In this tutorial I'd like to show you an easy and quick way on how to blend glass and apply lighting effects and color adjustments to get the exact picture you want.

Preview of Final Results

Inspiring Light Bulb Photo Manipulation Photoshop Tutorial

---

Resources

• Light Bulb, Holder and Sunset- Pelleron-Art
• Desert- night-fate stock
• Crack - nighty-stock
• Fractal - PinkMonkeyLove
• Flowers and leaves - in the following text

Step 1 - Preparing the Document

Create a new document in Photoshop. To do that go to File > New... or press Ctrl + N. Set the value Width on 600 pixels and Height on 400 pixels. Press OK.

Download the picture of the sunset and the picture of the ground and place it into the new document. Name the layer with sunset SKY and the layer with ground GROUND. Place layer GROUND above the SKY. Click on the layer GROUND and press Ctrl + T. Then resize the image on proper size. Do the same with SKY. Below you can see how your image should look like so far.

Step 2 - Cutting Out the Sky From the Ground

In this step you´re going to cut out the sky from the ground picture. You can do it very easily thanks to Channels. To do that click on the palette Channels. If you don´t see it go to Window > Chanels. On the palette you can see RGB, Red, Green and Blue channel. Right click on the Blue channel and duplicate it.

TIP: If you cut out something with Channels, always duplicate the channel where is the biggest contrast between the object you want to cut out and the rest of the image.

Let make only the Blue copy channel visible and the rest invisible.

Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels... (or press Ctrl + T on your keyboard) and set the Input Levels as on the picture below.

The channel should look like on the following picture. You did this thing with Levels because you want to have solid black and white color - it indicates where the selection will be. White color will be selected, black stays unselected. Grey tones between will be selected with different opacities. E. g. 50% mid grey color will have selection with 50% opacity.

Grab the Brush Tool (B), select some hard round brush and pick white color. Paint over the grey parts of the sky. Be careful along the horizontal line. You do this because you want to have selected the whole sky - you want to cut out all the clouds not only some parts. Below you can see how the image should look like.

Click back on the RGB channel to be able to see the image in colors again. Click on the GROUND on your palette Layers and go to Select > Load Selection... and in the box Channel choose the option Blue copy. Press OK.

This step activates the selection based on the "Blue copy" channel. Everything which was white will be selected, black stays unselected. Now simply press Delete on your keyboard to delete the sky from the picture with ground. After this step you should have picture similar to the one below.

Step 3 - Adjusting the Mountain

If you take a look on the picture above you can probably see that the mountains on the horizon should be less blue and more orange because of the sun nearby. You´ll fix it in this step.

Add new adjustment layer Selective Color on the top of your layers (To do that click on the button "Create a new fill or adjustment layer" which can be found on the bottom part of the palette Layers. If you don´t see this palette go to Window > Palette or simply press F7 on your keyboard.)

I write it in all tutorials but I feel I need to mention it here too - try to use adjustment layers instead of direct adjustments as often as possible. This way you can change it during the whole process of doing manipulation not as long as History remembers your steps. In other words - thanks to adjustment layers adjustment is always reversible and changeable.

Set the adjustment layer Selective Color in the same way as you can see on the following picture.

Right click on this adjustment layer and select the option Create Clipping Mask. This way the adjustment affects only one layer bellow which means the GROUND. Click on the thumbnail of this layer (see picture below), grab the Gradient Tool (G), pick black color and fill the thumbnail with it.

Grab the Brush Tool (B), pick white color and paint over the mountain. This way the adjustment affects only the mountains and not the whole GROUND. Your image should look like the one below so far.

As you can see on previous picture the adjustment makes mountain bit more orange/rose but not over all parts and because of that they look badly stained. To fix that create a new layer on the top of your layers. Create clipping mask from it and name it e. g. MORE ORANGE.

