December #One Four Challenge – Step II

Here we are , Step II of December OneFourChallenge. My Week 2 is looking very different from my Week 1, but I promise you both came from the same image. That’s why I chose it, I hoped it would give me the chance to really step out and away from the usual stuff.

My first step was to crop the image and it took me some time to come up with the composition that works. I needed one special ornament that I would make stand out and that Santa was just what I was looking for. Then I clicked on that pesky Orton effect. I don’t know if my infatuation with Orton will ever end, but it seems every time I use it, works perfectly for that image.

I used Focal Soften and adjusted the radius to cover only that ornament, so everything else would be a little bit blurred. After adjusting exposure and saturation, I applied a soft vignette, just enough to add a little bit of magic and bring those glowing ornaments step closer.

The post-processing was done in PicMonkey and a little bit of healing in PixlrExpress. I like how this image turned out, all the steps I took gave me that soft glowing feeling, like the ornaments were lighted from the inside. I really can’t wait to show you the original, it will be interesting to read your comments.

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I hope you’ll continue to follow the adventures of all participants in this fun challenge. All you have to do is search for the tag – OneFourChallenge. And if you’d like to join the crazy ride, just check all the details on Robyn’s blog Captivate Me.