How to Edit Newborn Photos in Photoshop

One of the things I love about editing with MCP’s Photoshop actions are the adjustable layers.   Most MCP Newborn Necessities actions don’t require flattening, so you can edit and retouch, and have the flexibility to re-work things as needed.

The baby in the photo below was reddish yellow and had purple/red hands and feet. Also, the photo was underexposed. The photo was taken late in the afternoon as the family was moving out of state the next day. The sun was setting and I used a diffused, bounced flash.

Here’s how I edit newborn photos in Photoshop (including the image above):

* After some minor adjustments in Adobe Camera Raw I brought it into PS. While this sounds like a lot of steps below, it actually is extremely fast, as compared to making each of these adjustments from scratch.  You can adjust any of these steps to fit your image and edit as much or as little as you choose.

Step 1. Increase Exposure action - I brought my opacity up to 15%.

Step 2. Pick Me Up action - with a 53% opacity. I like that it gives the photo a little bit of pop but not going overboard. You can adjust this later to give yourself more or less pop but for now I am leaving it at 53%.

Step 3. Baby Bottle action This action will give you a nice white haze on your photo.

Step 4. Since his skin was a bit too yellow I used the It’s A Boy action to neutralize the yellow. You might not need to do this step but I use it if babies looks jaundice.

Step 5. Paint On Formula action - I love that sometimes you can run an action and it will just nail it for you. Paint on Formula is an action that I use in all of my newborns. I LOVE this action because it helps quickly fix spots of color, rather than on the entire image.

1. The first area I worked on was that purple hand. Using a white brush with a 30-40% opacity you paint on the proper fix. In this case – Magenta/+ Green. I went over it a few times. Tip: If it starts to look green, you can switch your brush to black and fix your mistakes.
2. While still in Paint on Formula layers, I selected the – Red/ + Cyan. This will start to pull out all the red and add a little bit of cyan.
3. To adjust the tones on his little foot, I used the items in #1 and also went into the + Yellow/ – Blue.  I added a little bit of yellow back. We used It’s a Boy to neutralize so only use this on areas with the weird color casts from using the other steps. I also used this on his hand because it was a little more red than I would have like it to be.

Step 6. In My Dreams action  When the action runs look for a good colored area of skin that want to try to use through out the rest of the skin. I had to choose one area for his hand to keep it a little darker and another for the rest of the skin. Once you run it your skin should all be pretty even now. Run it a few more times on different parts of the skin if you feel it is necessary.

Step 7.  Baby Lotion action -  I normally don’t smooth newborn skin too much. You can go overboard really easy. When you run this action it will take it to the very bottom of the layers right above your background layer. Lower your brush to 30% and pain on areas that you’d like to smooth out a little bit.

Step 8. I felt he might have looked a little too pale or gray so I ran the Paint on Gray Skin Fix and popped him up a bit. My brush was at 40% opacity and I left the action opacity as it was.

Step 9. Blushing Paint On Cheeks Bring a little pink back into your skin by using this action and your brush at 45% opacity. If it’s too pink then lower the opacity of your brush. You want a little bit of color but not over pink.

Step 10. Cool Vignette at 25% opacity

Laura Short, the guest writer and photographer for this image, is the owner of September Smile Photography. She’s a Navy veteran and currently lives in Austin, Texas with her four children and husband. Laura is a lifestyle photographer specializing in maternity, newborns and children.

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How to Change the Color of an Object in Photoshop

As with most things in Photoshop, there are many ways to change the color of an object, clothing and backgrounds to a completely different hue. Depending on your starting image, the item you want to change, and the difference between the object and the surrounding area, you may wish to isolate your subject first using a quick mask, layer mask, or color range tool. You can also opt for “Replace Color” in Photoshop.

For this edit of an English Setter named Sparrow, I wanted to alter the color of the velvet teal settee for some alternate looks.  You can also watch the Photoshop video tutorial below to see exactly how I edited this image.

