EDIT THE SHOT
1
MERGE THE CITYSCAPE Begin the process by merging exposures for the main scenic image. Here, three exposures were required to capture a full range of tones in the sunset street shot. In Lightroom select the frames and choose Photo > Photo Merge > HDR.
2
SET COLOUR THEME While the lower kelvin colours of the sunset were picked as our main theme, we chose to maintain the bluer colours further away from the horizon. Use the Gradient Tool to set a negative Temperature, and drag in some colour contrast.
3
SELECT THE TRAILS Open the light images and use Color Range to isolate the trails. Use the Fuzziness slider to refine the selection. Make a new layer from the selection, then repeat the process to extract multiple trails.
4
ADJUST PERSPECTIVE Group your layers and drag them onto your final image. The height and pitch of the camera should be consistent but to make micro-adjustments, use the Transform Tool. You may have to flip the direction depending on the traffic path.
5
STACK THE LIGHT Extract light trails from multiple images to capture both the head and tail light colours, so you have the choice to show vehicles moving both towards and away from the camera. Change the blend mode to Screen and arrange to taste and colour theme.
6
DODGE AND BURN Create a randomised lighting structure if it isn’t already present. Here, we dodged around the existing light sources and enhanced the reflected colours from the traffic on the trees and architecture. The exposure blending has left some shadows unnaturally detailed, requiring mild burning.