How to make a lantern glow/sparkle?

[MEP]

Hi Damien,

 

I'm wondering if you have a tutorial on making a lantern glow/sparkle for some Christmas images I am doing.

Thanks!

[Damien Symonds]

Hi Melissa, yes, this comes up from time to time (usually at this time of year)

The challenge isn't usually the lantern itself, but making whatever is near it look plausible.

May I see the photo you're working on?

[MEP]

[Damien Symonds]

Lovely photo.

Generally this is my go-to method.  A broad yellow glow, and a small white glow at the centre:

Of course, the yellow glow doesn't need to be so strongly yellow, nor so broad.

What do you think of it?

I suppose what I should have asked at the beginning was, can you provide me with any links to lantern photos that you admire?

[MEP]

Thank you, this is great! I just wanted something simple to do and this is perfect and pretty.

 

Could you please explain to me how you did it?

 

Thanks!

[Damien Symonds]

Well, there are several ways it could be done, but we might as well go for the easiest.

A "Solid Color" adjustment layer of yellow colour, then another one above it of white.  Both on "Screen" blend mode, and both start completely hidden with black masks.

Then with a low-opacity brush (I used 20% and it seemed to work well) gradually dab on the yellow layer first to create that glow.  I kept the brush in the same place, and just varied the size of it - started big then got smaller, so it got more intensely yellow towards the centre, if you know what I mean.

Then the same, but smaller of course, on the white layer.

It'll probably take you a few tries to get it just how you like it.  Don't be ashamed of that, I had to do it too.  Several times I returned the mask to black and started again.

[MEP]

Could you tell me the number of the yellow you used for this please Damien?

[Damien Symonds]

255/220/0

[MEP]

Thank you, I will have a play with it shortly. I wanted to see how hard/time consuming it was to do before I photograph many clients with the lantern lol.