This is the SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera) picture, which I think is a rather nice shot, but I wanted to see if I can get a little more *WOW* out of it in Photo-shop.
I thought a little soft focus
(Gaussian Blur) would make a more dreamy setting, I also found the excessive reflections in the eyes to be a little distracting. If you look closely in the left eye (your left, not his) you will see my camera lens (the large circular blob), a sliver of my head sticking out above it, my elbows stuck out like I'm doing the chicken dance, Calvin's play gym (the long arcs around the pupil), the blue sky behind that, and oh look, I can even see some clouds. This is what I would call, too much detail. So, I took the paintbrush, set it to black, dissolve, and an opacity less than 50% and brushed over certain areas; eliminating the "excessive" detail, but still leaving enough to incite interest.
While I was at it, I also enhanced the colors by minor tweaks here and there.
Now, I truly love this rendering but I also wanted to see what else I could do with it. So, I tried Black & White (84%).
Now, what about a full Black & White make-over?
Breath-taking...but what about Sephia? (less than 50 %)
What about a little more? (84%)
Oooh...love that vintage look.
Now what if...instead of softening the eyes I sharpen them using a tip I learned off
The Pioneer Woman?
Interesting...which one is your favorite?
