# How to "turn on" stadium lights in photoshop?



## Destin (Sep 2, 2017)

Alright guys, so I'm admittedly not much of a photoshop guy. I do 99.99% of my editing in lightroom and very rarely alter images to the point of needing photoshop. That being said, I'm trying something new with this recent senior shoot I'm editing. I want to photoshop it to look like the stadium lights in this photo are on, and everything I try just looks fake and cheesy. 







Is there a proper way to do this? Anyone want to enlighten me?

Thanks!


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## qmr55 (Sep 2, 2017)

Like this?


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## zombiesniper (Sep 2, 2017)

The problem you're going to have is even if you get the lights to look real, the subject lighting will be giving it away. In order to make this look like the stadium lights were on you would have had to have also lit the subject from a similar angle to the lights.


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## qmr55 (Sep 2, 2017)

PS- I also think your horizon is tilted just a tad.


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## Destin (Sep 2, 2017)

zombiesniper said:


> The problem you're going to have is even if you get the lights to look real, the subject lighting will be giving it away. In order to make this look like the stadium lights were on you would have had to have also lit the subject from a similar angle to the lights.



I'm not necessarily trying to make it look like the lights are the only thing lighting him. I just want to make the lights look like they were on when I took the photo so that it looks more like a game night photo or something... just to add o the mood.


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## Destin (Sep 2, 2017)

qmr55 said:


> Like this?
> 
> View attachment 146226



That's not bad, but still doesn't look real to me. Can I ask how you did it though?

I was playing with the lens flare filters in the attempts where I got my best results.


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## qmr55 (Sep 2, 2017)

Truthfully, I just used the brush tool set to white and 0% hardness and sized the brush to be a little under the size of the "socket."


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## qmr55 (Sep 2, 2017)

I think, if these are shots you did for the players and their parents,  that you wouldn't need them to look 100% legit.  Most people wouldn't even give it a thought that it was "faked."


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## Light Guru (Sep 2, 2017)

Because there is NO lighting behind the subject its NOT going to look real you photoshopped the lights on. 

Honestly I would say photoshop the lights and the power poll out the severe tilting caused from the lens distortion on them is quite distracting.  Having them on would just draw more attention to the distraction.


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## Destin (Sep 3, 2017)

Light Guru said:


> Because there is NO lighting behind the subject its NOT going to look real you photoshopped the lights on.
> 
> Honestly I would say photoshop the lights and the power poll out the severe tilting caused from the lens distortion on them is quite distracting.  Having them on would just draw more attention to the distraction.



Thank you for your super useful information on how to make the lights being on look realistic.  

You're right. The best way to make it look real is to completely remove the secondary subject of the photo that I intentionally used a wide angle lens to include. 

I'm not asking how to make the light's interaction with the subject look real. I know that is obviously going to give away to anyone with common sense that this is a composite. 

I'm just trying to figure out the best way to make it look like the lights are on without it looking like I just dropped a lens flare filter over top of the light and increased the exposure around it a bit. 

Custom brushes? Multiple layers? 

Can anyone actually answer the question without giving me their opinion on why doing what I want to do is a bad idea?


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## Destin (Sep 3, 2017)

zombiesniper said:


> The problem you're going to have is even if you get the lights to look real, the subject lighting will be giving it away. In order to make this look like the stadium lights were on you would have had to have also lit the subject from a similar angle to the lights.



Which would have lead to the subject being completely backlit and silhouetted. The light comes from a close enough direction that the average person will definitely notice the light looks a little weird, but likely won't know why/how.


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## Destin (Sep 3, 2017)

This is the best I've been able to do so far, and it's better than my early attempts, but I'm really not happy with it. 

Ignore the text added, just playing around with ideas.


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## 480sparky (Sep 3, 2017)

Six layers.  One to 'turn on' the lights using the airbrush tool.  The next two to create the two circular lens flares.  The next to to create the 2 octagon lens flares. And the base layer was the original.

Adjust the four flare layers to diminish their effects (ie, 'darken' them).  Flatten everything and bada-boom, bada-bing.







And I didn't use PS.  I used GIMP 2.6.


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## Destin (Sep 3, 2017)

480sparky said:


> Six layers.  One to 'turn on' the lights using the airbrush tool.  The next two to create the two circular lens flares.  The next to to create the 2 octagon lens flares. And the base layer was the original.
> 
> Adjust the four flare layers to diminish their effects (ie, 'darken' them).  Flatten everything and bada-boom, bada-bing.
> 
> ...




Thank you! You rock! I'll have to play around some more with it


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## OGsPhotography (Sep 3, 2017)

I will suggest you watch some Phlearn and do some courses on Ps if you want to add effects such as turning lights on. 

It only takes not knowing one part of the basics to stop you in your tracks in Ps. This forum isnt the best source for Ps tips. 

Facebook has some good groups. 

Piximperfect uses pretty awesome techniques you can search him on youtube.

A quick Phlearn youtube search will get you started;





















After looking at some of these Youtube will suggest enough videos you could spend the rest of your life learning about turning lights on in Ps....

CreativeLive is Free check the " on air" section.
This weekend Photoshop Basics  CC with David Cross is playing, layers, blending options, brushes, all important to this task.

There are probably 10+ ways you can do what you want. I can only think of 3 but I dont know much.

1. Brushes, paint it on as suggested. 
2. Layers, take a photo of the lights on ( or lights that you like, doesnt have to be the a actual ones) put in layer underneath and blend them in. Use blending options.
3. Effects as you already suggested.


It just comes down to artistry, also know as time and effort, after you learn what tools are available.

Good luck and have fun! I loooove Ps! Csnt wait to see what you come up with.


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## kap55 (Sep 3, 2017)

This requires a plugin (Topaz Star Effect).  There are a ton of variations to get the look you want.


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## dunfly (Sep 5, 2017)

Too me, anything you do with the lights will distract from the subject.  The pole is not straight, as indicated previously; the "lights" will distract from the subject, particularly due to lighting and the tilt of the pole, and you actually have two light poles to deal with.  I would crop them out, which would focus more on the actual subject, particularly since you have some nice cloud background that is more interesting than the light poles.


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## dunfly (Sep 5, 2017)

Something like this.  It is just a rough edit in Paintshop Pro.


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## smoke665 (Sep 5, 2017)

Or another suggestion would be to clone out the light, pole everything. Then take a picture of a light pole from the side. Bring it in on a new layer on the right side so it looks like it could be providing light for the subject.


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## benhasajeep (Sep 5, 2017)

Actually I like the idea and 480sparky's Ps work.  If you notice his right leg up through his body is nearly the reverse of the angle of the lights.  Also have to remember the client may not be so critical lights being Ps'd.  And may just like it knowing full well it was Ps'd.


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## Destin (Sep 5, 2017)

Yeah, I'm not really interested in this shot without the light pole. The distortion and surreal feeling is what I was going for... wouldn't have used an 11-16 for the shot if I wanted straight lines. 

I have about 3 dozen really nice normal shots without the light pole from this shoot, so photoshopping it out doesn't make much sense. 

Thanks for the help from those who have actually answered my question.


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## OGsPhotography (Sep 5, 2017)

Ben Willmores Ps class is free this weekend at Creative Live! It is really in depth. 

Im going to check out the Topaz plugin when I get time looks interesting.


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