STEP 16: Next, add a Curves
adjustment layer but don’t
edit the curve. Instead set
the adjustment layer blend-
ing mode to Multiply to add a
natural darkening effect to the
entire image. Click on the mask
thumbnail and Invert it to hide
the effect. Then use a very large
Soft Round brush with white to
apply the effect to the corner
areas that shouldn’t have the
light bloom. If the overall effect
is too strong, reduce the layer’s
Opacity. It’s shown here with
the Opacity dialed down to 82%.S T E P 17: For a final warming
effect, add a Color Lookup
adjustment layer and set the
3DLUT File drop-down menu
in the Properties panel to the
Kodak 5218 Kodak 2395 (by
Adobe).cube file. This has an
overall warming effect that
works well with this image,
but every image should be
evaluated independently for
the full effect, being very careful
with skin tones in particular. But
when you find the right one,
everything just works together
and you end up with a lovely
magical creamy background
to capture those truly magical
moments of life!This process is very versatile and
can be applied to many different
types of images to create that
deliciously creamy background.
Once you’re comfortable with
the technique, consider pur-
posely shooting shots for just
this purpose: Keep the back-
ground distant and work to get
strong backlighting, then whip
up a dreamy, creamy, magical
background. Your clients will
love the results! nFinal
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