Blur/Oerlay:

Duplicate your picture layer by dragging the layer to the ‘new’ icon in the layers palette (ctrl+j).

Blur 1

Apply a gaussian blur (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur…). Blur it enough that the detail disappears but the shapes mostly keep their form.

Blur 2

In the layers palette, change the blending mode from ‘Normal’ to ‘Overlay.’

Blur 3

If you look at the before and after, you can see that this method makes the light tones lighter and the dark tones darker while softening it a touch. Basically, it softly boosts the contrast. If you want a more dramatic effect, try changing the blending mode to ‘Vivid Light’ instead of ‘Overlay.’

Neon Glow:

This can add a touch of color and drama to your shot.

nEON GLOW1

Duplicate your layer, then pull up Filter > Artistic > Neon Glow. Pick a color that you think will complement your shot. In mine, the cat is lit with sunlight, so I went with a yellow to exaggerate that. Start with a glow size of 4 and a glow brightness of 18, then tweak it to suit your shot. This is what I ended up with:

NEON GLOW2

I’ll bet you can guess what’s next. You got it — change the blending mode to ‘Overlay.’ Also cycle through those modes: softlight, hard light, vivid light, and linear light. I prefer overlay and vivid light with this effect.

NEON GLOW 3

Easy Blur:

This one nearly passed me by… it’s a wonderfully easy effect to soften a picture. Try it on portraits.

EASY BLUR 1

Duplicate your layer and apply a Gaussian Blur (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur) so that the details start to go, but not too much.

eASY bLUR 2

Set the opacity of the layer to 50%. This is a great, super-simple way to soften a picture. It can give it almost a dreamy look. Play with opacities until you find something that works really well with your shot.

EASY BLUR 3

Credit: Tutsplus.