Non-destructive lighting effect

[Guest]

This technique might be quite interesting for the less experienced Photoshop users.

Adding lighting effects to an image filter/render/lighting effects... is destructive.

A better way to do it is using a 50% gray layer. How?

• Create a new layer and make it active
• Fill it with 50% gray; go to Edit/Fill... and select 50% Gray under the section Content. Click Ok.
• Set the blending mode of this layer to Overlay
• Add the desired lighting effect to this layer; Filter/Render/Lighting effects...[/list:u]Voila!
  
  Now you can also add a mask to soften/remove some parts of the lighting or you can change the opacity of this layer.
  A gaussian blur of this mask creates a smooth transition.
  
  This technique only works when you don't use any texture channels in the lighting effects filter (Option Texture Channel is set to None)
  
  Instead of adding a Lighting Effect to this 50% gray layer, you also might want to use any other filter like Noise, Lens Flare, Mezzotint, etc.

 

[sfm]

I like this technique, have used it often......... twas another trick I learnt from this board and it has saved my bacon a few times he he he
sfm

 

[dv8_fx]

Same here. A simple one but precious.

But I never tried using other effects. A new lesson gained. Thanks Gaussian.

vee

 

[Tron]

I use this technique quit a lot as well

 

[Tanya]

thanks!

I'll take that one and add it to my how-to list... much thanks, G!

BTW.. I'm amazed at the amount of new building going on in Bejing and different cities in Northern China!

Tanya

 

[Geoff]

love the technique gauss! simple yet verrrryy effective!

 

[Sanby]

Wow, if only I knew this tecnique before. Thanks for filling me in.

Sanby

 

[sPECtre]

Nice tip, gauss... Might be useful on grouped layers, too! (I take the habit to separate shapes and texture/content , then make a clipping group)

 

[Photocrazed]

I'm curious what your how to list is? How is it set up, in a word document or is there a better way of keeping track of how to's.

Photcrazed