After two weeks learning about glows, today I’m going to show you a completely different way to make an image glow without using a single layer style!

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen an image where part of the subject appears to be all aglow, almost as if from within. That’s the kind of glow I want to show you today.

I think this is such a cool effect. And it’s really not all that hard to create. The trick really is knowing where, when and on what subject to use this technique.

Different Glows

Take a look at the image above. See how the stripes on the roadway are glowing? They’re even casting light onto the young man’s face. I’m sure you’re thinking there might not be many times when you would want to do something like this. But honestly, you might be surprised.

Just for a moment think about Christmas coming. Yes, it’s going to be here before you know it! Just imagine a child opening a gift that’s making their face glow with wonder. How fun would it be to be able to make that glow really pronounced on the photo?

Or think about some fairy tale stories and images you may have seen over the years. An animal or woodland nymph in a story book that seems to be glowing. Cinderella all aglow as the fairy godmother waves her wand and gets her ready for the ball. There are so many more instances once you start thinking. At least there were for me.

That’s the kind of glow I’m going to try and show you today. I hope you’ll see how easy it is to pull this off and you will start to think of all the ways you too could use this.

Let’s glow something…

Glowing Antlers

After mentioning animals in a fairy tale, all I could think of was a part in the story of Snow White when she’s alone in the woods hiding from the evil queen’s huntsman and a stunning buck approaches as if to comfort her. At one point the buck’s antlers appear to glow.

The image above is from Pixabay. While that deer’s antlers are more flaming than just aglow, the concept is still the same.

At least it’s similar to the kind of image I have in my head…glowing antlers. So, I’m going to start with this deer photo from Pixabay:

I’m not sure why I’ve never mentioned this before. Any time I download an image from Pixabay, I always download them at the maximum size to ensure the highest resolution/quality. You certainly can download your images at any size you wish. I just wanted you to know how I normally download things.

Advance Notice: This post gets a bit lengthy due to the number of steps and illustrative images. The process I’m about to explain is not that lengthy or difficult. So please just be patient. If you don’t have a lot of time to read through the whole post right away, please just bookmark the post so you can come back to it at a later time.

Isolate Deer

Before I move forward, just a quick reminder…I use PSE – 2024. So, my screen shots may look different than what you see on your screen.

I open that photo in PSE. I’m going to use this image full-size. Next, I duplicate the photo (Ctrl+J), hide the original and rename the duplicate layer Deer. With the Deer layer active I want to make a selection around only the deer. In PSE 2024 I have the option to Select Subject:

And I end up with this:

So that’s not a perfect selection but it’s easy enough to clean this up. All I have to do is alternate between using the subtract or add option on the selection brush to tweak the selection.

Note: If you’re trying to follow along, it’s important to zoom in and clean up all the spots where the deer is not properly selected. Areas such as this:

Can you see how in the image above there are two different parts where the background was NOT properly excluded from the selection? There’s going to be more than a few spots like this that will need to be addressed. So just take your time. You definitely want to ensure that you inspect the entire deer and antlers.

You don’t have to get too fussy around the legs. In fact, to make things a little easier for you during final stages, you could almost leave the parts mostly covered by foliage out of the selection. It’s totally your choice. Either way just keep making selection additions/subtractions until you end up with a final selection that looks something like this (I left the legs in):

Note: As I said, I used the Select Subject option to make my selection. If you either don’t have that option or you’d rather use the selection method you most prefer, that’s perfectly okay. And if you need pointers on how to make a good selection, please refer back to my March 5, 2024 post about making the Right Selection.

With the selection made I can now create a new layer via copy from the selection (Ctrl+J) and I name that new layer Deer Only.

Isolate Antlers

I duplicate the Deer Only layer name that new layer Antlers and hide the Deer Only layer. Here’s what I have now:

With the Antlers layer active I now make a selection of only the antlers leaving out any bits of ear or fur. Here is my selection:

Note: You don’t have to be overly precise selecting the actual antler parts as we’re going to be adding the glow effect so that will make the edges less distinct anyway.

With the selection made I can now create a new layer via copy from the selection (Ctrl+J) and I name that new layer Antlers Only. I can now delete the original Antlers layer. Here’s what I have now:

Note: An alternative to making a selection around the antlers would be to use the eraser tool and just erase everything except the antlers. If you’re not very comfortable making selections, it may be quicker to erase the deer. Definitely a personal preference whichever way you choose to remove the deer.

Now I’m going to create a Group above the Antlers Only layer by clicking the icon at the top of the Layers Panel that looks like a stack of papers:

I then drag the Antlers Only layer into that new group (Group 1 for me). PSE then automatically opens the group for me:

I’m going to close and hide that group for now…I’ll get back to the antlers in just a bit.

