Have you ever wondered how to create that beautiful, glowing light you see in some of my pet photos? You know, that soft, golden glow in the background that makes the shot feel dreamy and magical. Whether you’re looking to add light overlays or to just add a soft gradient to give it that ethereal, glowing look, this post will talk about the Dos and Don’ts when it comes to editing fake light.
Here’s the truth — trying to edit in that fake light from behind is not only incredibly tricky, but it can often look more distracting than magical. The result? A photo that may feel artificial or overdone – especially depending on your editing skill level.
Instead of relying solely on editing, I’m going to show you why it’s so much better to focus on capturing that beautiful light in-camera and then use an editing program to enhance it. By working with the light that’s already there, you can create a more natural look – and avoid distracting glowing orbs, or having two suns in your image (yep, I see this ALL the time).
Adding fake light in your edits can indeed create that warm, golden vibe we’re all chasing.
But if it’s not done carefully, the results can range from a minor distraction to a full blown sci-fi scene. Can you tell which of the images above (if any) had light added to them?
Subtlety is Key
Here’s the cold, hard truth: if your fake light isn’t looking believable to you, it definitely won’t be believable to your clients or audience.
The best lighting edits are the ones you don’t notice. They should enhance the photo, not hijack it. A delicate touch of sun rays or soft glow can work, but the moment you go overboard, you can make your photo look artificial and, frankly, a bit gimmicky. I see a LOT of glowing orbs (and in my early days, I DID a lot of glowing orbs) in places that glowing orbs shouldn’t be. Shining through wooden fences, hills, and on one side of the image – when the opposite side of the subject is clearly being lit by some harsh sunlight.
The goal of editing should be to complement the scene and help tell a story, not overpower it. If your viewers are more focused on the fake light you added than on the subject itself, you’ve missed the mark.
We often want to add this fake light to make the photo feel more dreamy or magical, OR if we feel like the photo is “missing” something… but more often than not, that “missing” thing comes from the pose, expression, composition, or location. Adding a fake sun won’t fix any of those things.
But what if I really really want to edit fake light in my photo?
Here’s the thing: there are better ways to bring warmth, depth, and light to your images without resorting to the rave-in-the-corner approach.
Focus on the light on location, enhancing natural light sources, and making the most of your original shot.
At the end of the day good photography is about capturing the light you have, not faking it in post. If you love the look of glowing, golden light and want to capture it in camera, here’s what you need to do:
- go out in the first or last two hours of the day. It’s called “golden hour” for a reason
- find a location where you can position the sun BEHIND the dog. If you want those glowing balls of light like you see in a lot of my photos, you’ll need a good wall of trees to filter that light. You also want some open sky like a field behind you/above the dog! (Trust me on this)
- Expose for highlights. If your highlights are blown, you’ll get white blobs, rather than glowing gold
- Edit your photo – brighten up the dog, lower the highlights, add a soft gradient of up to 20% behind the dog.
- Bonus tip! If you really love the hazy look, experiment with letting the sun hit your lens! Be careful though – too much and your dog will also get hazy and washed out, and you’ll lose a LOT of details.
If all of that sounds like a bit much (expose for highlights, what?!) I’ve got you covered! With a Learning Journey membership, you’ll be able to learn the ins and outs of editing at your own pace, and my Pro members can even join regular Edit and Chill live sessions, a whole course dedicated to light, a ton of editing tutorials, (with more opening each month) and learn how to capture that gorgeous glowing backlight on location.
Overlays & Gradients
If you’ve read this far, and you’re thinking: Em, stop dancing around the topic and tell me how to do the editing! Here are my quick tips.
- You can buy/find sun overlays on the internet. They’re usually a radial gradient with a black background. Drag the overlay onto your image in Photoshop, set it to “screen” blend mode and position it where you want it. Adjust the opacity.
- You may want to play masking in exposure or other light-editing layers in order to create the “rim light” – light shining through the dog’s fur. Have a look at any of my backlit images and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
- You can try using a gradient adjustment layer in Photoshop. Change the colour to whatever suits, change the style to “radial” adjust the opacity as needed, and move it into position. Sometimes, different blend modes are interesting here!
- Try adjusting exposure/light and/or contrast behind your dog where the light would be shining from. This means you have less of a “glowing orb” syndrome, and more of a general feeling of light.
- Use a variety of colour changing layers, like colour balance, hue/saturation on colorize, selective colour, or even a photo filter layer to add warm yellow/orange tones to the background.
My Final Thoughts...
So, how do you edit fake light into your photos?
I would recommend that you don’t.
The best light is the one you find, capture, and subtly enhance in your edits. Anything beyond that risks turning a beautiful moment into something with more distraction, and less magic.
That being said, if adding glowing sun in the background is what you find beautiful and what brings you joy, then don’t let me stop you! My advice would just be to try and do it as naturally as possible.
Take the time to notice how light shines through fur. How shadows and highlights occur when the sun is shining from different places in the background. How the world actually, really looks when there’s sunrays present.
Remember, if you found this helpful, make sure you share it with your networks! I’m sure there’s others who would also love to avoid making fake light mistakes, too!
Until next time!
Emily, Loki & Journey
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