Grab the Brush Tool (B), select some soft round brush, set Master Diameter on about 20 pixels and Opacity on 30%. pick some color similar to colors of the sky and gently paint over the parts of mountain which stay too blue. Once you´re finished your image should look like the one bellow.

Step 4 - Reflection of Sun

If you look at some sunset photos you may notice that the sun creates "aura" on the objects behind which it shines. You will create the aura in this step.

TIP: You can take a look at two examples of this aura - photography "Sunset" by satomy79 on deviantart and painting "Cretaceous Sunset" by kerembeyit.

Make GROUND invisible for a while (click on the small eye icon).

Grab the Marquee Tool (M) and select the bottom part of the sun with the aura.

Copy the selection (Ctrl + C) and paste it on the top of the layers (Ctrl + V). Name the layer SUN AURA and change the Blending Mode on Color Dodge. Lower the Opacity on 80%. Make the GROUND visible again. Add vector mask to the layer SUN AURA. You can find the button Add vector mask on the bottom part of the palette Layers.

Grab the Brush Tool (B), select some soft round brush, lower the opacity on about 50% and pick black color. Paint around the edges of the aura to blend it properly. On the following picture you can see how your image should look like.

Step 5 - Adding the Light Bulb

It's time to add the light bulb.

Download the picture of light bulb from the link I've provided on the beginning of the tutorial and drag it into the manipulation. Place the layer on the top of all layers and name it LIGHT BULB. Press Ctrl + T and resize it on proper size.

Tip: There is plenty of ways how to blend glass. You can blend it with the help of Channels (it's quite similar as what you did in the step 2) or with different blending modes - e.g. if you have photo of the glass on the black background the easiest way how to blend it is to change the Blending Mode on Screen. It makes the black background invisible but the glass stays visible. You should try it!

But I´d like to show you another way to learn you as much as possible in this tutorial.

The way how you´ll do it is pretty simple. Make all layers except LIGHT BULB invisible (similarly as in previous step). Then go to Select > Color Range... and with the eye dropper click on some white part of the light bulb. The Color Range makes selection based on the color you´ve selected.

Set the value Fuzziness on 60 and press OK. Now you need to invert the selection. To do it go to Select > Invert or press Ctrl + Shift + I. Then press Delete on your keyboard to delete the selection. Some unwanted parts of the sky still stays. To hide them grab the Eraser Tool (E) and simply erase them. Lower the opacity of this layer on 65% and make all layers visible again.

Step 6 - Adjusting the Light Bulb

The glass should have more orange tones because the light on the scene is very warm because of the sunset. To fix it add new adjustment layer Photo Filter above the layer LIGHT BULB. Choose #BB6F56 reddish color and higher the Density on 60%.

Create clipping mask from the layer.

Step 7 - Adding the Holder

This will be really quick step. Open the picture of the holder in Photoshop. Cut out the background and drag it into the manipulation. Name the layer HOLDER and place it under the LIGHT BULB. Press Ctrl + T and resize it on proper size. Press Enter.

Step 8 - Adjusting the Holder

As you may see on the picture above the holder is too bright and should be more orange. You´ll fix it in this step. To increase the contrast add new adjustment layer Levels above the HOLDER and set the Input Levels on 125; 1,22; 226. Create clipping mask from this layer.

To add more orange color create new adjustment layer Color Balance above Levels and set the value Hue on -180 and Saturation on -50. Create clipping mask from this layer too.

Step 9 - Adding the Shadow Under the Bulb

To make the light bulb looks like it is actually standing on the ground you need to add shadow under it. Create a new layer under the layer HOLDER and name it SHADOW UNDER THE BULB. Grab the Eyedropper Tool (I) and pick some dark brown color from the ground. Then grab the Brush Tool (B) and paint thin line under the light bulb. On the following picture you can see how the shadow could look. (I added the white background so can see the shadow better.)

TIP: If you create shadows in your manip try to avoid using of black color. Use some dark browns, dark blues or greens etc.

