A spot is an activity at the edge of the sunlight photosphere, which refers to the bright spots that appear at the edge of the solar photosphere. What we see on a daily basis is a circular light surface projected onto the ground through gaps in the branches and leaves of the canopy.
The picture spot formed on the photo is actually the out-of-focus part of the photo, designed by different lenses, through the shape of the aperture blade and different depth of field, to create a variety of bokeh effects, called bokeh photography, as shown in Figure 1. It has a hazy beauty that sets off the subject.
Fig. 1 Photographic spot
Not every photo can achieve bokeh to shoot beautiful spots, which require certain photographic conditions and techniques, which will not be discussed here. The focus is on how to use Photoshop to create wonderful light spots on the picture without restriction, which is a "brush tool"! Take an example of opening a photo of a beautiful woman, as shown in Figure 2.
Fig. 2 Photo art photo
Step 1: Choose the Brush Tool on the toolbox, and on the tool options bar, set the Mode to Normal, Opacity to 100% and Traffic to 100%, as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3 Select the Brush tool and set it
Step 2: Press the "Toggle" Brush Settings "Panel" icon button on the Tool Options bar again, open the "Brush Tip Shape" setting option of the "Brush Settings" panel, and select the "Soft Angle 30" brush stroke, as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4 Opening the Brush Settings panel
Step 3: In the Brush Tip Shape setting options on the brush setup panel that opens, move the slider to set the Hardness value to 50% and the Spacing value to 150%, and the preview box shows that it was originally a brush stroke of a line, where the equidistant is separated into dots, as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5 Setting the brush hardness and spacing
Step 4: Select "Shape Dynamic" to open the settings option, move the slider to set the "Size Dither" value to "60%", the preview box shows that the dots are arranged from small to large, as shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6 Setting the brush size dithering
Step 5: Select "Scatter" to open the settings option, move the slider to set the "Scatter" value to "650%", the "Quantity" value to "2", the preview box shows that the previous neatly arranged dots have been scattered, as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7 Set the brush spread and number
Step 6: Select "Pass" to open the settings option, move the slider to set the "Opacity Jitter" value to "100%" so that the scattered dots of varying sizes are transparent or opaque, as shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8 Set the brush opacity jitter
Step 7: Open the Layers panel, press the "Create New Layer" icon button, create a new "Layer 1" layer, move the "Brush Tool" to the photo screen, adjust the brush size appropriately, hold down the left mouse button and drag, and draw a spot in the blank space behind the character, as shown in Figure 9.
Figure 9 The Brush tool draws a spot of light in the empty space behind the character
Step 8: Move the Brush Tool to the blank space in front of the character and continue to draw the spot, echoing back and forth to form a sense of wholeness, as shown in Figure 10.
Figure 10 The Brush Tool draws the spot in front of the character
Step 9: Set the Layer 1 Layer BlendIng Mode to Soft Light mode so that the painted spot blends into the background, as shown in Figure 11.
Figure 11 Setting the Soft Blend Mode blend mode blends the flare into the background
Step 10: Press the shortcut Key Ctrl+J key, copy the "Layer 1" layer, get the "Layer 1 Copy" layer, set the "Opacity" value to "50%", strengthen the fusion of the spot sense, and match the picture effect, as shown in Figure 12.
Figure 12 Duplicate layer setting opacity to enhance the spot feel
In this way, the picture has a more dreamy hazy beauty, and the size distribution and strength of the painted spot are adjustable, just need to set it on the tool options bar or the "Brush Settings" panel as needed.
Tip: Brush drawing spots are random effects, in order to get a satisfactory spot distribution, it is recommended to try to draw several times, for the spots that cover important parts can be erased with the "eraser tool".
Written/Post-authored: Blue Grass Qingyou