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Babies can be tricky, not only to shoot but also to edit. As a photographer the MCP Newborn Necessities action set has been an invaluable part of my work flow ever since it was released! I specialize in babies and small children. But I love using Newborn Necessities on all of my images. These Photoshop Actions work great on a bit bigger kids too.
For Starters:
Here’s the straight out of camera image. She has stray hairs on her face. Unfortunately there is no magic fix for this, but Photoshop has some great features you can use, like the patch tool and spot healing tool.
The Edit:
I started by doing manual edits using the patch tool and the clone stamp tool to remove the stray hairs and even out the skin, like the darker part under her eyes and over her mouth.
Step 1: Magic Baby Powder from Newborn Necessities to smooth the skin used at 20%. I often use this at a low opacity on darker skin tones. If there are more challenging skin issues such as baby acne, I would use the Organic Baby Powder.
Step 2: Used Eyes Wide Open and Sharp Eyelashes to enhance the eyes. Then used Blushing on the lips, all with low opacity brushes (25% or lower).
Step 3: Used MCP Four Seasons actions to create various looks.
- The Spring Splendor action set is perfect for soft, dreamy, color tones. In this image I used Spring Splendor, Dreamy, Orchid, and Ups and Downs (contrast).
- Winter Whirlwind allows me to offer a black and white version of the image too, which a lot of clients love. Here I used the Winter Whirlwind Mix-N-Match action checking off Storm, Snow Angels, Jolly, Frost Fairy, and Barren. I finished it off with Directional Light Therapy and Eclipses Vignette. I always run the Print Sharpie before saving.
I often mix and match MCP Action sets to create a unique look for every gallery. I prefer my colors to be subtle, realistic, and close to natural, but you can create the look that you want. Just remember to be consistent with your editing style for client galleries.
Mette Lindbaek is a photographer from Norway who moved to Abu Dhabi last year after living in South China for the past three years. Metteli Photography specializes in babies and kids portraits. To see more of her work check her site, or like her Facebook-page.
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This is a great tip. My brother just had a little one, so i will use this trick to anhance the photo’s i take…. Thanks
Beautiful Jodi!
Great tut, Jodi.
This is really remarkable. I just love your blueprints and tutorials!
Amazing, thanks for the tut.
I don’t understand step 4. Could you please explain. I saw you do something like this on one of your workflow videos using the eye dropper tool (I think?) and I just can’t comprehend it. Or could you point me in the right direction?
Beautiful – thanks for sharing (:
Thanks Jodi! You’ve helped me heaps!
What a transformation this is! I can’t believe it’s from the same original image. Your tutorials/recipes are fantastic, thank you!
Jodi,You have a magic touch. That is a beautiful transformation. Would you mind explaining what you mean by a “custom curve”? Is it a manual curve adjustment? Thanks!
Amazing result – very beautiful
custom curve just meant curve I made not in an action. So in this case I lightened midtones using curves.
Beautiful transformation!
Cute newborn,beautiful mcp blue print.Thank fot sharing.
Love how this photo turned out. And with the clarity of the after pic. …Its just beautiful.
These are great actions… you should update this with a newer newborn photography session because you have awesome actions for photographers like us! 🙂