One Image, Two Edits

Practicing your editing style and post-processing workflow is key to making your photos stand out in a crowd.  I only started thinking this way about a year ago when I really got serious about learning how my camera works and what all I could do with the photos afterwards by using editing programs.

Today I thought it would be fun to share with you a step-by-step look at how two of us approach the editing process using the same image. Robin (from Newfandhound) and I will be sharing with you what program we use to edit the photo, and what steps we took to create the finished look.

The Original Photo

The original photo straight out of the camera.

The Edited Photo

The edited photo.

I opened up the original photo in Photoshop Elements and applied an InstaClean action. InstaClean is a cleaning action, meaning it’s a set of layer masks that can help you get your image looking great but still like it came from the camera that way.

After the action was applied, I went through the different layers in the action and adjusted them to my liking. 

I increased the levels layer to correct any white balance issues.

I applied a warming filter to bring out more warmth in Penny’s fur.

To bring out more contrast in the background, I applied a black layer mask and used a soft brush (with a white color) to reveal the white in the background. I also lightened areas around her eyes and the tip of her nose.

I increased the contrast to 75% for more depth and color pop.

I then re-sized my photo and applied my watermark. 

I am really happy with the finished look.  I did not want to do anything too drastic to change the overall feel of the photo, but rather I wanted to photo to speak for itself, and I feel like I accomplished that by applying those simple edits.

Now make sure to head on over to Newfandhound to see how her photo turned out! 

In Photography Tips & Tricks Tags