In nature you will find very few pure black things - more often they are dark tones of different colors but your brain percieve them as black. Your pictures will look much more realistic if you don't use black.

Step 10 - Blurred Background Behind the Bulb

The background behind the bulb should look little blury because of the glass in front. You´ll do it in this step. Click on the layer GROUND. Grab the Lasso Tool (L) and select the area behind the bulb. Press Ctrl + C to copy the selection and paste it under the HOLDER. Name this new layer e.g. BLURRED BACKGROUND. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur... and set the value Radius on 2,0 pixels. Press OK.

Step 11 - Ading the Flowers

Now it´s time to add flowers and leaves. It´s pretty simple step but little time consuming. Cut out the background of the flower if it´s necessary, drag it into the manipulation, resize it properly and put it on the right place. Do the same process with all flowers and leaves. Below you can see the video showing how I added the flowers. And on the following picture there is shown which flower is from which stock.

• A - livinius stock
• B - sourcow stock
• C - grannysatticstock
• D - sammykaye1sStamps
• E - MaureenOlder
• F - AJK-Original-Stock
• G - Tempestazure

Step 12 - Glass In Front of the Flowers

Right now the flowers look like they are in front of the light bulb, not inside. You'll fix it in this step. The way how to do it is quite easy. Right click on the layer LIGHT BULB and select option Duplicate Layer. Name this new layer e.g. BULB IN FRONT and place it on the top of all layers. Lower the opacity of this layer on 40%.

Step 13 - Adding Shadows Under the Flowers

Now it's time to add shadows under the flowers to make them looking that they're not levitating but standing on the ground.

TIP: Always if you add some new object to your manipulation don't forget to think about shadows which the object automatically creates. Every object (except those who are flying) should have thin line of shadow between itself and the object on which it's standing.

Create a new layer under the layers with flowers and name it e.g. SHADOWS UNDER FLOWERS. Grab the Eye Dropper Tool (I) and select some dark brown color again. Then grab the Brush Tool (B), select some soft round brush and set the Master Diameter on 25 px. Lower the Opacity of the brush on 50%.

Now start painting shadows. Bellow you can see how the flowers look with and without the shadows. I change the background on light green color to you can see the result better.

Step 14 - Adding a Crack

Select one of the pictures with crack mentioned in the beginning of the tutorial (I selected the one named "01.jpg") and drag it into your manipulation. Place the layer on the top of all layers and name it CRACK.

Press Ctrl + T and resize it on proper size. You can also rotate it a little to it will fit better on the light bulb. Look at the following picture to get the inspiration.

There is really easy way how to blend the image of the crack with the rest of the picture. Change the Blending Mode of this layer from Normal to Screen.

Add vector mask to this layer. Grab the Brush Tool (B), pick black color and paint over the areas of the crack which should dissapear to be properly blended. On the picture below you can see how the crack should look so far.

Step 15 - Warp the Crack

There are still two things I don't like about the crack. First the crack is quite bad visible and deserves bigger contrast. Second the crack doesn't copy the shape of the bulb. The bulb is rounded but the crack is too flat.

To increase the contrast of the crack go to Image > Adjustments > Levels... or press Ctrl + L and set the Input Levels on 0; 1,00; 200.

To make the crack looking like it's really on the bulb you need to warp it a little. To do that go to Edit > Transform > Warp. The grid shows up and you can adapt it to be similarly rounded as the light bulb. Below you can see how to do it.

Once you're satisfied with the shape of the grid press Enter on your keyboard to apply the warp.

Step 16 - Changing the Light

In this step you will change the light scene to gain more focus on the focal point of the manipulation, which is the light bulb.

Create a new layer on the top of all layers and name it LIGHT CHANGE. Grab the Brush Tool (B), select some big soft round brush and pick some dark violet color from the sky. Lower the opacity of the brush on about 30%. Paint a decent vignette around the image.

Now pick some light color from the picture and paint over and around the light bulb.

