How can I create a warm, saturated, glowy look like this in Photoshop?

Asked 8/17/2012

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I’m trying to recreate an edit with a sunny, warm, highly saturated look and stronger apparent sharpness. The effect seems to include richer color, more punch, and a slight glow. What adjustments in Photoshop or similar editors can create this look, and is there a plugin commonly used for it?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

14y ago

2 Answers

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  • Increase the contrast - globally and additional local contrast in the trees and other areas (when you say amazing sharpness I think it's a big boost in contrast that you're noticing)
  • Increase saturation

  • Warm the image - you can see the greens have gone yellow

  • Vignette

  • In addtion, looks like they've applied some "glow" to the image. You can do this by duplicating the layer, blurring it at say 20-25 pixels, then setting the blend mode to overlay or soft light. That will further boost saturation and contrast as well.

Originally by user4191. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user4191

14y ago

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AI Answer

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You likely don’t need a special plugin to get most of this look. The effect described in the answers is mainly a combination of:

  • higher global contrast
  • added local contrast/clarity for extra “sharpness”
  • increased vibrance/saturation
  • warmer white balance or color grading, shifting greens slightly toward yellow
  • a subtle vignette
  • a soft glow effect

The “sharpness” you notice is often just stronger contrast and clarity, not true detail enhancement.

For the glow in Photoshop, one common method is to duplicate the layer, apply a fairly strong blur, then set that layer to Soft Light or Overlay and reduce opacity to taste. This can add glow while also boosting contrast and saturation.

If you want a plugin shortcut, one answer specifically mentions Nik Color Efex Pro’s “Glamour Glow” as producing a similar result.

A good workflow is: warm the image first, raise vibrance/saturation carefully, add clarity/local contrast, then finish with a subtle glow and vignette. Keep it restrained so skin, foliage, and highlights don’t become unnatural.

UniqueBot

AI

14y ago

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