Discover how you can create lush starbursts in your photographs
Time needed 30 minutes
Skill level Beginner
Kit needed Photoshop CC
Whether you use them on a candle flame, a setting sun or a street lamp, starburst effects are a great way to add atmosphere to any night shot that has light sources in the frame. They occur naturally under the right conditions when you use a narrow aperture, but when the effect is stored as a brush, you can use them to enhance any image quickly.
For this issue’s download, we have a brush kit with 16 effects, and they’re simple to install. Copy the ‘Starburst Effects.abr’ file to your computer via the link on the left. To get them into Photoshop, open the Brushes panel (Window>Brushes) and click on the flyout (the four-line icon in the top-right). Select Import Brushes from the list, then navigate to where you’ve put the file on your computer. Once you’ve found them, double-click the .abr file, and the brushes will appear at the bottom of the list in the Brushes panel.
STEP BY STEP
ADD GLAMOROUS STARBURSTS Craft your own starburst brushes to get some extra star power in low-light shots
01 CREATE A NEW FILE
This story is from the April 2022 edition of PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 2022 edition of PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Speed up editing with recipes
Edit a single photo and apply processing settings to pictures taken at the same time
PHOTOSTORIES
World Unseen - Canon’s incredible World Unseen campaign opens up the world of photography to the visually impaired
MATTHEW PERKS
Matthew Perks is a talented lifestyle photographer whose passion has evolved next to his career in engineering. He sees processing photos as a balance of inspiration and instinct…
Perfect your colours with HSL
James Paterson enhances colours in Affinity with HSL
Turn the noise down with Denoise AI
James Paterson shows you how to use Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw AI to fix noisy images and improve quality
Go vintage with a Wet Plate effect
Sean McCormack shows you how to give your images a unique look by emulating the historic wet plate effect
Playing with shadows
Dan Mold’s three easy one-light B&W portrait set-ups to follow at home
Hit the streets with your Canon camera
Next time you’re in a big city be sure to try out these fun techniques for creative cityscape shots
A place in the sun
Learn key Canon camera skills for stunning silhouette portraits, then stitch them together for a striking image that will turn heads
Vive Loire Valley rally
An unexpected change in the weather forces a race against the sun to shoot Chambord