This will be the first in an ongoing series on image processing called ‘fix me please!’, where I feature an image that needs some work, with step by step details of what I would do to it in Photoshop.

In my in-person consultations with photography clients I often find myself editing their images as we sit side-by-side in front of the computer. The feedback I have received from these clients is that it really helps them to see what I would do with THEIR images. It’s pretty fun for me too! Please keep in mind here I edit my images to please my clients, so I keep the owner of that particular pet in mind while editing.

This photo belongs to my dear workshops + portfolio review client Karen Denmark, selected with her permission (thanks Karen!). She took this photo of Millie during our workshop in Austin last year, and I thought it was really cute, but just needed a little bit of ‘tweaking’.

Original. Sweet expression, but too dark, some distracting elements and colors, and not enough detail.

The first thing I did was play with curves, to bring the midtones up without blowing out the highlights. I ‘grabbed’ the middle of the curve (the straight line) and pulled it up to the left until it looked good, then adjusted the lower left part of the line (the darks) and the upper right part of the line (the lights). I was then able to tweak the blacks back to a nice rich tone. Lightening and darkening with curves provides a more sophisticated and natural look and nicer contrast than using shadow/highlight or levels. Using curves is actually a lot easier than you’d think. You can read more about it here.

Ok, so now that I’ve got the exposure where I want it, it’s pretty much done, right? Not quite.

There are a few things that are bugging me. The first one is the blue color (I think those are pants legs?) in the background on the left. All of the colors in this shot are warm, and the blue stands out to me. Given that it’s a blurry background element, I don’t want any of the focus on the blue, so it has got to go. Sorry blue, nothin personal!

Here I use my Wacom pen tool (indespensable for editing), and select an area of dark red above and next to the jeans. (Note: if you don’t have a graphics tablet you can still do this with your mouse.) I feathered the selection out to around 6px, then went to ‘edit’ ‘copy’, then ‘paste’ over the blue area. I then adjusted the opacity in the layers palette to make it look more natural. I did this several times, copying and pasting, and flattening layers, and then cloned the area next to the ear with a small soft brush (17px-ish) to complete the removal of the blue. It’s hard to clone areas that have a gradient (where the colors blend from light to dark), which is why I chose the copy/paste route. You can actually still see a teensy line of blue next to her ear, which I would want to fix, cause I’m a perfectionist like that. Oh, I should also note that in this type of situation, it’s really helpful if you are cloning, to lower the opacity of your cloning brush to somewhere between 65%-89%. This gives you a wider margin for error, and produces a more natural look.

Cool. Now the distracting blue is gone. So what else is bugging me? Well, Millie’s ‘white’ fur, which doesn’t look white to me. It looks, I don’t know, green? Grey? I can’t tell. All I know is it looks dingy and I don’t like it. Yucky dingy doggie fur. So what I did below is I used my pen and lasso selection tool and hand selected the white fur on Millie’s face (you can also use the magic wand tool to select the fur). I then went to ‘image’,  ’adjustments’, ‘hue/saturation’, and greatly saturated my selection, then stared at it for a minute before returning the saturation settings to 0. Doing this enabled me to see exactly what colors I was dealing with. In this case, cyan is the culprit. I was close with my guess of green, right? Oh yeahh baby, whose the man? Wait, I’m a woman. Oh nevermind.

So with my selection still selected, and the ‘hue/saturation’ box still open, I selected ‘cyan’ from the drop-down and desaturated dramatically. While it was definitely better, it still didn’t look quite right to me, so then, while the area I wanted was still selected, I went to ‘image’, ‘adjustments’, and ‘photo filter’. I experimented with the warm photo filters, until I found one I liked. In this case I think I used the 2nd warming filter, the more yellowish one (LBA) and dropped the density way down to around 6%. You can also use this ’saturate/desaturate/photo filter’ trick on fur that has gone too blue or orange, or tongues or lips & noses that have gone purple.

I knew from the beginning that I wanted the focus to be on Millie’s eyes in this shot. I mean, look how cute she is. But first, I wanted to sharpen the overall image just a teeny bit. So I went to ‘filter’, ’sharpen’, ’smart sharpen’. (I have used every sharpening trick in the book, including the most popular sharpening actions- you know the ones, and also know how to do high-pass sharpening, and even have a high-pass sharpen action of my own I designed, and always come back to smart sharpen). The settings I generally use are radius 1.5px, then amount is anywhere between around 24 up to 135 for a very strong effect. It’s usually in the 45-85px range. Here it was light, around 27-35px. Reason being is that I’m not personally a fan of super sharp images. They feel weirdly intimate to me, like I’m looking into a scene that I shouldn’t be looking at. Like, ‘too’ real. Like the opposite of film. They make me feel like a voyeur. And sometimes I think they might just end up looking ‘trendy’. But that’s my problem. If you like sharp- sharpen away!