Darken Background

Now I want to go back and apply some adjustments to the Deer Only layer. Because of the background in the layout upon which I’ll ultimately place my finished deer, I want to make this look more like a nighttime scene.

So, I’m going to do a couple things to darken down the original background and desaturate overall colors a bit. I’m going to start by hiding the Deer Only layer. I then add a new blank layer (Layer 1 for me) above the Deer layer (the duplicate of the original photo not the isolated deer) and fill that layer with a dark red (#521713). This will all make more sense later…trust me.

I set the blend mode for Layer 1 to Hue:

This is still way lighter than what I want so I’ll darken it down a bit. But first I’ll unhide the Deer Only layer so you can see how the background changes. With the Deer layer active (the duplicate of the original photo not the isolated deer) I’m going to apply a levels adjustment layer:

PSE opens the New Layer options dialog box:

I ensure that the Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask is checked. This causes PSE to clip this adjustment layer to the Deer layer. Everything else in the options is fine as is. I click OK to confirm and PSE opens the Levels settings box:

Note: If you forget to check that “Previous Layer” option…don’t panic. You can manually clip that layer to the image the same as you would clip a paper or photo to a shape. It’s just easier if you remember to check that box 😉

I set the Channel settings (from left to right) at 45 (adjusts shadows), .78 (adjusts mid tones) and I leave the last one at 255 (adjusts highlights). Then I go to the Output Levels (this controls contrast). I can get rid of some of the white by setting the rightmost value to around 198:

I’ve darkened that background down quite a bit with just this one step. I know things look wonky around the deer’s legs. Don’t worry, I’ll be cleaning that up later.

Note: All of the Levels settings can be adjusted to your preference based on how dark/light you want your background to be.

Antler Glow

Now it’s time to re-visit the antlers in that group I created when I isolated them. So, I unhide and expand the group so I can see the Antlers Only layer:

With the Antlers Only layer active I duplicate the layer (Ctrl+J), rename the duplicate layer to Glow #1 and change the Blend Mode to Linear Dodge (Add):

As you can see, that simple change in blending brings out a fair amount of brightness. This is a good start but I want to blur this initial “glow” just a bit. With the Glow #1 layer active, I go to Filter->Blur->Gaussian Blur:

PSE opens the Gaussian Blur settings dialog box:

I set the radius to only 5 pixels. You may not be able to see the full extent of that minor blur in the small image above. I didn’t really want a lot of blur at this point…just enough to soften that antler a little. I click OK to confirm and here’s a better view:

Note: I’m going to be increasing this glow using this same process multiple times. I’m only going to show images of the glow blur “preview” stage; not showing the full image each time. I’ll show the full image again once I finish these glow blur layers.

Next, I duplicate the Glow #1 layer (Ctrl+J), rename the duplicate layer to Glow #2. This brightens that glow even more. I keep the blend for this layer at Linear Dodge (Add). I do want to increase the blur on the Glow #2 layer a bit more. So, I open the Gaussian Blur filter again.

Note: Be very careful when you go to apply the blur on the “duplicate” glow layer(s). PSE remembers the last filter option used:

See where it says Gaussian Blur at the very top? You don’t want to click that. If you do PSE will not open the Gaussian Blur settings dialog box. Rather PSE will merely apply the last Gaussian Blur that was used (5 pixels). If you want to change the Radius for subsequent blurs you will need to open the dialog box by selecting Filter->Blur->Gaussian Blur just as I did on the first blurred layer:

With the Gaussian Blur dialog box open I set the blur to 15 pixels.

You should be able to see that the brightness and blur have increased more. I click OK to confirm. I then duplicate the Glow #2 layer (Ctrl+J), rename the duplicate layer to Glow #3. Again, the glow brightens more. I keep the blend for this layer at Linear Dodge (Add). I’m going to increase the blur on the Glow #3 layer a bit more. So, I open the Gaussian Blur filter again and I set the blur to 40 pixels:

Again, the brightness and blur have increased more. I click OK to confirm. I then duplicate the Glow #3 layer (Ctrl+J), rename the duplicate layer to Glow #4. Again, the glow brightens more. I keep the blend for this layer at Linear Dodge (Add). I’m going to increase the blur on the Glow #4 layer a bit more. So, I open the Gaussian Blur filter again and I set the blur to 60 pixels:

I click OK to confirm. There’s now a nice glow happening around those antlers. Here’s the full picture:

Antler Glow Hue

I’m going to collapse that group now. With the Group 1 layer still active I’m going to apply a hue/saturation adjustment layer:

PSE opens the New Layer options dialog box:

I ensure that the Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask is checked. This causes PSE to clip this adjustment layer to the whole Group so the settings will be applied to every layer.

