> PHOTOSHOP USER>^ FEBRUARY 2020[ 72 ]
HOW TO CREATE A SPOTLIGHT EFFECT
IN PHOTOSHOP
What better way to dramatically draw the attention of the viewer to the subject than a spotlight?
From theatrical performances, to music concerts, to the largest award shows on TV, everyone uses a
spotlight! So why should we in the Photoshop community be left behind?In this article, we’ll learn how to simulate a spot-
light with filters in Photoshop. Creating a spot-
light is one of the easiest and most fun things to
do. The real challenge is in creating the shadow
that forms as a result of the spotlight. Whether
you’re creating the exact effect as shown here, or
simply playing with light in your composites, this
article will help you with several tricks to nail light-
ing and shadows.STEP ONE: OPEN THE IMAGE
First, let’s open the image of our subject in Pho-
toshop. She’s standing against a wall, which is
perfect for creating a spotlight and shadows. If
you want to follow along with the photo we used,
you may download the JPEG preview for free or
license the full-resolution version from Adobe
Stock and save it to your Libraries panel by click-
ing the Save to Library button here.
If you’re using your own image, go to File>
Open, locate your image, and then click Open, or
if you’re working in Application Frame, go to Find-
er (PC: File Explorer), locate your image, and drag-
and-drop it into Photoshop. If you downloaded the
image from Adobe Stock, you can load it from your
Libraries panel by double-clicking it.STEP TWO: CREATE A SELECTION
OF THE SUBJECT
At this point, we just need a selection of the subject
to be used later for the shadows. You can use the
Quick Selection tool (W) to easily make a selection;
however, if you’re using the latest version of Pho-
toshop, you can do this with just one click.
Select the Quick Selection tool or the Magic
Wand tool. In the Options Bar, click the Select
Subject button. Photoshop will auto-select theAdobe Stock/andrew_shotsUNMESHDINDA
Effects Toolkit