Written By Steve Patterson

In this Adobe Photoshop tutorial, we're going to look at how to bring focus and attention to a specific part of an image using a simple and easy to create lighting effect. This technique also happens to be a good way to add interest to a photo that could use a little more visual snap.

Here's the image I'll be working with in this tutorial:

Obviously the woman in the photo is attractive, but the image itself could be more interesting. Let's bring more attention to her face by making a simple and subtle adjustment to the lighting in the image. Here's how it will look when we're done:

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Let's get started!

Step 1: Add A Curves Adjustment Layer

Let's begin by darkening the overall image using a Curves adjustment layer. First, we'll need to add the adjustment layer, so click on the New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:

Then select Curves from the list of adjustment layers that appears:

Step 2: Drag The White Point Down To Darken The Image

When the Curves dialog box appears, you'll see a large square grid with a diagonal line running through it from the bottom left to the top right. We can control the tonal range of the image by reshaping this line. If you look on either end of the line, you'll see a small square point. The point in the bottom left represents areas of pure black in the image, and the point in the top right represents areas of pure white.

We can move these points around to control how light or dark the image appears. In our case, we want to darken the image, so click on the point in the top right corner of the grid, which controls how bright the image is, and drag it straight down. As you drag down, you'll see your image in the document window becoming increasingly darker. Continue dragging the point down until the Output option in the bottom left of the dialog box shows a value of around 70:

You can drag the white point down even further if you wish to make the image even darker, and in fact at this point, it's better to make the image too dark since we can easily lighten it later, as we'll see. I usually set my Output level to around 70 to begin with. Click OK when you're done to exit out of the dialog box. The photo now appears much darker than it was originally:

Step 3: Select The Lasso Tool

Now that we've darkened our image, we need to select the area where we want the light to appear. We don't need to worry about making precise, surgical selections, so Photoshop's Lasso Tool will work just fine. Grab the Lasso Tool from the Tools palette or press the letter L on your keyboard to select it with the shortcut:

Step 4: Draw A Selection Around The Area You Want To Highlight

With the Lasso Tool selected, draw a rough selection around the area you want to highlight. In my case, I want the light to fall on the woman's face, and maybe down on to her shoulder as well, so I'll draw out a selection like so:

Notice how my selection is rough and jagged looking, but that's okay. We'll be softening the edges of the selection in a moment.