Transforming a Daylight Image Into a Wild Night
Download Source Files
In this tutorial we’ll learn how to convert a plain daylight shot into a night shot and add some special effects to it. We’ll not only turn a daylight image into a nighttime image, but we’ll also add add some stormy rain to the scene.
Final Image Preview
First, let’s take a look at the image we’ll be creating. Click the screenshot below to view the full-size image. As always, the layered Photoshop file is available via our Psdtuts+ Plus membership.
Step 1
Open the building photo first. We’re going to select the front gate and isolate it from the background. Press Ctrl + J to duplicate the background layer. Rename this new layer “Gate.” Choose the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) and draw a selection around the gate.
Step 2
Hold down the Alt key and subtract the areas that don’t belong to the gate. After you finish press the Add Layer Mask button. Then set the blend mode to Linear Burn.
Step 3
Select the “Background“ layer, then press Ctrl + J and rename this layer “Lighting.”
Step 4
With the layer “Lighting” selected, go to Filter > Render > Lighting Effects. Select style ‘three down’. Rotate them upside down, and place them in accurate positions. Then move the Exposure Slider to 93 and set the Ambience to 3, as shown below.
Step 5
Open the ”birds” photo and drag it to your composition. Place it behind the “Lighting” layer. Then rename it to “Birds.”
Step 6
Select the layer named “Lighting.” Choose the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L), and draw a selection around the house. Then click on the Add Layer Mask button.
Step 7
Go to the Background Layer, duplicate it, and place it below the “Gate” layer. Change the Layer Blend Mode to Overlay. Then rename the layer to “House Overlay.”
Step 8
Press Ctrl + L for the Levels command. Enter the values shown below.
Step 9
Press Ctrl + U for the Hue/Saturation command. Make sure the Colorize option is selected and enter the values shown below.
Step 10
Make sure the layer “Birds” is highlighted. Then select Sponge tool (O). Set the Mode to Desaturate and Flow to 100%. Click and drag on over-saturated areas, as shown below.
Step 11
Select the Burn tool (O). Set the Range to Shadows and Exposure to 50%. Click and drag over the bright branches.
Step 12
Select the layer “Lighting.” Then Press Ctrl + Shift + U to desaturate the layer.
Step 13
Make a new layer named “Fog,” and place it on top of the “House Overlay” layer.
Step 14
Press D to make sure the foreground color is black and background color is white. Press Alt + Backspace to fill the layer with the foreground color. Go to Filter > Render > Difference Clouds. Then press Ctrl + F twice to make the effect more Volumetric.
Step 15
Change the Blend mode to Linear Dodge (Add) for the “Fog” layer. Then set the Opacity to 18%.
Step 16
Press Ctrl + L for the Levels command. Then enter the values shown below.
Step 17
Select the “Gate” layer, and add a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer. Make sure Colorize is selected. Enter the values shown below.
Step 18
Ok, we haven’t finished yet. Let’s make another stormy version of the same image. Save this image. Then go to the “birds” layer, select the Move tool (V), and move the layer until you can’t see the birds.
Step 19
Set the Opacity of the “Fog” layer to 30%.
Step 20
Make a new layer named “Rain” and place it behind the ”gate” layer.
Step 21
Press Alt + Backspace to fill the layer with a foreground color. Then go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise. Turn on the Monochromatic option. Then set the Amount to 170%.
Step 22
Go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur. Set the Angle to -50 and the Distance to 32. Then press Enter to apply the filter.
Step 23
Press Ctrl + T for the Free Transform command. Scale the layer up to 115% to move unwanted layer edges outside the frame.
Step 24
Hold down the Alt Key and click on the Eye next to the “Rain” Layer to hide all layers except “Rain.“ Then press Ctrl + L for the Levels command. Then set the values shown below.
Step 25
Hold down the Alt Key and press the Eye next to “Rain” layer to unhide all the layers. Then change the Opacity of the “Rain” layer to 80%. Then change the Blend Mode to Multiply.
Step 26
Double-click on Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer. Then change the values, as shown below.
Step 27
Add a Levels Adjustment Layer and enter the following values.
Step 28
Select the “Rain” layer. Then click on the Add Layer Mask button. Select the Brush Tool (B). Change the Opacity to 50% and make a few clicks on some areas to minimize the rain effect.
