Trick Photoshop

You take a photograph, but it appears to be too bland. You wish to have some dramatic highlights to jazz up the image. But you don't want to work too hard. Use a few simple steps in photoshop to create artificial highlights in your image.

Step 1 : Open your image. I will be using this free stock image. You will find it here

It belongs to final-testament

This will how the image will look with the highlights.

Step 2 : Press CTRL+J to duplicate the Background Layer. Click off the eye icon in the Background layer. We will work on Layer 1 which is a copy to be on the safe side.

Step 3 : Go to Select>Color Range.

The Color Range dialogue box opens.

Step 4 : Change the Select to Highlights from the drop down menu. Click OK.

Step 5 : A selection immediately appears.

Step 6 : With the selection in place click on the New Layer icon. A new Layer 2 forms.

Step 7 : Make sure the Background/Foreground Colors are set to Black/White.

Step 8 : Press CTRL+BACKSPACE to fill with Background Color which is White.

Press CTRL+D to deselect. The marching ant selection goes away.

After deselecting the image looks like this. The highlights appear to harsh and unnatural.

Step 9 : Go Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur.

Step 10 : The Gaussian Blur dialogue box opens. Drag the Radius slider little by little and note the change in the image. I have dragged the Radius slider to 3.

This is what the image looks like with the Gaussian Blur so far. The highlights look better, but perhaps they are still a bit too much.

Step 11 : I have dragged the slider to 6.

The highlights look much more natural now. Click OK in the Gaussian dialogue box only after you are fully satisfied with the effect.

Step 12 : Drag the Opacity slider of the layer down to around 80% for a more subtler effect of the highlights.

The image looks like this. Quite nice in fact. But the highlights have also been added to other places in the image which is not required.

Step 13 : Click the Add Layer Mask button. A Layer Mask forms next to Layer thumbnail on Layer 2.

The Foreground Color is still set to Black.

Step 14 : Click the Brush Tool.

Step 15 : Click the third Brush from the left. It is a soft, round brush.

Step 16 : Paint out the highlights in the background.

Step 17 :  ALT+CLICK the Layer Mask. The Layer Mask looks like this. The Black appears where you have painted out the highlights.

ALT+CLICK on the Layer Mask.

You can now see the actual Layer Mask over the image.

Step 18 : Paint with the Brush Tool on bits and pieces left out.

Step 19 : ALT+CLICK the Layer Mask again.

The image reappears. It is the finished image. That is all.

Other photoshop tutorials are here