Easy Filter Effects: Photoshop For Beginners

Stock photos can be a little drab, but that is often by design. Most photographers have an idea and wait until they get back to the studio to add dramatic effects. In this tutorial we walk you through a very easy way to add filters as if you had a specialized lens on your camera.

1. Start with the above image or one of your own in Photoshop.

2. Duplicate the image by right-clicking on the layer and selecting “Duplicate Layer.”

3. Go to Filter -> Render -> Lighting Effects…

4. Adjust the setting to match the ones below or feel free to make your own changes:

5. In the Layer window, adjust the Opacity to 50%.

You can change the overall color tone by adjusting the colors of the lighting effect. Opacity in step 5 is how you dial the effect back if need be. Since you have separate layers, you can experiment without fear of destroying the image itself. As always, do not be afraid to experiment with your own settings.

Note: You can also achieve the same effect by playing around with Image > Adjustments > Color Balance or Image > Adjustments > Curves.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at 4:52 am and is filed under Tutorials. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.