motion blur
This is really easy to make. First of all you need a picture. I chose this one:
Now duplicate the layer. Select the duplicate and go to: Filter -> Blur -> Motion Blur. Angle should be 0¡ and Distance is something you can choose yourself. I took 23 pixels. It looks like this now:
Now take the eraser with a very soft edge. I took 45 pixels, soft. Then cut out the thing (or person, in this case Jensen Ackles). You might need some time for this until it looks like this:
I think it is a very good way to seperate things on a picture or blend you want to be the "highlight".