1. Edited the original image, shown in video but not here, using the MCP Fusion Photoshop Action Set (One Click Color and Creamsicle).
2. Next I created a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.  Chose cyan from the drop down.  You would chose the color closest to the one you wish to change.  It will impact everything that is the color you pick.  But you can mask areas back later if needed. If you do not find a suitable color, you will want to make a selection of the area you wish to change first (using any number of selection tools) and just use the master channel instead of a specific one. On this adjustment layer, slide the Hue slider until you get a color you like.  Next, increase or decrease the Saturation slider and/or Lightness slider if desired.
3. Clean up the image. You may need to mask out the other areas that were impacted – for example if you wanted the collar to remain the original color. Just hide the color change by painting carefully with a black brush set to normal.  Likewise, you may get some haloing in areas that were not selected perfectly.  To adjust these, make a new blank layer.  Set the layer to the Color blend mode.  Then choose the brush tool and set it to Color blend mode.  Next use the dropper tool to select a sample color (that you want to turn the areas that still need to change). And carefully paint on this blank layer.  If you have overspill, add a mask and clean up your brush strokes.

If you take the photo with this in mind, by selecting colors that do not blend with others in the image, it is easy to change the color of the object, background, clothing and more.

Here is the step-by-step video:

Thank you to Danika of www.pouka.com for the use of her beautiful image for the video.

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Retouching in Photoshop does not need to leave you ripping your hair out.  If you want your subjects to have sharper eyes, smoother skin, and better color, we are here to help.

In today’s video we will teach you how to accomplish basic facial retouching and show you how to rid white and black colors of blueish cyan color cast.

Here are the basic steps we used:

1. Using the Shiny Skin Vanisher Photoshop Action in Bag of Tricks to reduce shine on the face – this is available for Photoshop and Elements
2. Using the patch tool to reduce under eye creases (this is a Photoshop tool)
3. Using Magic Skin’s Powder Your Nose Photoshop Action to smooth skin
4. Using the Eye Doctor Photoshop Action to enhance the eyes
5. Used Bleach Pen Photoshop Action to eliminate the blue/cyan color cast on the backdrop, on her dress, etc.

* Note that we did not use any artistic actions or even actions to enhance the contrast or color.

* I did remove a few specks of glitter from her hair using the patch tool, which I forgot to show in the video (sorry).

Watch the photoshop retouching video tutorial below or click here if you cannot see it:

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What editing style fits you most?

When you first start out in photography, chances are you are trying to find your style.  This takes place in camera, as you pose (or don’t pose) your subjects, as you decide what lighting to use or avoid, and more. When you sit down at the computer, you bring your style to light even more.

What editing tools and products you use often further define your style. But they do not have to.  You can achieve so many different looks from our actions and presets

So many times people ask which set of Lightroom presets or Photoshop actions they should buy.  Or photographers will ask exactly what their photo would look like with a specific set. Since our products are so adjustable and include so many options, there is truly something for everyone.  You can edit as light or heavy-handed as you like, and mix and match until you build the edit exactly as you imagined it when you clicked the shutter release button.

Here’s an example using just one product of why it’s hard to answer which product gets you a specific look. All of these edits below used just the Enlighten presets for Lightroom. Imagine if I edited this image with other presets from the set, or with one of our action sets?  I could literally make thousands of examples that looked different using just one image.  Now factor in camera settings, styling, lighting, etc.  You can accomplish anything with that combination at your fingertips.

Add a comment below and tell us which of these images best fits your style.

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As a photographer, my personal style is bright and colorful so I love when spring rolls around and color starts to emerge! We’re starting to see the grass and trees turn green in Idaho and I use a few tools to really enhance that color.

My workflow is pretty simple and I keep it consistent so when clients view my site, they immediately see my style and whether or not we’re a fit.

Here’s a quick overview of my workflow with my outdoor sessions:

1. I shoot in RAW, so I make any necessary adjustments. I’m an obsessive gray carder, so I didn’t need to make any initial adjustments in my color balance.

2. With a curves layer, I do a very slight s-curve, raising my midtones and deepening my shadows.

3. I then use the Magic See Saw action from MCP’s Bag of Tricks to do a check on my color. My color values told me that I needed to lower my cyan a touch, so I made those adjustments.

4. Next, I use the Color Finder action from the same set of photoshop actions, MCP’s Bag of Tricks, to really enhance all the color in those trees! In this photo, the sun was behind my client and I was really able to bring out the yellows and oranges caused by the sun. I loved the effect of it because it really tied in the mustard yellow color in the little boy’s pants.  I did just a tiny bit of color enhancement on the grass. Saturating the color too much made it look fake to me and I prefer a more natural look. I reduced my opacity to about 40-50%.

5. Finally, I use the free Photoshop action, MCP’s High Definition Sharpening, to sharpen the picture, erasing back the hair so it is not over-sharpened.

These simple steps really made this classic family portrait pop and enhanced the spring colors beginning to show!