You probably agree with me that it looks quite weird right now. But it's because it's not blended properly. To blend it well change the Blending Mode of the layer on Soft Light.

Much better isn't it?

Step 17 - Adding the Fractal

In this step you're going to add the image of fractal to create the effect that the bulb is shining or glowing. Open the picture of fractal and drag it into the manipulation. Place the layer on the top of the layers and name it FRACTAL. To blend the layer properly you need to change the Blending Mode again. This time on Screen. It makes that the black color dissapear.

As you can see the effect is too harsh right now and it doesn't look well. To make it bit less visible lower the opacity of this layer on 85%. Another thing which doesn't look well is the bright spot in the middle of the fractal. To make it less visible add vector mask. Grab the Brush Tool (B), pick black color, lower opacity on 60% and paint over the bright spot to make it less visible. After you're finished you should have image similar to the one below.

Step 18 - Analysis of the Light Scene

Now it's time to focus more on building interesting light scene. So far the image looks bit dull because there is quite low contrast between lights and shadows and light itself is quite uninteresting. You'll change it in this and some of the folowing steps.

To be able better imagine how the whole light scene should look like I took a photo with light bulb and the lamp to imitate the scene on the maipulation. Below you can see the photo.

Now let me say what things has to be done:

1. Lens Flare - it gives the picture sort of "movie feel"
2. Yellow lines around the edges
3. Lighter part on the light bulb where the sun is reflected
4. Shadows from the holder

TIP: If you work on some manip with harder light condition I recommend you to take picture of the scene with similar light condition. Thanks to it you will be able to better imagine how the light should look and get better result.

Step 19: Adding Lens Flare

The first item from the "lighting list" is to add the lens flare. I encyrcled it on the example photo. You can see it below.

To add lens flare create a new layer on the top of all layers and name it LENS FLARE #1. Grab the Gradient Tool (G) and fill the layer with solid black color. Go to Filter > Render > Lens Flare... and set the window as on the following picture.

Press OK.

To blend the layer properly change the Blending Mode on Screen. According to me the brightest spot of the flare is too bright and makes the eyes hurt. To make it softer add new vector mask to this layer. Grab the Brush Tool (B), pick black color and lower the Opacity on 30%. Gently paint over that bright spot.

Step 20 - Yellow Lines Around the Edges

Second thing on the list is adding the yellow lines. I circled them on the example image again so you can see better what you will create in this step.

To add these lines create a new layer on the top of all layers and name it YELLOW LINES. Pick some light yellow from the picture with the Eye Dropper Tool (I). Grab the Brush Tool (B), select some soft round brush and set the Master Diameter on 4 pixels. Set the Opacity on about 60%. Now paint the upper line. Change the Master Diameter on 8 pixels and paint the reflection on the bottom. This step would be easier if you have a tablet but it can be done with mouse too. You just need little more patience. On the following picture it's shown how your image should look so far.

Step 21 - Aura Around the Light Bulb

You will add the rest of the thing from the list little later. Now lets focus on something different. To make the light bulb looks like it is really shining it should have decent aura around. You'll create it in this step. Add a new layer on the top of the layers and name it AURA. Grab the Brush Tool (B), pick some very light yellow or orange color and lower the opacity of the brush on 20%. Set the Master Diameter on 60 pixels. Paint white stroke around the light bulb, not around the holder. Below you can see how the image looks with and without this step.

Step 22 - Reflection to the Light Bulb

The light bulb and the flowers inside should have bit more orange tones. To add them grab the Lasso Tool (L) and select part of the sky. Make the shape of the selection similar as the shape of the bulb.

Go to Edit > Copy Merged on press Ctrl + Shift + C on your keyboard to copy the merged image. Then press Ctrl + V to paste the selection. Name this new layer e.g. ORANGE TONES and place in on the top of the layers.

Grab the Move Tool (V) and move the layer above the light bulb.

Change the Blending Mode on Soft Light and lower the opacity on 50%.

