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Adding coloured light effects to black backgrounds


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In the attached image, I'd like to add a small spot of light somewhere within the  'Black Area' on the left.  My idea is either a small single source of light or better still… a 'Line of light' ~  similar to the light you'd see coming from underneath a closed (or partially opened) door.  Is this possible?  & if so, how should I go about achieving this?

Thank you for any help given

 

930761630_QuietContemplation.thumb.jpg.1eb37a35d20e802e60ba3b0ef8b6721b.jpg

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  • Staff

Hi Digbydo 2 :)

I'd recommend using a Live Lighting Layer, as Joachim_L has suggested.

First I created a selection of your subject, then used Select>Invert Pixel Selection. I then went to Layer> New Live Filter Layer>Lighting... - as I already had a selection active, Affinity Photo automatically masks this adjustment to the selection, meaning the filter will not change the already present lighting on your subject. I then changed the distance and cone sizes of the filter and increased the Specular and Shininess to make the lighting more noticeable - at this point you can dial in the right settings that provide the effect you want, including changing the colour of the lighting to match your subjects lighting more closely. I hope this helps!

Please Note: I am now out of the office until Tuesday 2nd April on annual leave.

If you require urgent assistance, please create a new thread and a member of our team will be sure to assist asap.

Many thanks :)

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Wow! I wasn't expecting that. It kinda takes my thinking in a whole new direction ~ thank you.  Just one follow up question… Can the new light source be changed to make it look like it is coming from a longer narrow source & can it's beam, instead of fading out, can I show it stopping stop abruptly? 

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  • Staff

No problem at all!

6 minutes ago, Digbydo 2 said:

Can the new light source be changed to make it look like it is coming from a longer narrow source

Yes and no, you can change the settings of the lighting filter to be narrower, however due to the black background the filter becomes less and less obvious the thinner you make it - the best results I could achieve used the following settings, but you may be able to tweak this further to provide a more desired outcome.

Settings:

image.png

Result:

image.png

9 minutes ago, Digbydo 2 said:

instead of fading out, can I show it stopping stop abruptly

As previously mentioned, the lighting filter itself acts a layer mask also, meaning you can 'paint' on this mask using a black brush and hide any of its contents. This means you can choose where the lighting is visible and therefore paint an abrupt end in your mask, as follows -

810a9f0178d0052214516ac4dc45cbc5.gif

Please Note: I am now out of the office until Tuesday 2nd April on annual leave.

If you require urgent assistance, please create a new thread and a member of our team will be sure to assist asap.

Many thanks :)

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  • 1 year later...

Hello,

I have a similar problem. Let's assume that I have a black separated ball on one layer and the black background on the second layer.
And I would like to "put the light above" to reach such kind of lighting:


484778a.jpg?sw=255&sh=250&sm=fit&sfrm=pn

How can I do it? :)

I tried the above solution and either I do not understand it or it is not appropriate for this problem.

Thank you in advance for help.
Dominik

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Hi Dominic,

you may apply a gradient fill of type radial to the (formerly) black ball, using a lighter shade in the middle.

 

Regards, Timo

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