Melissa Gephardt is a military wife and mom of 3 who specializes in children’s portraiture. Currently residing in Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, she looks forward to their next adventure in life as they move to another military base this summer! Her work can be found at www.melissagphotography.com or on Facebook at Melissa Gephardt Photography .

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This image has been a popular one on our site for years and I often get asked how to accomplish the edit and how to add the golden light using Photoshop Actions.

Here’s a step-by-step Blueprint for Photoshop and PS Elements – to help you achieve this look using MCP Fusion Photoshop Actions.

Step 1: Color Fusion Mix & Match (for Workflow & Toning)

• After playing Color Fusion Mix and Match, I turned on the following layers and adjust the opacity as indicated: One Click Color 75%, Lemonade Stand 71%, Beach House 39%, Rustic 40%.

Step 2: For Contrast and Edges

• I ran Different Directions to add contrast: 100%.
• I used Surrounded at 86% to darken edges & add vignette.

Step 3: For Light & Flare

• Custom Sunflare at 82%, masked lens flare off subject

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Layering Lightroom presets – yep!

Have you every tried layering Lightroom presets?  It’s fun and can help you create nearly unlimited looks.  But here’s the catch, most companies don’t build stackable presets.

This is one of the many reasons I love using MCP’s Enlighten presets for Lightroom 4. The possibilities are endless and you can make some amazing, artistic edits without leaving Lightroom. One catch, you still cannot stack two items that use identical settings… well you can, but not without our secret trick.  In today’s tutorial, I am going to show you how to make the presets even a little more flexible using the IMPORT-EXPORT trick. Just wait… you’ll love it.

Here’s my Step-By-Step Blueprints:

We have all taken a photo, or two, where we have forgotten to change the camera settings. Here is one photo that I forgot to change the settings.  This was going to to in the trash bin, until I started playing with it.

This is the straight out of camera image:

I used the following presets from MCP Enlighten:

• open shade white balance
• adjusted the lighting by 1 2/3 stop lighten
• soft & bright B&W for the style
• overlay of ginger
• adjusted midtones
• shadows

You can always use brushes to bring out more details or make it softer. Crop the photo if needed, then export to “same folder as original photo.” Here is the first edit after the above steps.

The Import-Export Trick:

Next, since you can still only stack one overlay at a time from the set, I used the “export/import trick.”  To do this, you export the photo to the same photo as the original and then import the edited photo back into Lightroom. Next you can add one of the overlays. In this case “shadows: rose.”  Then I exported that photo to “same folder as original photo” just like before.

Once again, I imported that last photo back into Lightroom again and add another overlay such as lemon water. Export that photo just like before.

Once more import that last photo with the shadows: rose/lemon water over lays and add another overlay such as pomegranate.

Four different looks from one photo using different Enlighten overlays section.

You can always change the look any of these photos by using a new style or tweak the colors. Playing with the vibrance sliders will add more looks to your photo.  The Enlighten brushes will allow you to bring out more details or soften the look. The possibilities of overlaying like this are truly endless.

Sue Zellers a self taught amateur photographer who tries to capture the beauty and wonder of nature. She lives in beautiful farm countryside with her husband & 2 dogs, who are her other photo subjects.
See her work here: http://500px.com/sueze or Follow her on Facebook.

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Photographer decisions before the vacation:

1. What camera should you bring to capture family vacation photos? Do you go all out and bring your professional dSLR or do you opt for a smaller point and shoot or even something in between?
2. What lenses do you bring – and how many?  Do you bring your primes for portraits or more flexible zoom lenses so you have less to carry and can cover a wider range of focal lengths?
3. What camera bag will work best?
4. What additional photography items should you bring?

After deciding on these things, and packing the gear with extra batteries and memory cards, it’s off to vacation.  Every time I travel, I make these choices above.  I consider my goals.  Do I want primarily lifestyle snapshots vs portraits?  Will I be photographing my surroundings, unique buildings, wildlife, etc.  Who or what will my subjects be and what level of detail and skill do I want to exert on my time off?

The photography – my current choice:

For my most recent vacation, a 7-day Spring Break cruise on Celebrity Reflection, I was unplugged.  No internet or phone, which means no Facebook, no Twitter, no Pinterest, and no email.  I also wanted the photography to be truly snapshots of my time away.  I was not aiming for canvases of my kids.  I wanted to relax and capture what I wanted, when I wanted.  Additionally I wanted to be able to hand my camera to my husband or a stranger and get in a couple photos.  While I do not like being in photos, I know it is important. I wrote this article a while back and stressed the importance of getting in a few pictures now and then, especially ones with your family.

