Light Rays Worksheet

I. Creating Light Rays for Special Effect

A. Design from Image Information

1) Duplicate the Background layer by dragging the layer to the copy .

2) Go to Image>Adjust>Levels and drag the middle slider all the way to the right in order to pick up th light information from the image. Click OK.

3) Go to Filter>Blur>Radial Blur, choose the Zoom Blur Method with an Amount at 100%, and Good Quality. Click OK.

4) Apply Radial Blur again to smooth any noise or rough transitions.

5) Change the Blending Mode to Screen. Go to Image>Adjust>Levels to enhance the contrast of the light rays.

* Move the white slider back to the information on the histogram.

6) Go to Image>Adjust>Hue/Saturation to enhance the color spectrum of the light rays.

* Feel free to overdue the colors, we can reduce the effect with Opacity.

7) Position the light rays by using the Move Tool to arrange layer.

8) Apply a Layer Mask to hide areas of light rays falling over the subject. Paint on the mask using the Brush Tool .

* Paint with white to reveal the layer and black to conceal the effects.

9) Adjust Opacity of layer to suit subject and surrounding environment.

© 2007, Matthew Roderick