Creating light rays from the sun

[Bazsl]

I am using Photoshop CC. I am a photographer, not a graphic artist. I have a photo that includes the sun just setting behind mountains. I would like to add light rays or light beams radiating upward from the sun. I can get close to what I want using Layer > New Fill Layer > Gradient with the Style set to Angle in the Gradient Fill dialog. In the Gradient Editor I have the following settings:

Gradient Type = Noise
Color Model = HSB
Saturation = zero
Add Transparency = checked

By adjusting the Roughness slider in the Gradient Editor and the Angle in the Gradient Fill dialog and the layer's opacity I can come close to what I want but I can't get the look of the natural light beams that I see outdoors when conditions are right. Can anyone suggest a better way to produce this effect? Thanks.

 

[IamSam]

Hello and welcome to PSG.

Can you post a screen shot of what you have so far? Or perhaps the original image.

I would try duplicating the original layer.
Make the duplicated layer a Smart Object.
Set the duplicated layers blend mode to Screen.

Apply a Radial Blur filter set to 100, Zoom, best. Set the blurs center to match your sun in your image.
Add a Levels adjustment layer and set levels to your liking.
Add a Hue & Saturation adjustment layer, use colorize, and adjust the rays color to your liking.

 

[IamSam]

Were you following this tutorial?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxJoCcT9u7g

 

[Bazsl]

Thanks for your suggestions. Let me try them and see how I do.