Hi. This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.
I'm going to show you how to quickly transform a photo of a beautiful summer day into a wintry, snowy day.
This is an update of a tutorial I did many years ago on an earlier version of Photoshop.
This update is quicker and more streamlined.
Open an exterior photo that's lush with trees or other green vegetation.
I downloaded this one from Shutterstock.
First, we'll 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".
To ensure that your result will look similar to mine, let's check your photo's resolution
by going to Image and Image Size.
If its resolution isn't 72 pixels per inch, just type it in.
To fit it onto your canvas, press Ctrl or Cmd + 0 or to see it at 100%, press Ctrl or Cmd + 1.
Open your Channels panel.
If you don't see it, go to Window and Channels.
Click the Green channel
and press Ctrl or Cmd + A to select it and Ctrl or Cmd + C to copy it.
Open back the Layers panel
and click the New Layer icon to make a new layer.
Press Ctrl or Cmd + V to paste the copy of the green channel into the empty layer.
Convert this layer also into a Smart Object.
Go to Filter and Filter Gallery.
Open the "Distort" folder and click "Diffuse Glow".
I'll make the Graininess": 7, the "Glow Amount": 8 and the "Clear Amount": 8, however, since
each photo has its own unique characteristics, feel free to experiment with these amounts
to get just the right combination for your image.
Reduce its opacity to 90% to reveal a little of the original color.
Next, we'll add falling snow.
Click the New Layer icon to make a new layer.
We'll fill it with black, but first, if your foreground and background colors aren't black
and white respectively, press "D" on your keyboard.
Since black is your foreground color, press Alt or Option + Delete to fill the empty layer with black.
Go to Filter, Noise and "Add Noise".
Make the Amount: 100%, Gaussian and Monochromatic.
Then, click OK or press Enter or Return.
Go back to Filter, Blur and Gaussian Blur.
Make the Radius: 1 pixel.
Open the Levels window by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + L.
In the Input black level, type in 140 and the Input White level, type in 142.
Go back to Filter again, Blur and Gaussian Blur and this time, make the Radius: point 5 pixels.
Change the Blend Mode to "Screen".
We'll add another layer of falling snow by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + J to copy the layer.
Reduce its opacity to 50% and go to Edit, Transform and "Rotate 180 degrees".
This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.
Thanks for watching!