Step 4: Duplicate The Motion Blur Layer Several Times

We now have the beginnings of our motion blur effect, but at the moment, the blur streaks are too faint. We need to intensify them, and an easy way to do that is to simply duplicate the layer that they're on ("Layer 1"). Each time we duplicate the layer, the blur streaks will become stronger and more visible in the image since we're piling copies of the blur streaks on top of each other. We'll probably need to make a few copies of the layer to really bring them out, so press Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac) three or four times in a row to quickly create multiple copies of "Layer 1". Each time you duplicate the layer, you'll see the blur streaks intensify in the image. I'm going to create four copies of "Layer 1" by pressing the keyboard shortcut four times. I can see in my Layers palette that I now have four copies of "Layer 1" sitting above the original:

The motion blur streaks are now much more intense, to the point where the racecar is practically hidden behind them:

Step 5: Select All Motion Blur Layers At Once

Let's merge all of our motion blur layers into a single layer so we can work on the blur effect more easily. To do that, click on the top layer in the Layers palette to select it if it isn't selected already (selected layers are highlighted in blue). Then hold down your Shift key and click on "Layer 1" directly above the Background layer to select it. This will select the top layer, the original "Layer 1" and all layers in between. You'll see them all highlighted in blue in the Layers palette, indicating that they're all selected:

Step 6: Merge The Layers

With the layers selected, go up to the Layer menu at the top of the screen and choose Merge Layers:

Everything will still look the same in the image, but we're back to having only two layers in the Layers palette, with all of our motion blur layers now merged into a single layer above the Background layer:

Step 7: Add A Layer Mask

The only remaining problem with our effect is that the motion blur streaks are still covering up the entire subject. We want it to appear as if the streaks are trailing behind the subject, with the subject itself emerging out from them as it blazes forward. We need to hide the part of the streaks that we don't need, and for that, we'll use a layer mask. With the motion blur layer selected, click on the Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers palette. A layer mask thumbnail will appear to the right of the layer's preview thumbnail:

Step 8: Select The Gradient Tool

Grab the Gradient Tool from the Tools palette, or simply press the letter G on your keyboard to select it with the shortcut:

Step 9: Select The Black To White Gradient

With the Gradient Tool selected, you'll see the Options Bar at the top of the screen change to show various options for working with gradients. Click on the small down-pointing arrow to the right of the gradient preview area, which pops open a small gradient selection box, and choose the Black to White gradient, third one from the left, top row. If you have Tool Tips enabled in Photoshop's Preferences (they're enabled by default), you'll see the name of the gradient appear when you hover your mouse cursor over it:

Step 10: Drag Out A Black To White Gradient On The Layer Mask

You should see a white highlight border around the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers palette, which indicates that the layer mask, not the layer itself, is currently selected. If you don't see the highlight border around the thumbnail, click on it to select it. Then, to hide the unwanted areas of the motion blur streaks and create the illusion that the subject is emerging from them, simply click at the point on the subject where you want the blur streaks to begin fading into view, then drag out a short transition area which will become the "fade in" area for the streaks. The point where you release your mouse button will be the area where the blur streaks become 100% visible.

In my case, I'm going to click on the racecar just in front of the driver, then I'll drag towards the back of the car to create a short transition area for the blur streaks to fade in, releasing my mouse button just behind the driver. Make sure you follow the same angle as the blur streaks as you drag out the gradient:

When you release your mouse button, Photoshop draws the gradient. Since we drew the gradient on the layer mask, not on the image itself, you won't see the gradient in the document window but you can see it if you look at the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers palette. The black area on the right represents the area in the image where the blur streaks are hidden, the white area on the left is where they're fully visible, and the actual gradient area between them is where the blur streaks fade into view:

Here's my image after dragging out the gradient on the layer mask. The racecar is now blazing towards the finish line, leaving a motion blur trail behind it:

And there we have it!

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