To blend this layer with the rest of the image even nicely add vector mask to this layer, grab the Brush Tool (B), select some soft round brush, pick black color, lower the opacity of the brush on about 50% and over the edges of the layer to blend it.

Step 23 - First Color Adjustments

Now it's time to focus on color adjustments. In this step you're going to desaturate the picture a little, change color with Selective Color and add violet tones.

First of all you'll desaturate the picture a little. Add new adjustment layer Hue/Saturation on the top of the layers and set the value Saturation on -12.

Let's move on Selective Color adjustment. I really like this one because you can make quite dramatic changes by only this one tool. Add new adjustment layer Selective Color on the top of your layers and set it as on the following picture.

On the following picture you can see how the Selective Color adjustment effects the image.

Last thing you do in this step is adding gently violet tones. Add new layer on the top of all layers and name it VIOLET TONES. Grab the Gradient Tool (G), pick #7F4286 violet color and fill the layer. Then change the Blending Mode of this layer on Soft Light and lower the Opacity on 40%. You should get something similar to the following picture.

Step 24 - Second Lens Flare

In this step you're going to make the lens flare more detailed by adding different type of it. Add a new layer on the top of your layers and name it LENS FLARE #2. Grab the Gradient Tool (G) and fill the layer with solid black color. Go to Filter > Render > Lens Flare and set the window as on the picture below.

Change the Blending Mode of this layer on Screen to blend it properly.

Step 25 - Adjusting the Lens Flare

As you may see on the following picture the effect of the lens flare is too bright and it doesn't look nice.

To make the effect more decent add vector mask to this layer. Grab the Brush Tool (B), pick black color, lower the opacity on 50% and paint over the area with the brightest spot. Then lower the opacity of the brush even more on 30% and make the transition between the blue lines and the background smoother.

Step 26 - Darkening the Light Bulb

The light bulb should be bit darker. You'll fix it in this step. Add new adjustment layer Exposure on the top of all layers and set the values as it's shown on the following picture.

Because you want to the adjustment affects only the light bulb but not the rest of the image you need to make the adjustment visible only on the light bulb. Click on the vector mask of this layer. Grab the Gradient Tool (G), pick black color and fill the vector mask. Then grab the Brush Tool (B), pick white color, set the opacity on 80% and paint over the light bulb. Below it's shown how your image should look after this adjustment.

Step 27 - Changing Lights And Shadows

Lights and shadows on the flowers don't fit to the light scene of the rest image. You'll change them in this step.

Add new layer on the top of all layers and name it e.g. LIGHTS AND SHADOWS. Grab the Gradient Tool (G) and fill the layer with #808080 grey color. Change the Blending Mode of this layer on Overlay.

Grab the Brush Tool (B), pick white color, lower the opacity on about 15% and paint over the areas where lights should be. Then pick black color and paint the shadows. Below you can see what I painted to get the inspiration.

As you can see I focused on the flowers outside the light bulb because I think that the flowers inside doesn't need this step. But if you don't agree with it feel free to change also the flowers inside.

Step 28 - Adding the Blur

Flowers which are behind the glass should be bit blurred. You're going to fix it in this step. Press Ctrl + A to select the whole picture and then go to Edit > Copy Merged or press Ctrl + Shift + C on your keyboard. Then go to Edit > Paste or press Ctrl + V to paste the merged image. Place this new layer on the top of all layers and name it BLUR. Go to Filter > Other > High Pass... and set the value Radius on 3 pixels.

Now you need to invert the colors to get the blur. If you don't do it the adjustment would make the picture sharper. Go to Image > Adjustments > Invert or press Ctrl + I on your keyboard. Change the Blending Mode of this layer on Overlay.

As you can see the whole picture is blurred but you want only the flowers in the light bulb. To make the unwanted blur invisible add vector mask to this layer. Grab the Brush Tool (B), pick black color, set the Opacity on 100% and paint over the areas you want to have sharp. After this step you should have your picture similar to the picture below.

