Select Layer> Merge Down menu or press Ctrl + E (Win) / Command + E (Mac) to merge nearby layers into a single Layer:
After that, we will only have 1 Background image and Layer 1 layer (just merge the layers above):
If you want to change the color of the lightning, use Image> Adjustments> Hue / Saturation:
The main control panel of Hue / Saturation is displayed, tick the two options to choose Colorize and Preview . Change the color parameters here to match the photo. For example, we set Hue to 232 and Saturation to 50%:
Click OK:
Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) then select Layer> Merge Visible menu :
This process will continue to include the available layers into a new layer above:
Select the Dodge Tool:
Change the settings of Range to Highlights , Exposure to 50% and uncheck the Protect Tones box :
This Dodge Tool is similar to another type of brush in Photoshop , and we can resize it similar to the Brush Tool. Right- click (Windows) or Control + Click (Mac) to open the Brush Picker panel, change the Hardness to 0% , then press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac) to apply the change:
Finally, use the Dodge Tool to lighten overly dark areas and add some light effects around the lightning:
Press [or] to change the size
Perform several times to highlight the bright spots around the lightning
Our results after repeated implementation:
If you feel the brightness here is too high and you lose the natural look, change the Opacity level accordingly:
The Opacity level here is changed to 70%.
And finally, our work is also complete:
Good luck!