This is a pretty cute shot. When I was running around looking for good places to shoot I was just looking for good light. That is the first thing that you need for a good picture. When I got into the master bedroom I noticed the big window with beautiful light coming in. There was a couch in the room that I thought would be a perfect spot for this shot. So, I moved the couch over, let mom put baby to sleep and place little munchkin on the couch. I took the shot and this was the result. It is a good shot. The light is beautiful (except for the blown highlights at the bottom) and the composition is nice (not crazy about all the distracting stuff in the background though).

This is the final result. There are no distractions in the background, the eye is drawn straight into my subject. Then the protective couch begins to show itself and the colors really pop. The two images have a completely different feeling. The finished image took me several hours to create in my digital darkroom, but it was well worth the effort. So, How did I do it? First, I figured out what I wanted. I knew I wanted to get rid of all the distractions. I cloned out the bed and the all the stuff in the background, piece by piece recreating a backdrop as I went. I then made several layers of paint, texture, dodging and burning in the background to create my new background. I did the same below the couch to get rid of the patterns in the carpet paying special attention to those blown highlights. At the bottom of the page, it is hard to see but I actually recreated the left foot of the couch. It is more visible in print. I selectively adjusted the couch to get that deep chocolate color to really pop in the highlights and get the texture of the big fluffy pillows to come out. I adjusted my contrast and levels to make just the baby draw the eye in. Finally, I adjusted the sharpness of the whole image. This is the difference between a snapshot and a piece of art. with the right light and a cute baby anyone can create that first image. The second image takes a bit more time and effort.