In this tutorial, we will show you a simple technique to add realistic lightning to a photo in Photoshop. Step 1. Open a suitable photo in Photoshop, e.g. one with a dark cloudy background. Press Ctrl-A to select the entire photo, press Ctrl-N to open a new image. Press Enter and press Ctrl-V to paste the photo. Rename the Layer to Main Photo by double clicking the Layer. I?m using the following photo of Kobe by night.