Step 29 - Sharpening

The image would look better if it's sharper. To do that select the whole picture again by pressing Ctrl + A on your keyboard. Copy it merged (Ctrl + Shift + C) and paste it on the top of all layers. Name the layer SHARPENING. Go to Filter > Other > High Pass again but this time set the value Radius to you can see only thin lines around the edges. You can see what I mean on the picture bellow.

Change the Blending Mode of this layer on Overlay again.

Step 30 - Second Color Adjustment

In this step you're going to add bit more violet tones to the picture and also increase the contrast little bit. First the violet tones - add new layer on the top of all layers and name it e.g. MORE VIOLET. Grab the Gradient Tool (G) and pick #6827C0 color. Fill the layer with it. Change the Blending Mode of this layer on Soft Light and lower the Opacity on 15%. To increase the contrast add adjustment layer Gradient Map on the top of all layers. Choose Black, White gradient and press OK. Change Blending Mode of this layer on Luminosity.

Because of the increased contrast the area around the sun is too bright and it doesn't look nice. You need to hide the Gradient Map adjustment there. To do that click on vector mask of this adjustment, grab the Brush Tool (B) and paint with black over. You should get something like on the following picture.

Step 31 - Adding Vignette

I really like vignettes because they are easy way how to gently lead viewer's eye into the picture. To create vignette add new layer on the top of all layers and name it VIGNETTE. Grab the Gradient Tool (G), pick white color and fill the layer with it. Now go to Filter > Lens Correction (the path may vary in different version of Photoshop) or press Shift + Ctrl + R. Set it as on the following picture.

Now change the Blending Mode of this layer on Multiply.

Step 32 - Adding Reflection of the Sun

Now it's time to go back to our "light list" from the step 18. In this step you're going to add the reflection of the sun. I used the example photo again and circled the part of what you're going to create.

Create a new layer on the top of your layers and name it SUN REFLECTION.

With the Eye Dropper Tool (I) select some very light color. Then grab the Brush Tool (B), set the Master Diameter on 40 pixels and lower the Opacity on 40%. Paint oval shape over the light bulb similarly as on the picture above.

Below you can see how your image should look like.

Step 33 - Shadow From the Holder

One more thing from the list needs to be done - the shadow made by holder. Below you can see the shadow on the example picture.

To create this shadow add new layer on the top of the layers and name it HOLDER SHADOW.

Pick some dark brown color from the ground. Grad the Brush Tool (B), set the Master Diameter on 100 pixels and Opacity on 40%. Paint shadow with similar shape as on the picture above.

Below you can see the result of this step. It's just a gently change but adds more on the realism of the picture.

Step 34 - Adding Grain

There is easy and effective way how to unify the look of the manipulation - you can add grain to it.

To do that add new layer on the top of all layers and name it GRAIN. Grab the Gradient Tool, select #808080 grey color and fill the layer with it.

No go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise... and set the value Amount on 3%. Select Gaussian Distribution instead of Uniform and press OK.

To blend the layer with the rest of the image properly change the Blending Mode on Overlay.

Step 35 - Final Touch

You're almost finished the tutorial. There is one thing left which doesn't look well. According to me the mountain under the sun are too bright. To fix it add a new layer on the top of all layers and name it DARKER MOUNTAIN. Grab the Brush Tool (B). Pick some dark rose color from the sky and paint over the mountain. Then change the Blending Mode on Soft Light.

Below you can see how the mountain look without this layer, with the layer on Normal and on Soft Light Blending Mode.

Final Results

Congratulation. You've just finished the manipulation. Thank you for reading the tutorial and hope you've learnt something new and useful during the reading or found inspiration for your new work. I'd like to see your work based on this tutorial in the comments! See you in the next tutorial

- Jarka

Download the PSD

Idea of Life.zip | 5 MB

Authors Comment