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 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!