Note: Depending on the version of PSE you’re using, you may not be able to do this at the group level. That just means you’ll have to apply the same Hue/Saturation adjustment to each of the individual antler layers within the group.

Everything else in the options is fine. I click OK to confirm and PSE opens the Hue/Saturation settings box:

I click on Colorize and set the Hue to 30, the Saturation to 90 and the Lightness at 0. When setting the Hue value, I wanted to turn that glow into a goldish/orange color rather than the bright white. You can use the Hue & Saturation sliders to achieve the color you want for your glow:

That’s a much nicer glow effect.

Deer Only Adjustments

Now going back to the Deer Only layer so I can apply a levels adjustment layer there as well:

PSE opens the New Layer options dialog box:

Once again, I ensure that the Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask is checked. This causes PSE to clip this adjustment layer to the Deer Only layer. Everything else in the options is fine as is. I click OK to confirm and PSE opens the Levels settings box:

This time I’m going to be darkening down the deer color. I set the Channel settings (from left to right) at 65, .50 and I leave the last one at 255. I also leave Output Levels (this controls contrast) as they are:

These level settings have added some richness to the deer’s color making for a more striking image. I can now close that levels adjustment box.

I want to call attention to something here. Any time I add an adjustment layer that layer appears with its own layer mask:

In this particular case I’m going to use that layer mask to remove the adjustment from around the top part of the deer’s head/face and along its neck/back where the antlers would be lighting up the deer.

Remember, when working on a layer mask, black conceals and white reveals. So, since I want to remove the level adjustment on part of the deer, I need to ensure that my foreground color chip is set to black. I’m going to open the brush tool:

Then using a fairly large soft round brush (about 200 px) with the opacity set to 30% I can then mask away some of the dark areas where it should look like the antlers are lighting up the deer:

This may look like a subtle change but it is more noticeable in full size. The area that was masked is now lighter than it was before. This gives the natural appearance of the glowing antlers casting light over the head, neck and back.

Now I’m going to go back to the Hue/Saturation layer that I applied to Group 1. I duplicate that layer, move it directly above the Deer Only layer, rename it to Deer Hue Saturation. And because I moved it below the Levels 2 layer it was automatically clipped the Deer Only layer:

This now adds the same coloration to the deer that I applied to the antlers:

Yikes!!! I know…this looks awful. I certainly don’t want that color on the entire deer. So, I clearly need to fix that. I’m going to start by inverting the mask. I ensure that the light blue outline is around the mask for the Deer Hue Saturation layer. If it’s not I just double-click on the mask. I then go to the top tool bar and click Filter->Adjustments->Invert:

This returns my deer to something that looks more normal:

This then turned the mask on that adjustment layer to black instead of white:

I reverse my color chips so that the background chip (white) is on top. I open the brush tool again and change the Size to about 100 px and leave the Opacity set to 30%. Now I can brush around the deer in areas where I want that goldish/orange coloration to show. Once again, this will be the parts of the deer’s head/face and along its neck/back where the antlers would be lighting up the deer. And this time I also revealed some of that goldish/orange color along the right side of the deer’s neck:

Because I left the Opacity at 30% it did take several passes over the areas to achieve the degree of color saturation that I desired. I find that starting with a lower opacity allows me to more easily control the degree of change with each pass over an area.

This has given that nice glow coloration to just the right places on the deer. I do want to soften that look just a bit. Right now, it seems perhaps too bright. So, I’m going to change the Opacity of the Deer Hue Saturation layer to 65%:

Again, a very subtle change but I’m happier with how it softened that light along the deer just a bit. I do think the remainder of the deer’s body may be a bit too bright. But that too can be adjusted.

Deer Gradient Adjustments

I’m going to insert a new layer directly above the Levels 2 layer:

With that new layer active (Layer 2 for me), I Crtl+Click on the thumbnail for the Deer Only layer. This makes a selection around that deer shape:

I ensure that my color chips are now back to the default (press D). I then select the Gradient Tool:

I select the Foreground to Transparent gradient and leave all the settings at the defaults.

Using this particular gradient tool with only the deer selected, I will be adding a gradient “fill” to only the deer. The fill will start out as black and gradually transition to clear as I create the gradient.

