Golden Hour Effects

Golden Hour Effect Photoshop CS CS2 CS3

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Adobe Photoshop PDF Tutorials Written by Wendi E. M. Scarth.

Emulate the Golden Hour Effect Suitable for Adobe Photoshop CS CS2 & CS3 Skill Level - Intermediate

The Golden Hour takes place an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset, and is so named because at those times, the sun lies low on the horizon; and as a result, it has more atmosphere to break though, inducing a warm glow over the landscape. At the same time, shadows are much longer - adding contrast, which in turn, creates drama. Undo and Navigation Steps Two ways of undoing steps are from the top menu, Edit then Step Backwards.

file://C:\Program Files\NetObjects\NetObjects Fusion 10.0\User Sites\New Photoshop... 11/11/2007


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Alternatively, click a previous snapshot in the History Palette. Navigate (zoom in and pan) your image using the Navigator Palette, or the Zoom Tool.

Activate The Hand Tool by tapping the Spacebar, keeping the Spacebar pressed, pan your image in the usual way.

Note Photographs will always react uniquely, therefore, when improving your own landscapes, experiment with the settings. 1/ Open your image onto Photoshop’s workspace.

2/ In the Layers palette, you will notice a padlock next to the Background layer.



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The padlock indicates that the layer is locked, and as such, it is not fully editable. To unlock the layer, either, double-left-click the Background layer, and reply OK to the New Layer prompt. Alternatively, from the top menu, choose Layer then choose New then choose Layer from background, and click OK to the New Layer prompt. Unlocking the layer changes the name from Background to Layer 0, and the layer is now fully editable.

3/ Now, activate the Polygonal Lasso Tool.

And drag the top-right corner of the photograph, diagonally upwards, to extend the grey border. Then click and drag a lasso line around the image, as shown below.



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4/ From the top menu, choose Select then choose Modify then choose Smooth, and set the Sample Radius to around 2 Pixels, then click OK.

5/ Now, press your keyboard’s Delete key. This removes the area within the marquee, then press Ctrl and D to remove the marquee.

6/ From the Layers palette, click the following Create a new layer icon.



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Then drag Layer 1 beneath Layer 0 - and keep Layer 1 active.

7/ Set the Foreground and Background swatches to White and Blue.

Then activate the Gradient Tool.

Click Reset Gradients. And double-left-click to set the Foreground to Background (white to blue) gradient, and ensure the gradient’s direction is set to Radial.

Now, near the desert’s edge, (left-click) and stretch a gradient line diagonally, in an upwards direction. This creates the following gradient effect.



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8/ In the Layers palette, click to highlight Layer 0, then left-click the following Create new fill or adjustment layer triangle, and click Hue/Saturation from the drop-down list.

In the subsequent Hue/Saturation dialogue box, move the Saturation slider to around +20, then click OK.

This warms the sky and sand dunes.



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9/ Click the Create new fill or adjustment layer triangle, and this time choose Levels. In the subsequent Levels command box - working with RGB, move the White Point to the left, the Grey Point to the right, and the Black Point to the right. This darkens your image. Do not click OK.

10/ Now, still working with Levels, change the Channel from RGB to Red, then move the White and Grey Points, as indicated below. This intensifies the reds. Do not click OK.



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11/ Now, to intensify the yellow dunes, change the Channel from Red to Blue. Then move the Black Point a little to the right.

It is safe to click OK - to apply the changes.



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12/ To darken the dunes, increase the Feather to around 20, and isolate the shadowed dunes with the Polygonal Lasso Tool, as shown below.

13/ In the Layers palette, left-click the Create new fill or adjustment layer triangle, and click Levels from the drop-down list. You are looking to improve the contrast by darkening the shadowed dunes. Therefore, move just the Black Point - a little to the right, then click OK.



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14/ Clipping Adjustment Layers To remove the pink glow from the sky, you need to Clip the three adjustment layers. Therefore, press and hold down the Alt key of the keyboard, then hover your cursor over the dividing line below the following adjustment layer, and when you see the following icon, left-click.



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After left-clicking the dividing line, the layer will change to the following - it now displays a downward arrow (highlighted below-left). This indicates that the adjustment layer has been successfully clipped.

15/ Repeat the clipping step with the remaining (two) adjustment layers, and the pink hue will be removed from the sky.

16/ To apply a lens flare, create a New Layer at the top of the Layers stack by clicking the Create a new layer icon.



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17/ Then set the Background colour to Black.

18/ Now, press Ctrl then Backspace. This fills the new layer - and photograph, with black.

19/ From the top menu, choose Filter then choose Render then choose Lens Flare, and apply your choice of flare.



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20/ From the Layers palette, change the Mode from Normal to Screen. Screen mode renders black pixels, transparent.

Tip Whilst the layers remain separate, the adjustments layers are editable. 21/ When you are happy with the look, from the top menu, choose Layer then choose Flatten Image, then save your image.



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Golden Hour Effects

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