What to talk about today....hmmmm. I guess I'll discuss warming.

It's November here in the U.P. of Michigan. That means it's somewhat cold. As a Yooper, I can't say that it's really cold or I will lose my resident card, but it's definitely not shorts weather.

When the air becomes crisp, my personality begins to change. I start to crave meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and apple crisp, and I revel in the delicious scents that fill my kitchen. I think it is human nature to want to feel warm and cozy as the mercury drops.

My approach to photo editing also changes during this time of year. I move away from the beautiful look of a cleanly-processed images to images with warm, rich colors. There are many approaches I use to warm up a photo. My favorite is a simple color layer set to low opacity. This doesn't work for all images, but luckily it's pretty easy so give it a try. If it doesn't work, trash the layer.

First, you should process your image as usual. This means start with exposure and white balance. Do your cloning and cover up your blemishes next. Then create yourself a new layer. Choose a buttery yellow color for your foreground color then hit 'ALT+Del' to fill the layer with color. Now you will have a yellow page. Just play with the layer opacity and blending options. For this fall pic I chose color burn for the blend mode with an opacity of 18%.

Excuse the quality of the image. I used to be a really sucky photographer. Now I am only a mildly sucky photographer. My new warm image is on left. Excuse my proofreading my 2-year-old is having yet another meltdown and I have to drag his grouchy butt to bed.