I then position my cursor at the bottom of the image somewhere in line with the small hump in the deer’s body near where the neck transitions to the back. Holding the Shift key down, I click and drag my cursor straight up to somewhere near the bottom of the deer’s nose:

When I release the keys, the gradient has been applied to only the deer and has darkened the color down quite a bit:

Actually, this might be a bit too dark so I’m changing the Opacity of this gradient (Layer 2 for me) to 40%:

This looks better. Now, I’m going to take one step that may or may not be necessary. It’s something I do just to ensure that I didn’t drag that gradient too high when I created it. I’m going to add a layer mask to that gradient (Layer 2 for me).

I ensure that my foreground color chip is still set to black and using a soft round brush (Size 200 px & 30% Opacity) I brush over any areas of the deer that are above the neck. For me this resulted in no change. As I said it was just a precaution. I’d still encourage you to do the same mask just in case your gradient went higher than mine did.

The goal here is to make sure that the glowing antlers stand out nicely while still keeping the deer looking more natural/realistic.

Adding A Sparkle

Since this is a fairy tale type image (at least in my mind) I want to add a bit of sparkle to those antlers. So, I’m going to use this “star field” (or space) photo from Pixabay:

I know it’s hard to see the stars in that small image. They’ll show up a little better in a minute.

I pull that image into PSE and drag it into my file above the Hue/Saturation 1 layer at the very top. I nudge the star field layer to the very top of the file and re-size it so that the entire deer image is covered:

Note: When I re-sized the star field image, I grabbed one of the corner “handles” and dragged it to size diagonally. This is so I didn’t distort the star shapes in the image.

This star field image came in as a Smart Object so I need to simplify this layer because I’m going to apply a layer mask to this star field layer. Just as with the Deer Hue Saturation layer, I want that layer mask to be black instead of white. After that, I go to the top tool bar and click Filter->Adjustments->Invert:

With my color chips reversed (white on top) I can now use a soft round brush (Size 100 px and Opacity ~50%) and reveal some of those stars around the antlers. Because I only want the stars to appear I need to set the Blend Mode of the star field layer to Screen. If I don’t do that before I start brushing, I’ll also be revealing the black in that image.

I’m going to zoom in fairly close so I can get a good view of the stars’ visibility. I just brush around the antlers following their shape (making as many passes a I want) until I have a nice subtle scattering of “sparkles” around the outer edges of the antlers trying not to go too far outside the actual glow:

Now I’m going to change my brush settings so that the Size is 50 px and the Opacity is 100%. I’m doing this so I can make the sparkles closest to the antlers brighter than the others:

This is another subtle change but it does make some difference. If you don’t think it’s that noticeable, you could certainly skip this step!

Final Touches

It’s now time for me to clean up the area around the deer’s legs that looks so funny. With the Deer Only layer active, I’m going to add a layer mask to that layer. I ensure that my foreground color chip is set to black. Then with a soft round brush (Size 100 px and Opacity 60%) I just brush away the bottom part of each leg until it blends nicely into the background:

With that all taken care of it’s time for a final step. With the star field layer active I press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E. This tells PSE to create a “merged” copy of all the layers below while keeping the original layers “intact”. This merged layer is Layer 3 for me. I’m going to change the Blend Mode on Layer 3 to Overlay and set the Opacity to 50%:

That’s the final deer with glowing antlers. I did save the final image as a JPG file so I could use it in a Snow White layout.

While everything I did here today was accomplished in PSE 2024, it can all be done in earlier versions of PSE. You may just need to search for some tutorials on steps that can’t be accomplished the way I’ve explained in whichever version of PSE you currently use.

Oh, and here’s that layout using my glowing buck:

Note: For more details about this layout, you can find it in my 2024 Gallery.

More Tips

When you hear the word “Glow” in conjunction with a scrapbook layout, you might automatically assume that a glow effect may be limited to just that, an Inner or Outer Glow. As you’ve seen today, there are more ways to make something glow on your page.

Today’s effect created a glowing illusion that can be applied to just about any object.

Since your glow is supposed to put off light, always be sure to use Layer Masks and Blend Modes to make your glow effect look like it’s actually emitting light…perhaps with even a sparkle or two just for fun 😉

You can accentuate the actual glow effect by duplicating your effect layer several times and adding different levels and intensities of Gaussian Blur. You can also play with the Blend Modes to give it that soft glowing feel.

Now it’s your turn to create some fairy tale glow effects for your photos! Just think about a child’s face at Christmas…that’s all the inspiration you should need.

As always, if you have any questions or want to make a suggestion about a topic you’d like me to cover, please don’t ever hesitate to “Message Me”.

Thanks for reading this week’s Tuesday Tip. If you want to stay informed about new posts, just click “Follow Me” to stay in touch. I hope you have a wonderful week!