Light Effects using the gradient tool

Ever wondered how some photographers get that beautiful flare in their pictures? Make it a little nicer to know a lot of times it is added post production? I'm going to show you a quick and easy edit that you can apply to your photos!

Here is the picture we will start with

Now we'll go through a couple quick steps

Make a new layer and select the gradient tool. In the upper left corner of the window, change the gradient to radial and change your foreground color to white, cream, or yellow.

Change the blend mode of your new gradient layer to either lighten, screen, or overlay, depending on the look you want.

Add a layer mask to your gradient layer, select your paintbrush, making sure the foreground color is set to black, and begin to brush the gradient off of your subject.

(I took care of the giant flyaway with the clone tool). Once the subject is brushed off to your liking, adjust the opacity of the gradient layer to make it appear more natural.

To add a darkness around the gradient, create two new layers. Select the gradient tool again, and on the first layer, using the linear gradient with the color set to black, stroke towards the center of the image. Repeat with the other layer on the opposite side. Then reduce the opacity of each linear gradient by half.

And then you can finish your edit however you'd like. I went a little extreme with the autumn color just so you could see  the dramatic differences available :) Good luck, and stay tuned for my next tutorial on adding rays of light to your images!