Hi. This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.
I'm going to show you how to turn on your car's headlights from scratch!
This tutorial is only for versions CS6 and later.
I provided 2 car photos that you can choose to download which are located in my video's
description or project files below.
Or you can use your own photo if you'd like.
The first step is to convert it into a Smart Object, so we can modify it non-destructively.
To do this, click the icon at the upper, right of the Layers panel and click "Convert to Smart Object".
If your photo was taken during the day, you can make it look like evening or even nighttime
by clicking the Adjustment Layer icon and clicking "Color Lookup".
Click "Load 3D LUT" and click "NightFromDay.CUBE".
I think it's a bit too dark, so let's lighten the adjustment layer by reducing its opacity to 60%.
Next, we'll create the basic shape of light illuminating from this headlight.
Click the New layer icon to make a new layer.
Let's name it "Headlight 1".
Open your Pen Tool and choose "Path".
Click outside your document approximately here if you're using the same photo.
Release and click on the top of this headlight.
Release again and click the bottom of the headlight.
Release and click outside your document again approximately here.
Release one last time and click the first anchor point to close the path.
You know a path is closed when you see this small, circle.
Right-click directly on the path to open a fly-out menu.
Click "Make Selection" and the Feather Radius is 0 pixels.
Invert the selection by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + Shift + I.
We’ll fill the selection with white, but first, if your foreground and background colors
aren't black and white respectively, press "D" on your keyboard.
Since white is your background color, press Ctrl or Cmd + Delete.
Deselect it by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + D. Next, we'll soften the light the further it is from the headlight.
But first, convert it into a Smart Object, so we can adjust the blur at any time if we want to.
Go to Filter, Blur Gallery and "Field Blur".
Again, you won't see the Blur Gallery in versions earlier than CS 6.
We'll blur the furthest area of the light by dragging the "Field Blur Pin" to the edge
of the light and either dragging the dial inside or by dragging the slider or typing in the amount here.
I'll type in 87 pixels.
The closer the light is to the headlight, the less blurry it should be, so we'll click
on the headlight to add another field blur pin.
Let's type in 23 pixels.
Then, click OK at the top.
Next, we'll make the light less intense the further it is from the headlight.
Click the Layer Mask icon to make a layer mask next to the active layer.
We'll need a little more room, so zoom out by pressing Ctrl or Cmd and the minus key on your keyboard.
Open your Gradient Tool and make sure the Linear Gradient icon is active.
Open your gradient thumbnails and click the Black to Transparent thumbnail.
Click outside your document approximately here and drag your tool to just before the headlight.
Make a copy of it by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + J. Name it it “Headlight 2”.
Click the eyeball icon next to the original headlight to temporarily hide it.
To resize and reposition the headlight copy, open your Transform Tool by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + T.
If you see this message, just click OK.
Go to a corner and when you see a diagonal, double-arrow, press and hold Alt or Option + Shift
as you drag it in approximately this much and then drag it so the right edge is
over the other headlight.
Then, press Enter or Return.
Make the original headlight visible again.
To save space in the Layers panel, let's place both headlights into a folder.
To do this, Shift-click the bottom headlight to make IT active, as well, and press Ctrl or Cmd + G.
Name the folder, "Headlights".
Next, we'll add lens flares to brighten the headlights and add light refractions.
Click the New Layer icon to make a new layer and fill it with black.
Change its blend mode to "Screen".
Name it, "Lens flare".
We'll make a composite snapshot of our image to position the first lens flare over this headlight.
To do this, press Ctrl + Shift + Alt + E on WIndows or Cmd + Shift + Option + E on a Mac.
Let's zoom back in by pressing Ctrl or Cmd and the "plus" key on our keyboard.
Go to Filter, Render and Lens Flare.
Make the Brightness 75% and the Lens Type: "Movie Prime".
Drag it as close as you can over this headlight
and then, click OK.
Don't be concerned if the lens flare isn't in the exact position you want it to be.
We'll be able to finesse its position in a moment.
Since Photoshop remembers the exact position we placed the lens flare, we can delete the
composite snapshot by pressing the Delete key on our keyboard.
Press Ctrl or Cmd + F to repeat the last filter in the exact position.
To reposition the lens flare, press "v" to open your Move Tool and drag it directly over the headlight.
We'll confine the lens flare refractions after we apply an additional lens flare to this headlight.
Make a copy of the lens flare and fill it with black.
Go back to Filter, Render and Lens Flare.
Click "105mm Prime".
As you did earlier, drag it directly over the headlight.
We'll place both lens flares into a folder by Shift-clicking the bottom flare to make
it active, as well and pressing Ctrl or Cmd + G. Name the folder, "Lens flare 1".
Go to the Layer Mask icon and Alt-click or Option-click it to make a black layer mask
next to the lens flare folder.
Notice that as soon as you made the layer mask, your colors inverted.
Now, white should be your foreground color.
Open your Brush Tool and Brush Picker.
Make its size: 600 pixels, the Hardness: 0% and the Opacity and Flow: 100% each.
Center your cursor over the headlight and click once to reveal both lens flares through the layer mask.
Make a copy of the lens flare
and open your Move Tool.
Drag the lens flare copy over the other headlight.
I'd like to make the lights emanating from the headlights a little less intense, so I'll
make the Headlights folder active and reduce their opacity to 80%.
Next, we'll add road illumination from the headlights.
Make the top layer active and make a new layer above it.
I'll name it "Road Illumination".
Open your "Elliptical marquee Tool"
and drag an elliptical selection approximately this shape over the lower left corner.
To reposition it, press the Space bar and drag it.
Go to Select, Modify and Feather.
Feather it 50 pixels and click OK or press Enter or Return.
Fill it with white and deselect it.
Change its Blend Mode to Overlay.
This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.
Thanks for watching!