Photographer: Barb Leopold
Camera: Panasonic Lumix 1/125s @ f4 ISO 80
Title: Glowing Poppy
Comment: Hi Barb, that golden glow is eye candy for photographers. A great job overall but I wonder if you've become so focused on the flower that you've neglected those poppies on the right waiting their turn to shine? I’d suggest you have a go at lightening them up.
Open the image in Photoshop and select the Lasso Tool in the Tools menu. Set Feather to around 35 pixels and loosely select the neglected poppies. In the main menu select Image > Adjustments > Shadows/Highlights. In the Shadows/Highlights dialogue click the Show More Options checkbox. Set the Shadows Amount to 25%. Still in the Shadows box, set Tonal Width to 25% and Radius to 100 pixels. In the Adjustments box, move the Midtone Contrast slider to +10. Click OK to apply the change.
Now select the Dodge Tool and set the range to Midtones. Ensure the brush diameter is small and slowly work your way around the perimeter of each stem and flower to enhance its halo effect.
Finally, crop the image slightly from the top and extend the black background to the left and right. Well done.
Glowing Poppy - Image Doctor's edited version
