How to Use Photoshop’s Relight Layer and Assess Its Credit Cost

Photoshop’s Relight layer lets you reposition and adjust light on a selected subject after taking the photo. It can help match a subject to a composite scene, but the beta feature costs 30 credits to generate and may reduce image resolution. This walkthrough shows how to set up the light, compare Relight with Harmonize, and use layer blending to control the result without generating it again.

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Practical Tips

Use these steps to test the lighting effect while keeping the credit cost and image quality in mind.

Select the subject layer before creating a Relight layer; the effect applies to one layer at a time.
Position the light to match the scene, then adjust its color temperature, distance, intensity, and diffusion gradually.
Balance the new light with the original lighting so the subject still fits the source photo.
Compare the generated result with the original at full size, since Relight may reduce resolution.
For a composite, try Harmonize first, then set the Relight layer to Lighten and adjust its opacity to control the effect without generating another version.

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