spotlight effect in photoshop

[Vollezar]

I am trying to create an effect of three spotlights in PS. My background is gray. When I try to add the effects the spotlights render just fine, but the background changes to black.
How can I retain the grey background?

[simplyamazing12]

Can you give us a graphical example? Are you using the effect under Filter > Render?

[Vollezar]

Here is an example.


This time I went for light blue color. I did go through the Filter > Render > Lighting Effects. I think I tried pretty much all of the settings in there to try to leave the background original color, but it just keeps darkening it.

[gammaRascal]

I'm pretty sure you're looking to get the effect to do something it wasn't originally intended to do. You can tweak the effect so it isn't *as* dark around the spotlight but the spotlight needs that surrounding dark color so you can see the spot.

A couple of things you can try - don't add the spotlight effect directly to the image, add it to another layer. Make a 128rgb grey fill on a blank layer and add your spotlight effect to that then use layer blends to get it to look close to what you're shooting for.

Another option is to skip the spotlight effect [Light Effects Filter] entirely and use the gradient tool to make a linear gradient circle which you can transform and shape into a spotlight with the option of being able to place it anywhere at anytime and have the effect over alpha.

[Vollezar]

Thank You Rascal. I figured that best chance is to create and shape something without using the filter. I tried a couple of things and it looked pretty close. After all this the project was put on hold. At least I learned something new.
Thanks.

[gammaRascal]

Sure thing.

[Rhyfelwr]

How about the ambience setting?

You can change the ambient value from black to white background.

Or after creating the effect on a new layer, use the "screen" visibility, so all the highlights come forward but the grey behind is preserved.

Rhy

[Vollezar]

oh yeah. I'll give it a try. Thanks.

[geeksphere]

layering the images would greatly help.. .i guess Rascal has said it all.. .good luck.. .

[removed]

[sphere1]

wait wait wait.

Filter>render>lighting effects.
then use a masked gradient to do the stage effect.

[Frazier]

Originally Posted by sphere1

wait wait wait.

Filter>render>lighting effects.
then use a masked gradient to do the stage effect.

Agree. you can also add some light and white gradient over lights to give it a realistic look.