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Newbie at post processing here. I stumbled across this photographer who has these really soft glowy auras around his light sources (see below). I believe he shoots digital and does all this in post (saw a comment about Lightroom), because he has similar effects on his phone pictures.

Any tips on how to achieve this effect?

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    \$\begingroup\$ Never clean the skin oil off the front of your lenses? \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    May 10, 2023 at 11:55
  • \$\begingroup\$ dupe the layer, blend=lighten, blendif dupe>~245, blur to taste. \$\endgroup\$
    – dandavis
    May 24, 2023 at 1:12

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With Photoshop

enter image description here

Image source

  • Menu Select > Color Range > Highlights
  • Menu Layer > New > Layer Via Copy
  • Menu Filter > Other > Minimum
    • Choose an amount that increases the light object by 30-40%
  • Menu Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur
    • Choose amount based on smoothing
  • Change the Layer blending mode to Screen or Soft Light
  • Optional: duplicate this layer and change the opacity to increase the effect

Result:

enter image description here

enter image description here

Image source

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Alternative - Not so much in postproduction, but already applied in camera:

If you want to have that effect predominantly on light sources, but not on the overall image, you can also use a Mist Filter while shooting.

This is a clear filter with little black dots on it which causes blooming on any light source while trying to maintain some clarity on the rest of the image. They are hugely popular in video capture right now, as they apply some atmosphere and soften the harsh digital sharpness a bit.

They are available in various strength. Usually 1/4 or even 1/8 is taken. 1/2 or Full is having a rather over pronounced effect.

For examples, head over to https://www.dpreview.com/articles/9999362588/what-are-mist-filters-and-what-do-they-do-to-your-photographs

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    \$\begingroup\$ Some older lenses also tend to produce halos (or rainbows under certain conditions), e.g. the Helios 81N. \$\endgroup\$
    – user24582
    May 10, 2023 at 10:45
  • \$\begingroup\$ Also known as diffusion filters. E.g. from Moment, Tiffen \$\endgroup\$
    – osullic
    May 11, 2023 at 10:07
  • \$\begingroup\$ you can also just huff on the lens to cloud it over slightly before shooting, which will still leave a halation effect once you sharpen. \$\endgroup\$
    – dandavis
    May 24, 2023 at 1:10

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