STEP BY STEPhttp://www.digitalcameraworld.com DECEMBER 2019 DIGITAL CAMERA^73
1
Install your free brushes
To install the brushes into Photoshop CC (or any software that
uses .abr brush files), copy the Star Brush Pack folder from the
disc to your computer. Launch Photoshop CC and go to Window >
Brushes to open the Brushes Panel. Click on the four-bar icon in
the top-right and select Import Brushes. In the window, navigate
through your system to find the Star Brush Pack.abr file you’ve
just copied. Double-click on it and the new brushes will appear
at the bottom of the list in your Brushes Panel. You can now
delete the files you copied to your computer, as they’ve
been installed into Photoshop’s file system.3
Add your first starburst
Press D to reset your foreground and background colours to black
and white, then press X to swap them round. Select the Brush
Tool, click on the Brush Preset Picker and scroll down to find your
freshly installed brushes. Click on whichever one you want to try;
if you hover over the image, you’ll see a rough outline preview
of the brush’s size and shape. Hovering over your light source,
use the [ and ] keys to make it bigger or smaller, and target the
exact centre of the light source. Click once to apply the brush.
If it doesn’t look right, hit Ctrl/Cmd+Z to undo, adjust it and try
again. Two clicks will give you a double hit with a stronger effect.2
Open your pic and create a new layer
Open an image with point light sources visible within the frame,
or use Cathedral.jpg from the disc. Here we have a gentle
architectural interior; in order to shoot it handheld, a large
aperture of f/5.6 was used. This means there are no starbursts
around the candles. To keep complete control, place your bursts
on a new layer. Doing this means your lighting effects are kept
separate from the main image, so you can work on them in
isolation. Make sure your Layers Panel is open (Window >
Layers) and press Ctrl/Cmd+Alt+Shift+N. A new Layer 1 will
appear at the top of the layers stack. Relabel it as ‘Starbursts’.4
Complete your lighting effects
Move around the image, adding the starburst effects to any
light sources within the frame. For more distant or weaker light
sources, you’ll need to use a smaller brush; for closer or more
intense sources, use a bigger brush. You can mix your starbursts
by applying different brushes to different areas of the scene, but
don’t mix up the number of ‘spokes’ emanating from the brushes.
Because ‘real’ starbursts are caused by using a small aperture
or using a filter, the number of light streaks will be consistent
across the frame. Unless you’re creating a look that requires
an unnatural effect, stick with a brush set of 4, 8 or 16 spokes.