a dreamy, romantic effect and then

add text to it to personalize them.

This effect also works especially well on portraits.

I provided this image of

Boca lights that we'll use later in this video.

Its link is located in a video description or project files.

Open a photo you'd like to use.

I downloaded this photo from Shutterstock.com.

The size of this document is 1550 pixels wide

by 870 pixels high and has a Resolution

of 150 pixels per inch. In the Layers panel,

click the Adjustment Layer icon and choose

"Gradient Map". Change the Blend Mode to Screen

Click the Gradient bar

which opens the Gradient Editor. Click the Violet/Orange preset

These colors work well on most photos, but for this example,

I'll tweak them a bit. Click the lower, left Stop

the color box and type in

3 2 2 2 4 C.

Then, click OK or press Enter or Return

Click the lower, right Stop

the color box and type in

F 8 A 6 5 8

Then, press Enter or Return on both the Color Picker

and the Gradient Editor. Click the Adjustment Layer icon again

and this time, choose "Levels".

Drag the input blacks a little left of where the histogram starts to rise.

This will slightly darken the darkest colors.

Drag the input midtones to the

left to lighten them

Adding a soft, warm color next to the subject's face or shoulder

is an effective way to add an illuminating, naturalistic light effect.

To do this, click the New Layer icon

to make a new layer

and open your Brush Tool. Choose a large brush

For this document, I'll choose a brush size of 800 pixels.

Depending on the size and resolution of your photo,

you may want to adjust the amount of your brush size

Make the Hardness: 0% and press Enter or Return.

Make sure the Opacity is 100%.

Press the F5 key at the top to your keyboard.

to open your brush panel and make sure the only setting checked

is Smoothing. Press F5 again to close the panel.

Click the foreground color

and type in

F F D 4 3 D

Then, click OK or press Enter or Return.

Press "B" to open your Brush Tool.

Make sure your Caps Lock key is turned off, otherwise, you won't be able to see your brush on your screen.

Now, left-click once next to your subject's head

and change the Blend Mode to Screen.

Next, we'll add the Bokeh lights to further enhance the overall effect.

Open the bokeh file I provided.

Press Ctrl or Cmd + A to select it

and Ctrl or Cmd + C to copy it.

Open back up your photo and press

Ctrl or Cmd + V to paste the bokeh lights into your document.

Let's say your original photo is vertical

and much larger. To transform the bokeh lights to a vertical angle

and to increase its size,

press Ctrl or Cmd + T to open your Transform Tool.

Go to a corner and when you see a curved, double-arrow,

hold down Shift as you rotate it 90 degrees.

Then, go back to a corner and when you see a straight,

45-degree, double-arrow, hold down Shift

and drag it out until it completely covers your document.

Then, press Enter or Return. If you need to zoom

out, press "z" to open your Zoom Tool

and hold down Alt or Option as you click on your document.

Press Ctrl or Cmd + 0 to fit your document back on your screen.

Change the Blend Mode to Screen

As I toggle back and forth, you can see the difference.

We're ready to set our text. Open your Horizontal Type Tool

and pick a hand-written font. For this example,

I'm using a font called "Jenna Sue". If you'd like to use it,

I provided its link as well. I'll type in

72 points for the size, Smooth,

and left alignment. Click on a color box

and pick a dark color that complements the colors in your photo.

For this image, I'll type in 5 7 0 6 2 B

Then, press Enter or Return.

Type out your main text.

With this font, you can type out a heart shape by pressing

Shift + 6. To reposition it,

open your Move Tool and move it.

Click the FX icon and click

Outer Glow. The Blend Mode is Screen

and the Opacity is 75%. Click the color box

and pick white.

I'll makethe Size 27 pixels. Keep in mind,

you may want to adjust this amount depending on the size and resolution

of your photo.

As I toggle back-and-forth, you can see that the glow makes the text stand out a bit more.

Click on your document to make your secondary line of text.

If it's a long line, reduce the size

and type out your text.

Open your Move Tool to reposition it.

We'll copy the Outer Glow effect to your secondary line of text.

To do this, hold down Alt or Option

as you drag the effects copy to the top layer.

Double-click on Outer Glow to open it in the Layer Style window.

Change the Opacity to 50%. For the size and resolution

of this photo, I'll make the Spread: 7%

and the Size: 57 pixels.

This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.

Thanks for watching!