Photoshop Tutorial: How To Add Sun Beams To Your Photo

Our friend Glyn Dewis has been sharing his straightforward and very helpful post-production tutorials with us for a long time. This time he shares about how to add dramatic sun beams to your photos in post-production. Something I've been trying to master for a long time! Read below to learn more about how Glyn created this cool elephant image from a safari park snapshot.

According to Glyn Dewis:

Below you can see all the images that were combined to make the final picture.

I’d been looking for a suitable photograph of elephants to use in this picture having had the idea in my head for quite some time. I’d visited a Safari Park here in the UK but due to the weather the elephants there (Whipsnade) the elephants weren’t wandering in an area suitable due to the ground being so wet. I also made the mistake of going to a zoo here in the UK too which is something I will never do again; incredibly upsetting to see such beautiful animals clearly not being themselves and in enclosures way too small. It took me 2.5 hours to drive there and I must have been inside for no more than 15 minutes before I left!

elephants

Make sure to follow Glyn's blog: www.GlynDewis.com

Douglas Sonders's picture

Commercial Photographer (mainly Phase One medium format digital) and filmmaker based out of NYC. Started a site called Notabully.org to spread stories about well-behaved and positive pitbulls. Love cars, 80s movies, dogs, and adventure. Free time is spent traveling, sleeping, adventuring, or working on my baby, a 1969 Mustang Mach 1.

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4 Comments

This is very realistic, i think the right photo is definitely a key factor for the success of this tutorial.. i may try it out :)

This is awesome.

That's pretty epic. I know what I'm adding the next chance I get.

as long as everyone doesn't start doing this badly (see: flares added to every automotive image in the past 6 months), this could be a really useful tool!