Ever wished for warmer, or cooler temperatures? Well, it’s a chilly winter here in New Zealand and I wanted to bring back some warm memories and decided to work on a summer cat photo to lift my spirits a little.
The family was enjoying a summer evening out in the garden while I was trying to improve my captures of cats in motion. All of the cats, including our angel Jack, enjoyed the sunshine in the garden and the chance to chase a wand toy was irresistible. I thought you would like this photograph of Toulouse.
Here is the original image I captured.
Toulouse is jumping energetically after a butterfly cat toy that is a busy blur. There is a lot of bright foliage behind and around him so, I wondered how I could improve it a little, even if I couldn’t make it perfect. The grass and foliage are bright and darken Toulouse. I needed to balance the lights and darks.
It will never be a prize winner but it is a lovely special moment and, like you, I want to preserve my cat’s special times.
This screen capture below shows the image with a list of the edits made on the right hand side of the software window.
- I used Luminar Neo’s Develop tool to tone down the image. It will look a bit less bleached out.
- I used a mask to Sharpen Toulouse’s body so the fur has more definition. This sets him part from the busy grass and foliage.
- I added sunbeams! This is a fun Luminar Neo tool that I have tried to use with care. The Sunrays tool can add a directional sunbeam with a variable number of rays and brightness. I added the sunshine where there is a bright spot I can’t disguise in any other way.
- I used the Dodge and Burn tool to lighten Toulouse’s fur on his body and face so he is more visible against the grass background.
- Finally I added a touch of a Vignette using a mask to keep the light focused in the middle.
The finished portrait with all the edits in place.
The photos never look as sharp on the blog as they do in ‘real life’ but I hope you can see that a few small adjustments have allowed me to rescue a disappointing image and give it a sense of joy and happiness as Toulouse leaps after his butterfly toy.
Cat Photographer, Instructor and Writer
Professional Member of the Cat Writers Association,
Winner of the Kuykendall Image Award
Published at the Guardian newspaper