Ok, so I used this sharpening overall. THEN, for the piece-de-resistance, my favorite part, I selected Millie’s eyes and nose with my lasso, and went back to ’smart sharpen’. Only this time I used it backwards. For radius I chose 30px, and amount I chose 20px. Doing this really made her eyes pop and deepen her nose. I should note here that doing this also adds a bit of sharpening at the same time, so I usually do this *before* sharpening the rest of the photo (I did overall sharpening here first because I already knew what the ‘blend’ would look like). The result is what you see here below. Also, keep in mind that the best sharpening is done with the output in mind (web, print at 100dpi, print at 300dpi, etc). You can read more about sharpening here.

And voila, the best part- the before and after! Some simple tricks you can use to take your images from ‘tossers’ to ‘keepers’. This is why I teach to focus on expressions over technical perfection in the beginning (ultimately with more practice and skill you want to nail both). Expressions can’t be faked, but you can create a lovely saleable photo in photoshop that your client will adore. And in the end, when you are a professional photographer and selling photography for a living, when it comes to editing/processing, the clients are all that matter!

What would you have done differently? What fun quick tips and tricks do you have that you’d like to share?

FAMILY: I have an incredibly supportive, loving, dedicated, understanding, funny, amazing family that I get to see and talk to and visit with regularly, who all accept me for exactly who I am, flaws and all. (They are all in the greater Seattle area). They are always always there for me no matter what, when no one else is. They don’t help out of obligation, they help because they want to. For a gal like me who has an extremely difficult time reaching out and asking for help, this means more to me than I can put into words. The love I feel from them, (and toward them), is palpable, and I would not be who I am without them. No question.

POOCH: My Fergie is a super sweet, sensitive dog, who, for the most part, listens to me and wants to please, and is very much my teammate in life (my heart dog for those who have pointed this out to me). She is so in tune with how I am feeling, that all I need to do is change my facial expressions, or sigh slightly, and she knows something is off. It would be impossible for me to love her more than I do. If I had a fire, and everything burned down, I would be happy as long as I had her. Yep, computers, cameras, even my laptop, can all go away. If she and I are still standing, that’s all that matters. (But in case you are wondering- all my biz + personal belongings are all insured).

HOME: I recently moved into a home that I adore, where I feel incredibly happy, and safe, and warm, and have all of the creature comforts I need. I moved from a very unhappy, unhealthy situation (the place I moved into last summer), and know without a doubt that this new place is my good karmic payback, and I pinch myself every day that I am here (pictures to come!). And Fergie would add that she’s grateful for the huge yard filled with grass and flowers and trees and tall private fence where she gets to run around every day. It’s practically like her own little dog park.

Although the house is small and modest, it’s filled with charm, and we really are living in paradise. It’s also clear to me that this house, and this lot, have been well cared for since the place was built in 1930- you can practically feel the love oozing from the walls. ‘Good energy’ is what my friend Brandie says. If only the walls could talk. My new ‘home’ was worth all of the stress and pain it took to get here and I can’t wait to share pictures of it with you all. I am so happy here. (Currently laying in my warm bed typing away on my laptop with my snoozing pooch by my side, rain falling lightly outside).

FRIENDS: my friends fill me with light and life and have empathy and big hearts and are really really GOOD people. Over the years I’ve had quite a few negative, toxic people in my life, and as of just this year, I have managed to weed out the last of those kinds of people out of my life. What I am left with are genuine, honest, authentic, loving, caring people with hearts the size of the moon. They are the kind of people who would do anything for you, who you can sob with on the phone, who share your triumphs and joys and deepest darkest secrets, who accept you for who you are; skeletons, hairy warts and all, and who are GENUINELY happy for you when you are happy. For that I am extremely grateful. I can’t thank them enough for having me in their lives.

JOB: I have, for me, the world’s best job. I get to marry two major passions: my love of animals with my desire to express myself creatively through photography. I don’t have to ‘herd’ to work at 9am with the masses (sorry, my loathing of the 9-5 life is strong!!), I don’t have to pad some wealthy CEO’s pockets, I’m not merely a cog in a wheel, all of the money I work hard to make goes to me, and most importantly, I *believe* in what I do, and know I make a difference in people’s lives.

I get to network with amazing people, work with awesome clients who are also really good people, who share the same ideals I do, be part of a fantastic online community of photographers the world over, really feel like I have a ‘place’ in this world, and have a successful business that I’m really proud of. I know for a fact I would not feel this way in a regular 9-5 job because I’ve tried. In the past, it was impossible for me to create excellence in the positions I’ve been in. The ceilings I hit were just too hard and ‘policy’ always prevented me from doing what I really want, which is always to make things better, to improve, to innovate and create uniqueness and excellence. I have sacrificed benefits, paid time off, and health insurance, but the payoff is I never have to be average, and I can take as many risks as I want. That’s a tradeoff that I am happily willing to make.

AUTOMOBILE: Although my older Subaru Outback is far from fancy, it’s a car that gets me from point a to point b without much trouble. It doesn’t use much gas, costs me very little money, is usually pretty reliable, is great for the dog and for traveling, and I am so grateful I have it. Fergie loves it too because she goes everywhere with me.