Late in 2012, I bought a camera that is the happy medium between my Canon 5D MKIII and a point and shoot – it is the Olympus OMD-EM5. It is a micro four-thirds camera – it is lighter, lacks a mirror (mirrorless) and is smaller than a dSLR.  It has a 2x crop factor, which means all lenses are 2x the focal length (a 20mm lens is actually 40mm in view).  I am loving it so far as I can switch lenses, shoot in manual or semi-auto modes like aperture priority – and have control over my images.  Sure, there is more noise than my Canon.  Sure, I don’t get quite the bokeh.  But it is very good and ideal for 80-90% of the time when I am photographing my family, especially on vacation.

So, for the cruise, I brought this camera and a few lenses: a Panasonic 12-35 2.8 plus a few primes.  But guess what stayed on my camera the whole time – the prime lens… It has the equivalent focal length of a 24-70.

No regrets leaving behind my SLR:

Looking back at the trip, I have no regrets about the camera I brought.  To me, it was somewhat lightweight (though not pocketable), and it helped me get the type of images I was aiming for.  Most importantly, it documented my trip.  I was able to take it zip lining and was able to have fun and not only be viewed as “the photographer.”

Editing images

After a trip, there’s so much to do, from unpacking and laundry, to checking thousands of emails.  Having a memory card full of pictures may be daunting.  I have a simple system worked out, and I fine-tune it every year…  Here’s how I culled and editing all 500 images from our vacation.

Step 1: Load them on the computer

While unpacking, I took the SD Card and popped it in.  By the time I unpacked and the laundry in, I was at my desk with all the files ready for viewing.

Step 2: Choose any I want to keep

I very quickly sort through the hundreds (or sometimes thousands) of images.  I spend no more than 3-5 seconds per photo on this process. For these images, it’s an extreme – I either will keep or delete.  I keep most, but delete any where I have multiple of the exact same thing, where eyes are closed, odd looks on the face, or where I am thinking “why did I take that?” I use the “P” and “X” method of culling in Lightroom.  I have my CAP LOCK on so after clicking P for Pick or X for reject, it auto advances to the next image.  Then I literally delete the rejected photos.  If you are not quite brave enough, you can always just remove them from Lightroom, but keep the raw files.

Step 3: Quick Edits in Lightroom

Remember, these are snapshots. I edited all the chosen images with one to three clicks at most using the Enlighten Lightroom Presets. Let’s say I have 15 photos by the pool in similar light, I edit one and then sync the rest in that setting. And move on to the next.  I go fast.  The edits are not perfect, like what you might do for a client.  Speed is the priority. I’d say the editing averages 10 seconds per photo since the synched ones bring the time down greatly. Then I export the photos to JPGs and if I want to share some on Facebook or elsewhere, I do a quick web resize with the FREE Facebook Fix for Photoshop.

If there are any photos I am in LOVE with, while going through the culling process, I might quickly hit the 5 key (for 5 star).  This means I may want to do a few extras with either the adjustment brush or in Photoshop. And as you see above, I often share the photos with family, friends and Facebook by popping them into collage templates.  See our Photoshop template actions for super quick collages. Or for Lightroom our Display It for Web or Present It for Print presets.

Past vacation and travel photography posts

Since what I bring and how I edit depends on the trip, here are a few past trips and vacation posts where you can read about the gear I chose or how I edited.

• 10 Things to Photograph on Every Vacation
• The Perfect Photographer Pack List
• How to Transform a Vacation Picture Into a Work of Art
• Vacation Photos: The Ins and Outs of Travel Photography
• How to Edit 500 Vacation Photos in 4 Hours in Photoshop and Lightroom
• The Photographer on Vacation
• 6 Reasons to Wake Up Early on Vacation
• How I Edit Vacation Photos

The post How To Photograph and Quickly Edit Your Family Vacation Photos appeared first on MCP Photography Blog.

Using Graduated Filters and Brushes in Lightroom for Beautiful Blue Skies

The Setting

You know when you have those days that come along so rarely that you simply must grab them by the horns and make the best of them???  That is how I felt about my opportunity to visit a local Longhorn Cattle Ranch. It was a bit of a gloomy day with overcast skies; making it easier to shoot the amazing beasts. Unfortunately the conditions lacked beautiful blue skies to coordinate with their delightful orange coats.

