How can I make a contrast fade (light shine) in Photoshop

[King Cobra]

I'm not sure what it's called, but, to get an idea, take a look at jefhatfield's avatar. It has the light source. I want to do the same thing in Photoshop with a contrast adjustment.

I know there is a hard way to doing this: Selecting each row of pixels manually and adjusting the contrast accurately, sort of like using the gradient tool with the multiply option enabled.

So how can I make a light shine, or whatever, by adjusting the contrast using one step, instead of going through all the pixels?

 

[ksw]

rendering light in Photoshop

In Photoshop, go to Filter->Render->Lighting Effects.

For a fast effect of a spotlight shinning down, under the first pull-down menu, select "Crossing Down".

You can manipulate the anchor points of the lighting effect (left window) by dragging them to the sides or to the center to make the spot broader or narrower. Likewise you can drag either the top/bottom anchors or the center anchor point.

Make sure the preview button is checked to see the effects live then click ok to make the change on your image. You might want to make a copy of the image first.

 

[King Cobra]

Cool. I'll play around with it.

I was going to repost this in the avatar thread, since I was kind of desperate to get this one.

Appreciation given.

KC