How to Make a Glow Effect on an Image in Photoshop

One of the most powerful uses of the Adobe Photoshop software is to add in special effects that are not possible to capture in real life. While achieving a glowing effect on an image usually requires something akin to an alien spaceship or a trip to the Las Vegas strip, Photoshop helps you get the look on any picture, from any landscape or any subject matter. You'll even get to choose not only the type of glow, but where and how to apply it.

Instructions

1. Open Photoshop. Click the "File" menu. Click "Open." Navigate to the photo to add a glow to and double-click its file name.

2. Click the "Filter" menu at the top of the work area. Click the "Artistic" option and select "Neon Glow" from the fly-out menu. Click the "Neon Glow" box in the middle pane of the screen. Use the slider bars to control the glow brightness, size and color. Click "OK" when satisfied.

3. Click the "Edit" menu and select "Undo Neon Glow." Click the "Filter" menu again. Click "Stylize." Click "Glowing Edges" from the fly-out menu. Click the "Glowing Edges" box in the middle pane of the screen. Use the slider bars to control the glow's thickness, brightness and smoothness. Click "OK" when satisfied or "Cancel" to return to the original image.

4. Add a glow to part of the photo by clicking the "Lasso" tool on the "Tools" pane. Draw an outline around the part of the image to add the glow onto and right-click the outline. Select "Layer via Copy."

5. Double-click the new Layer 1 in the "Layers" palette in the bottom-right corner of the screen. When the "Layer Style" window opens, check the "Outer Glow" and "Inner Glow" boxes, or experiment with using just one. When satisfied, click the "OK" button.

6. Right-click Layer 1 and select "Flatten Image."

7. Click the "File" menu and select "Save As." Type a new file name for the glowing image to protect the original and click the "Save" button.

References

• University of Washington: Photoshop Filters