Dreamy Photos in Photoshop - 3 Steps to Glamour Shots

By Lolaness, published Oct 04, 2006
Published Content: 475  Total Views: 3,028,182  Favorited By: 190 CPs
Rating: 3.2 of 5
It constantly amazes me how quickly an ordinary photo can be turned into something truly spectacular. I'll be the first to admit that I'm a total Photoshop nerd, so maybe this all falls into that same thing ... but I can't help the amazement.

What are Dreamy Photos? They're the shots you see with the soft edges, the luminescent skin, the colors that look too brilliant to be real - because they're not real. Dreamy photos have that misty, glamorous glow. In 3 quick steps they turn a snapshot into something you'll be proud to frame.

They're the effect that certain shall-remain-nameless companies have made big bucks on bundling into actions that you don't even need.

Seriously - three steps. What do you need? Well, you won't need any plugins, brushes, or anything else. You'll need Photoshop in a version from 7 through the current CS2, and a photograph. That's it. Some other graphic editors like GIMP that have the same layer capabilities as Photoshop will also work.

Three Steps to Dreamy Photos

1. Open your image in Photoshop. Any photograph will work, but solid colors help this effect immensely. In particular, a lot of whites will create a beautiful angelic effect and reds burst into life brilliantly. In the end, though, you'll never know how it might look if you don't give it a try.

Once your image is open, make sure it's in RGB mode (Image, Mode, RGB). Then, right-click the original layer and choose "Duplicate Layer".

2. Now we're going to blur our duplicated layer. This is an important step because it is what causes all the main colors to widen, the highlights and shadows to become more prominent and fade everything else into obscurity.

Click "Filter", choose "Blur", and click "Gaussian Blur". Gaussian Blur provides the softest, most uniform blur. Clicking this option kicks up a new dialogue. Enter "15" in the dialogue but keep an eye on your preview. What you're aiming for is something that wipes all features away but leaves the overall shape of things intact. (See Illustration 02)

3. I said three steps, right? Well, I wasn't being misleading. This is our last step and provides all the "magic" to this effect.

Dreamy Photos in Photoshop - 3 Steps to Glamour Shots
Dreamy Photos in Photoshop - 3 Steps to Glamour Shots

The original, un-touched photo.

Credit: lolaness

Copyright: lolaness

Resources
Comments
Showing Comments 1 - 15 of 44
Next >>
 
wow O_o; Makes the original photo look really dull in comparison, thanks for this n.n

Posted on 06/28/2008 at 5:06:15 AM

 
Wery nice and simply tutorial 10+

Posted on 04/06/2008 at 4:04:35 AM

 
Thanks when I saw the finished product I was like WOW! Great tutorial.

Posted on 12/31/2007 at 3:12:56 PM

 
soooo greatt damn thanx XD

Posted on 12/11/2007 at 10:12:04 AM

 
Thank you.... that's amazing :)

Posted on 11/06/2007 at 4:11:00 AM

 
Its great! but you can also choose other options in the drop down box! XD =] great tutorial.

Posted on 10/06/2007 at 7:10:00 PM

 
OMG.. awesomeee. tnQ

Posted on 10/03/2007 at 12:10:00 AM

 
this is a great tutorial. simple and effective. one of the best easy level I've seen. great stuff

Posted on 09/27/2007 at 6:09:00 AM

 
dang nice effect

Posted on 09/07/2007 at 12:09:00 AM

 
this tutorial was amazing, i love the effect of it.

Posted on 08/31/2007 at 7:08:00 PM

 
excellent!!!

Posted on 08/10/2007 at 3:08:00 PM

 
wow it's great !! awesome effect and so so... EASY :x thnx 4 the tutorial

Posted on 08/07/2007 at 5:08:00 PM

 
wow it's great !! awesome effect and so so... EASY :x thnx 4 the tutorial

Posted on 08/07/2007 at 5:08:00 PM

 
That's awesome!! Thanks!!

Posted on 07/23/2007 at 8:07:00 AM

 
That was pretty cool. I've done the glow before, but have never tried the "overlay". It gave my photos a different look, but it skewed the color. The way I usually do it is after I make the duplicate layer and apply the Gaussian Blur, I go to my layers palette and I adjust the "Opacity" level. It tones down the blur but also gives it that glow. Thanks again for the alternative!

Posted on 07/10/2007 at 12:07:00 AM

Type in Your Comments Below - (1000 characters left)
Your name:

Submit your own content on this or any topic. Get started »
Showing Comments 1 - 15 of 44
Next >>
Most Commented On