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This lesson demonstrates how to create light shafts and early morning mist, and you will find the start image Here. Unzip the file and open the contents onto Photoshop’s workspace.
Detailed Layers Lesson Here!
Undo and Navigation Steps
Two ways of undoing steps are from the top menu, Edit then Step Backwards. Alternatively, click a previous snapshot in the History Palette.
Navigate (zoom in and pan) your image using the Navigator Palette,
or the Zoom Tool. 
Activate The Hand Tool by tapping the Spacebar, keeping the Spacebar pressed, pan your image in the usual way. 
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Open your start images onto Photoshop’s workspace.
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Minimise the stag image, then enlarge the forest image.
Tip
Drag the forest image’s top-right menu diagonally upwards - to display its grey canvas.
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Now, ensure the Background colour is set to White.  Press your D key.
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Then click the following Create a new layer tab at the foot of the Layers palette. (Rename this layer Light Shafts if you wish).
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Now, activate the Polygonal Lasso Tool. 
Detailed Polygonal Lasso Tool Lesson Here!
And set the following attributes into its Options bar.
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Stretch-and-click multiple triangular light shaft shapes onto your photograph.
 
Tip
Whilst stretching the lasso line, you can go back a step by clicking either, the Delete, or Backspace key (Windows XP).
After you have applied the triangular marquees, you are ready for the next step.
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From the keyboard, press Ctrl then Backspace. This fills your triangular selections with the (white), Background colour.
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Then press Ctrl then D to remove the marquee.
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Now, from the toolbar, activate the Eraser Tool. 
And set the following Basic Brushes attributes.
Then carefully, and slowly, erase the hardness of the light shafts.
Increase the Opacity to around 18%, and continue removing the hardness, making the light shafts translucent.
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Now, from the top menu, choose Filter then choose Blur then choose Gaussian Blur. In the subsequent Gaussian Blur dialogue box, enter the following settings - or experiment. Then click OK.
The Gaussian Blur filter has defused the hard edges of the light shafts.
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You can further defuse the light shafts by reducing Layer 1’s layer Opacity.
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Now, activate the Eraser Tool, and increase its Opacity (from 10%), to 25%. Then reduce the brush size by tapping the left-side bracket key of the keyboard - the right-side bracket key increases it’s size. Still working on Layer 1, remove parts of the light shafts that fall in front of the trees - then lighten the light shafts further, if you feel they need it.
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Now, create a new layer, and name it Glow. 
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Then press your keyboard’s D then X keys. This changes your Foreground colour to White.
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Now, activate the Brush Tool. 
And set a Soft brush, with a size of 500 Pixels, and an Opacity of 15% - Illustrated by my screen capture here. Now, left-click five or six times, where I have indicated below. For a brighter glow, repeatedly left-click.
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Now, create a new layer, and name it Mist. 
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Working on the Mist layer; activate the Brush Tool, then set its size to 45 pixels, and increase its Opacity to 100%. Then randomly apply white splodges to the foreground.
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Then from the top menu, choose Filter then choose Blur then choose Motion Blur. In the subsequent Motion Blur dialogue box, set the following attributes - or experiment. Then click OK.
Your white splodges have been converted to wispy mist.
Note
If you feel it is necessary, activate the Eraser Tool and set its Opacity to around 21%, then gently remove heavy areas of mist.
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When you are satisfied with your Mist, Glow and Light Shafts, press the Ctrl key, then left-click to highlight their layers (individually). Then release your mouse button. Now, left-click the following Link Layers icon, at the foot of the Layers palette.
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Then right-click the highlighted (linked) layers; and from the drop-down list, choose Merge Layers. Your layers will merge, changing the Layers palette to the following.
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Working on the Mist layer, from the top menu, choose Image then choose Adjustments then choose Hue/Saturation. In the subsequent dialogue box, click a tick into the Colourise tick box. Then change the settings to the following, then click OK. Note: Experiment with different levels of Hue and Lightness.
Your mist and light shafts now have a warm glow.
Remember, different Hue and Saturation levels provide unique glows.
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To finish, activate the stag image, and with the Move Tool (lesson), drag it onto the forest image; resize the stag with the Free Transform command - Free Transform Lesson. Then drag the stag layer to the middle of the layers stack.
 
Now, activate the Eraser Tool, and with an Opacity of 21%; remove the stag’s lower feet - so they blend with the forest.
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From the top menu, choose Filter then choose Sharpen, and apply a sharpening filter of your choice - I applied the Smart Sharpen filter.
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Then from the top menu, choose Layer then choose Flatten Image, then save your work. I applied Alien Skin’s Exposure (Colour Film) filter, to my final image.
Wendi E M Scarth. Top of Page - Home.
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