistic light, including Lens Flares and light streaks made from scratch.

Where to Start

A great way to start is to really analyze and sketch out your ideas for the photo. This can clarify what will need to be done to complete a realistic effect.

For this picture, we plan out where the beam of light will be and in which direction it will shine. We also decide that it makes sense for the light to be brighter closer to the actual headlight, and gradually decrease as it gets farther from the car. We notice that the headlight should be shown shining on the road as well. And for a special touch, a Lens Flare will complete the look!

Creating the Beam of Light

Select the Polygonal Lasso Tool and create a shape that will encompass the main beam of Light. Fill it with white. Now, go to Filter – Blur Gallery – Field Blur. You will see a little dial pop up, which can be adjusted to add less or more blur. You can click on another area and add an additional blur dial. This is very useful because it allows you to make the beam of light blurrier as it gets father from the car! If you need to, you can Transform the beam (Cmd + T) to be at a slightly different Angle, or Stretch it out.

Adding Effects to the Light 

To give the high-beam a glow, double click on the layer and check the “Outer Glow” box. You can choose the color for the glow – we chose a yellowish tint here. Feel free to adjust the amount of glow as well as the Opacity to get just the look you are going for! Add a Layer Mask and create a gradient over it to lessen the glow as it gets farther from the car.

Adding Subtle Light Streaks

This is a small Adjustment but will go a long way in terms of impact! Using the Brush Tool, click all over and make random dots and marks on a New Layer. Then, go to Filter – Blur – Radial Blur. Select “Zoom” and adjust the amount of blur. It will make the dots look like they are moving at Warp speed, which will later turn into light streaks! Place the center of the layer right over the headlight. Change the Blend Mode from Normal to Screen. Then, create a Hue/Saturation layer if you need to change the Color of the Light. Again, don’t be afraid to Transform this layer to adjust its Angle or Size. Go with what looks right (it might take some time to be able to recognize what looks most correct. Keep practicing!).

Adding Light to the Road 

This is the same concept we used for the initial beam of light. Create oval shapes on the ground using the Elliptical Marquee Tool, and fill it with the same yellowish Color we used for the light streaks. Add a Gaussian Blur to the layer and duplicate it so that it appears to be coming from each headlight. The Color can be tweaked by using a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer.

Special Touches: Lens Flares & Gradients

Now the real fun begins! Create a Stamp Visible Layer (Shift +Opt + Cmd + E). Go to Filter – Render – Lens Flare. You are able to choose the Size and position of the flare. However, it is very limiting to place the lens flare directly onto the Stamp Visible Layer. To get past this problem, place the lens flare on a black layer and change the Blend Mode to Screen.

Gradients are simple but quite impactful. Click on the Gradient Tool and create a gradient that goes from black to a bright yellowish orange color. Then change the Blend Mode to Soft Light. The black part of the gradient serves as a sort of Vignette, and the bright part of the gradient will reflect what is happening with the bright headlights.

As you can tell, there are many little details in this technique that work together to create a realistic final look. If you take the time with each step, there will be no question that your headlights are truly turned on!

Catalog > Free Tutorials > Simple Steps to Make a Photo Vintage.
  • Simple Steps to Make a Photo Vintage.

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Going Vintage

You can have a lot of fun in Photoshop turning an image Vintage because there is really no right or wrong way to do it. In this tutorial you will learn methods for adding a Lens Flare and atmosphere as well as adding interesting Colors that complete the effect.

  • Creating a Backlit Portrait pt.1

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Tutorial Description

A crucial part of what gives this image mood is the Lens Flare on the left side. Lens Flares can be a great way of adding pizzazz to an image, but only when used correctly. Always try creating them in camera, because that will always look better than using the Lens Flares the come with Photoshop.

SO, how do you get a Lens Flare to appear in an image on purpose? Shooting with a Light source in Frame is a great way to do this. By positioning our bare bulb strobe within the Frame, it creates a gorgeous glow across the entire left side of the image. You can easily make tweaks to the flare by changing your camera Angle and where the light is positioned.

For our main Light we used a gridded beauty dish nice and close to our model. This was ungelled, so the light on Avery’s Face is cooler than the light from the Background. We wanted some fill on the other side of her, so we placed a reflector on the other side of here to bounce some of the Light back from the beauty dish.

Stay tuned tomorrow for an episode on the post production that went into this photograph!

Lighting Diagram

Final Image