Conclusion
You could use this technique on any building photo taken in daylight. In this tutorial, I used a photo I took at sunset. That’s why there are no harsh shadows on the building, which makes the image a good sample to use to show these effects. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.
Enjoyed this Post?
Subscribe to our RSS Feed, Follow us on Twitter or simply recommend us to friends and colleagues!
By Yaser Azrak
Join our newsletter!
Create a Tutorial, Get Paid!
Have something to teach the world? Want to earn money doing it? Tutorials, screencasts, and articles published here on Psdtuts+ are largely contributed by readers just like you! We'll pay you great money for good content. Find Out More
very nice
Is it just me?
Yaser, was it your intention not to leave the birds visible?
After step 17, it seems like the birds have gone…
Maybe they have gone home…it’s nite time by the way…:-P
Thanks for the tutorial. I liked the tutorial and I don’t consider myself as beginner, maybe I’m bad at photoshop. In every single tutorial in psdtus I learn something new that I can use in future projects. Some tuts are better than others, but it also depends on the level of expertise of each other.
I don’t hate it but I wouldn’t ever use this for turning a day image to dark for a client.
i like the tut. sure it’s entry level, but who said this site should only appeal to advanced users. and why have none of the trolls submitted their tutorial for some quick oney?
simple.
they’re not that good and get a self esteem boost from flamin the boards.
not everyone’s a mozart, charlie brown.
i mean form the comments psoted, you’d think guys like that have these awesome design careers. of course, they must have alot of work that involves trolling, but that’s productive too.
sheesh.
good tuts, some fundamentals. when a noob gets tired of filtered produced rain, then they’ll move on. this tut teaches some sound priniciples that usually get people moving into their own styles and actions.
can it trolls.
holy crap my spelling sucks..
see?
i can flame too.
It’s ok. I think it was heading for something really good, then took a turn towards crap. :)
Thanks anyway.
I think a tutorial for how to make a photo look like an hdr image would be a good one to have.
Would it be possible to categorize these tuts into difficulty levels? I notice a lot of response to effects and tutorials that are ‘beginner’ and I myself would tend to stay away from ‘simpler’ and ‘amateurish’ tuts if I knew from the beginning thats what they were.
But, honestly I look at the final result pic and can tell whether its worth my time or not. Only if there is something going on where I’m not sure of the technique used do I venture through the steps.
This tutorial is OK, but I don’t think it is up to the standards of this site. I especially don’t like the black gate… It stands out way too much. I would suggest an update.
simple but effective look for Film One Sheets
lol the rain look uber fake
It was good attempt at a tutorial, however honestly speaking, the end result could’ve be achieved in in under 5 steps rather than 28.
I like it (FULL STOP)
Id rather it in color… i mean, turning it b/w is not the best, and “the rain” doesn’t look like rain at all…
Thankyou mate, brilliant stuff..
nice tutorial, keep it up
Nice tutorial, thanks for sharing it
nice tuts here man alll are the best
amazing tut, thanks
nice, but you can also add some simple rain animation with imageready ;)
I “w1sh” I could be as good as these guys instead of just making comments all of the time. Great tut!
Thanks for Posting.
Good Tut.
Photoshop an image shot in daylight to nighttime.
http://www.dezigntec.com
http://www.utubehits.com
Nice tutorial, thanks
nice effect,,thx
I think tutorials are about learning new techniques so you can ne able to use them for something else, tutorials are not there to spoon feed you so you can just have what you wnat without applying your own creativity…!?!?!?!?! I have been suing Photoshop for years and learn something from every tut I get even from amatuers…
Great TUT
Thx
GOOD WORK….
nice!!!
ooh scary. D:
Nice tutorial.
One of the best day to night tutorials i have seen so far.
The effect at the end is a little too black and white, more of a sin city night I guess. It is simplistic because it relies on filters and preset brushes a lot, but that’s not a bad thing. The filters are there for a reason and using them doesn’t make you a noob.
:D
that’s nice.
Don’t mind the final image, would like to see some more rain techniques other than the fake looking grain>motionblur technique.
KOWAIIII desssuu
Very nice…..when did you learn this PS for the first time…..???
I like you work……..It’s so real…BTW thanks for your good tutorials…
So nicely done. I learned something new thanks to you. Keep on going! Thanks again.
awesome tut!