Before & After
Yesterday, I may have put my foot in my mouth. One of the ladies on the photography board asked for constructive criticism. About the only thing I can provide criticism on is composition…so, I told her that she has such a cute little boy but he appeared to be washed out…and that I was kinda bored with the composition. I also offered to edit the photo for her…just to see what I could do with it. When Jill contacted me later today, taking me up on that offer, it was time to put my editing skills where my mouth is.
022 Before and After
I started this photo in Adobe Camera Raw to make some basic exposure and contrast adjustments (this photo really needed the contrast). I then opened it up in Photoshop Elements. I ran Amy McMaster’s Squeaky Clean and warmed him up…so far, a typical edit.

I then created a duplicate layer to work on the skin – including the removal of drool on his chin. I used a combination of the spot healing tool and the paint brush (after selecting a spot on his face) to gently paint over his face and even out his skin tone. He didn’t need much, so I lowered the opacity once I was done. I also decided the photo needed to be cropped and rotated. 

I did add some textures, but really, I just wanted to add dimension. I was sure to paint the texture off his little face. In the event you find it helpful for me to lay out those layers…here they are (mostly from Shadowhouse Creations): 
  • Cover Texture, Overlay, 100% opacity
  • Ghost 4, Multiply, 58% opacity
  • Background Copy, Hard Light, 35% opacity
  • Retroloveoverlay, Overlay, 40% opacity
Finally, I added Paint the Moon’s Sunny Days action…adjusting the layers just a little bit. I merged those layers, duplicated my background and did a little burn on his face (because it felt too bright). 

So that’s it…I hope Jill isn’t “bored” with my edit.

2 COMMENTS