Here is my original shot from RAW cropped, color adjusted and sharpened.  As you can see the sky is dull and dreary.

How to Turn Overcast Skies Into Interesting Skies

Here’s how to do this using Lightroom 4:

Step 1 - Drop in a graduated filter.   Have I lost you already?  It isn’t hard, trust me on this. And if you feel completely lost, there’s always the MCP Online Lightroom Class… But here’s what we are going to do.

In the develop module, directly under the histogram, are a few awesome tools that you need to be familiar with and use.  All the way to the right is the brush (we will use that one in a bit); and the next one over is the graduated filter. Each time you click on these to use them it opens up a drop down box where you can adjust all the parts of the filter or brush.  This is especially cool in LR4 where even more options are available.

In the image below you will see that my drop down box for a filter is showing, in this case I have chosen to use MCP’s Enlighten Sky graduated filter, but have tweaked it a bit, moving the sliders to suit what I want for this image.  What you will also notice is the extra box of color showing.  This box is specifically related to the filter, and won’t affect any other part of your image.  Since my sky was so very bland, I wanted to really bump up the color, so I choose a very saturated strong blue.

Once I had all of my graduated filter decisions made, I went to the upper left corner with the cursor (which shows up as a plus sign), right clicked and held while dragging toward the center of my image.  The bulk of the effect will occur above your cursor, with only slight changes below.  As you can see on my image I chose to stop just above the cow horns. I know that is an awful lot to take in, but once you get it you get it!!

Step 2:

This effect was not strong enough for the look I wanted to achieve, so I clicked New, just below the filter button, chose the MCP sky filter again, set the color a blue just a bit less saturated and pulled down a second filter atop the one that was already there.  Yes, you can layer and layer them adjusting each one as it lays over the last.

If you’re frustrated and thinking “But what if I don’t have MCP’s graduated sky preset to choose from?” (you should get it, just saying!), take a deep breath and ask yourself, which effect you want   …Then adjust your sliders to accomplish that.  We want a deeper more saturated sky, right?  And we are basically just messing with light and color right? So how do you get deeper and more saturated??  Lower the exposure, and raise the saturation!

The great thing about using a filter or a brush is that you can slide those sliders ANYTIME it is ACTIVE and you will see the effect changing. If you lay down a filter and it isn’t quite doing what you thought it would, then just head over to the sliders and adjust.  Go ahead and try it, you will see and be amazed!  If on the off chance you are not amazed and only frustrated, well then just hit the delete button and your ACTIVE filter will hit the trash, and you can start fresh.  I promise, once you get a good feel for it you will wonder why you thought it was so hard to begin with.

Step 3:

Now we are going to delve into the brush tool! I could tell by looking at my image that there were some blues I wanted even deeper.  I didn’t want to take a chance on the filter being too much for the whole sky (and I wanted to work a brush lesson into this tutorial).
A brush is an AWESOME Lightroom Tool.  It is used to apply effects to very specific portions of your image. In this case I wanted more of the same…deeper blues and more saturation.  You know what that means right?  The adjustments within the brush will look almost exactly the same as when we were using the filter tool.  Check out my sliders in the image below, exposure down again and a beautiful blue color chosen.  If you don’t see the Select a Color palette like in my last two screen shots, this is how it looks with the choice already made and the pop out box closed.

I chose to use my brush to “paint” blue, lowered exposure light onto specific portions of the sky. If you wonder just where you have painted the subtle effect you can click the show overlay button which I pointed out at the bottom left of the screen.  It will give you a red overlay showing where you brushed.  This is cool to check accuracy, but not very cool when you are actually working.

More “local adjustment brush” tips:

There are several other things you MUST know about using a brush. If you’re already overwhelmed, come back later and read this spot when you have a better grasp on the whole brush concept.

• When you click the brush tool to open up a new brush, what drops down is the area where you “mix your paint.”  In essence you are mixing up a batch of “light paint” to apply to your image.  Maybe this seems like a strange analogy, but stay with me here.  You want to create just the right combination of light and color to effect your image in a specific way, and adjusting the sliders gives you seemingly unlimited combinations.  When your brush is active any changes you make to those sliders or color show up on your image so you can see the changes as you work.
• However, there is an exception to this.  Go back to that last shot above, and notice my large circle to the right with the words “So important” pointing to the bottom of the brush panel.  This is the area where you decide how big of a brush you are going to use, and how much “light paint” you are going to paint onto your image.  If you have a large area where you want to lay on big deep color then make that brush big and set the density and flow pretty high.  If you have a delicate area where you want to gently lay on pale strokes of color then move those sliders further to the left for a lighter touch.
• Also, SO IMPORTANT, is that this does NOT reset each time you create a new brush.  Yes, pay attention to that when you start brushing with a new brush, you may need those things set differently for the desired effect.

