If you are looking for the restoration posts you can jump to the latest one here
Over the next few posts, I am going to show you a few creative Photoshop tips as a change from the photo restoration processes.
Starting with the first I call “bathed in light”.
Making text bathed in light
Start by creating a new file around 1000 pixels square.
Your colour palette should be set to the white foreground, black background
Fill the layer with black
Create a new layer, with this layer
Choose filter/render/clouds

Text in light starting texture
Next filter/texture/stained glass enter cell size 10, border 2, light intensity 3, click ok
Next Filter/blur/motion blur. Set angle to 90 blur amount 400
Set blending mode of this layer to “Hard light”

Text in light starting texture advanced
Next, select all “ctrl A” and edit/transform/perspective tweak until you are happy with the angle of light. We are trying to go for a “coming down from above” look.
Take a big soft eraser brush and erase the hard edges of the perspective transformation.

Creating beams of light
If you like you can now crop the canvas to encompass the best shafts of light to an image of landscape proportions.
Add new layer
Select text tool and white text
Type your word or slogan

Creating beams of light and adding text
Enlarge so that the text is two-thirds of the canvas size.
Duplicate this layer
Set the top layer of text to blending mode “exclusion”
Set the bottom layer of text to blending mode “difference”
Now using the selection tool to make the bottom layer active, use the arrow keys to nudge the layer to offset slightly by around two nudges or two pixels to give the text a 3D effect.
Finally, position the text in a good shaft of light
Play with the fonts and bevel and emboss or other filters to make your text stand out even more.

Creating beams of light and adding text final image
Greetings from California! I’m bored at work so I decided to browse your website on my iphone during lunch break. I really like the info you provide here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home. I’m amazed at how fast your blog loaded on my phone .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, good blog!
Thanks! Plenty to see here on the blog
No problem, I did add at the bottom of the post, “play with the fonts” as obviously you will have your own favourite fonts that you prefer. Thanks for your comments. More posts to come though so stay tuned!
I love the background but not the text…