Creating Contrast for Phoebe

This week I will print & finalize a few portraits including Phoebe. I loved the sweet expression on this pup's face. The original photo was pretty good. The main thing I needed to do was bump up the contrast and paint in some missing detail. One thing I always try to create with each piece are really deep dark blacks in the black areas. The more contrast a piece has the better. See the two details below to see what a little contrast can do.

Photoshop Tip: For those of you that dabble in Photoshop I will share one of my favorite tips for tweaking contrast. A lot of people will go right to the "Adjust Contrast" filter and slide the little slider until it looks good. That is one way to tweak the contrast however to get your blacks as deep as you may want them you will often blow out your whites too much. A better solution is to choose "selective color" and choose just your blacks and then bump them till they look right. Of course curves would be another good option.