HEALTH: I have an illness called Secondary Adrenal Insufficiency, or Adrenal Fatigue, which essentially means that I burned my adrenal glands out. I have good days and bad days, but ultimately, I can get around fine, I am not bedridden, I am not suffering from a terminal illness, I can improve if not completely heal my condition, I never have to see the walls inside a hospital, and get to stay away from doctors for the most part for long periods of time. There are so many people in this world who suffer great pains, who have conditions that are debilitating, whose health is completely out of their control, and that I get to enjoy life to the fullest *most* of the time, I am extremely grateful for.

COUNTRY: I did not ask to be born an American, and I am often deeply ashamed of the things my government does, and the self-centered ignorant attitude of many Americans, but all things considered I am deeply grateful to live in this country. The #1 reason why is I have freedom: a right that is more important to me than any other rights. I am not censored, I have the ability to move about freely, I get to wear what I want, I can express myself without fear of torture, I have access to food, clean running water, there are companies that take care of my waste and pick up my garbage, I have heat and a roof over my head, and access to purchase any single thing I need to make the quality of my life even better. And as a woman I (for the most part) have equal opportunities as the men in my community and country. The only person holding me back is me. Trust me when I say that all of these things do not go ignored by me. I am LUCKY to live here.

CITY: I love this fair city of mine. After escaping for brief stints in Alaska, Oregon, California and France, I have decided Seattle is my home, and now I love it here. Yes it is wet half (or more) of the year, but it doesn’t rain nearly as much as it’s reputation leads people to believe. Aside: I tweeted the other day that is was gorgeous and sunny, and got a reply “that doesn’t happen that much there does it?” I just had to laugh, and thought to myself “not true, that’s just what we want others to believe so they won’t move here!!”- that my friends, is actually true.

Anyhoo, I love living in a place where a quick drive can have me facing beautiful mountains and water, and am surrounded by greenery everywhere I go. I need the plants and the fresh air, and the flowers and fall leaves and seasons, and snowsports, and also the nightlife, arts, shopping and culture a larger city offers. I’m also grateful that I live in a place that isn’t prone to tornadoes or other natural disasters, and don’t have to worry (yet!) about earthquakes and droughts, floods caused by torrential rains, or other Mother Nature-caused bad things happening.

Aside- my heart and thoughts go out to those in Chile and I am praying that the Tsunami that hits Hawaii causes minimal damage and spares lives. We’ve seen enough tragedy on this planet already recently.

LOVE: I have more love in my life now than I ever have before. My aforementioned family and friends help greatly in that respect, but I also get that from so many other sources- the checkout clerk at the grocery store, my teller at the bank, people I meet at parties, colleagues, other new and established photographers, family friends, etc, etc, etc, the list goes on and on. I feel so much love toward me, and I really hope it’s because I give it out freely. I really do love people (even though many drive me batty, and my patience for bad human behavior is slim), but in general, I believe humans are inherently good, and I’m so thrilled I have learned how to surround myself with good people. If it’s true that you get back what you put out there into the universe, then that makes me want to cry with pride. As the Beatles say “All you need is love”.

I know there are many more things I am grateful for that I am not listing here, but these are the basics.

Of course, even given all of the things above, I have problems, I have flaws, I make mistakes, sometimes really stupid mistakes, I will continue to make mistakes, I am far from perfect, I still have a lot to learn in business and in life, I am as messed up as the next person, but I am still grateful every single day for all of the amazing gifts that I have.

I just really wanted to put it out there to honor these things I value so much.

Enough about me, what are YOU grateful for? I’d love your comments, I’d love to hear.

Anyhoo, here are some proofs I just finished designing for Mattie’s parents, who are ordering a storyboard 24×36 canvas. Actually, the original plan was to just get one image on a canvas, but in a recent meeting we couldn’t pick which one we liked best, so I said “you know what would be fun? ‘this’ series on one canvas”. And they loved it. And so do I. Now, guess which one they picked. (and sorry about the www.cowbelly.com watermark, these also went on my Facebook page.). The correct guesses get a big “yippee” from me! lol

I have lots more new posts to share with you guys (sorry about the lack of blog love lately!), but I’m still busy catching up with client work and getting my new home set up. My retired interior design mom is coming today to help me determine what to put in my living room. I currently have zero seating furniture and the floor is getting a little hard. Will catch up with y’all soon! Have a terrific weekend!

Also, I will be doing a live Q&A chat through Twitter on Monday afternoon, so if you’d like some real-time advice on pet photography that I can squeeze into a 140 character answer, follow me at twitter call sign @cowbelly, and feel free to ask away! In terms of timing, go ahead and just jump on whenever you are free. I’ll answer questions until later that night. Hope to ’see’ some of you on Monday!

Speaking of CityDog Magazine, a reminder that the annual Valentines Day Puppy Love CityDog Muttmixer is tonight! It’s at the gorgeous W Hotel in downtown Seattle, runs from 6pm-8pm, is dog-friendly, and I can attest from experience, is a blast for both you and your pups. Dress up, drink some champagne, socialize with other dog lovers, and maybe even meet someone special for you and your pooch. I’ll be staying in tonight, as I’m still trying to recover from the exhaustion of moving, and for those who know the normally energetic outgoing party-girl me, you know I MUST be tired, lol. Fergie and I will be there in spirit though!