To finish this image….

I noticed that the blue filter color was a bit too strong for my taste on the branches of the trees.  In order to combat this, I zoomed in on the image to get a closer look at where I wanted to work. (Some people are super smooth and know all the keystroke shortcuts to zoom or make a new brush, or many other things, but I am still old school and just click on the screen where I want to go. I also still use a simple pencil in my calendar to keep track of my daily schedule…but that is a whole ‘nother thing).

Zoom is up near the left hand corner.  I clicked to create a new brush, decided on my settings then painted away just on those areas in the tree limbs where the blue was too strong.  A neat thing to remember when painting with light is that a color opposite on the color wheel will bring down the value and tone of the color you wish to tame.

In this case I wanted to combat blue, so I chose a pale orange.  I didn’t want to glob on the light paint, so I lowered my density and flow a bit and messed with the saturation until it suited my taste.  Then I created yet another brush to bring up the clarity and saturation in my cows, to really make them pop off of the now blue sky!

One more brush tip:
Sometimes when I am working with brushes, I can get a LOT of them going in the same image. I don’t necessarily want all of my brush pins showing, and taking up space in my editing.   If that is the case for you, then the best option is to choose “Selected” next to show edit pins in the bottom left corner.  If at some point you want to know where you started all your brush strokes just change that setting again like it is shown in my shot.  You can do that any time in your edit process.

And here’s the finished product… what a difference a bit of painted light can make.

Whew, are you exhausted yet?  I know it is a lot to take in, but soon you will be “light painting” like a pro!!

Jennifer Watrous of JD Waterhouse Photography is a Fine Artist turned photographer. With a background in watercolor, pen and ink, and pencil drawing…photography seemed the natural next step for this busy mom of three to be able to click, and create artwork in a fraction of the time. Her laid back style and joyful attitude make her a perfect fit for the genre of equine photography where patience, timing and the perfect pair of blue jeans are key.
You can find her on Facebook here.

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What Photoshop Actions To Buy To Edit Wildlife Photography

As I mentioned in last week’s edit, I love photographing wildlife.  My go to lens is the Canon 70-200 2.8 IS through I am hoping Canon will release a new version of the 100-400 (and I will have my name on a wait list).  While I never hunt, I did call a friend and said “I shot a deer and I may hang its head on my wall.”  She knows me too well, and replied “with what lens…”

On my quest to get out from behind my computer more, I plan to photograph nature and wildlife in the upcoming months.

Editing Wildlife: What Photoshop Actions are Best?

Most of our Photoshop actions and Lightroom presets work equally well on outdoor nature images and animals and wildlife, as they do on portraits.  I get emails all the time from pet photographers who use the Eye Doctor on every dog image.

Below I will demonstrate how our Photoshop actions can impact a few deer images.

My Go-To Photoshop Actions for Outdoor Wildlife Images

• This edit was super fast.  I’d say that I had two color versions and a black and white version in less than a minute.

For the first color edit, I wanted to maintain the subtle tones of winter. I used MCP Four Seasons Winter Whirlwind base action + Barren and turned off the black and white layer. I also ran Hemispheres at 25% to add light contrast and used Burn Me Up to darken selective spots in the background. The winter whirlwind base is amazing at pulling out detail from the image.

To get the B&W version, I just toggled the B&W layer I had turned off back on. Literally one click.  I made snapshots of both and saved both.

I decided for fun, and to show you an alternate look, how you could make this photo look like it was a late Autumn snow versus mid winter.  For this edit, I used the Autumn Equinox Base (also in the Four Seasons actions) and the look Jenna’s Jewels” on top of it to pop the color lightly.  I then used the Fall Foliage action with a 30% opacity brush and selectively painted on a few of the tree limbs to alter the color tones further.  It is a richer edit but less wintery.

I ended up taking the Winter looking versions a step further. I cropped in a bit more.  Do you prefer the original or closer view?  And I cloned out the branch that was in front of the deer’s neck.  Here is the results.  The cloning took about one minute using both the clone and patch tools.

If you are interested in seeing more edits on wildlife and nature, please add a comment and let us know.  We’d love to hear which color you prefer or if you like the black and white version.

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