#2. Ray of Light

Adding shafts of light to photos with a single light source.

I spotted this technique on Photoshop Tutorials a few weeks ago and immediately sought out a photo to experiment on. The idea is to find a photo that has a single light source, then isolate this into a new layer and give it a radial blur which is then blended back into the original layer. The rest of the work required is manually identifying areas where the shaft of light should not be showing, and masking them out.

It sounds complicated, but it's not - see the full tutorial instructions at Photoshop Tutorials and try the effect yourself.

I have used a shot taken on a stage using stage lighting as the light point source, but the effect lends itself very well to outdoor nature shots where the sky is overcast, and the sun is peaking through. Another great application might be light streaming through a window.

The resulting effect can appear dreamy and ethereal, with the strength of the effect easily varied by simply adjusting the opacity of the layer.

Conclusion
There is potential for this effect to be abused/overused, but in the right situation it can add a new dimension to a photo that is otherwise lacking a bit of life.

About The Photo
Taken at the Diwali Festival I attended a couple of weeks ago as part of my 101 Things to do in 1001 Days challenge.