Flexible Edits

Greenie

Canon EOS REBEL T2i

Duck Pond

f/6.3

1/800

For this shot I used adjustment layers. First off I used one for levels and raised those a touch.Then I added the vibrance layer and raised the colors a little. Then I filled the mask with black paint and lowered my opacity to 50% and unmasked the beak area to bring a bit of the vibrant color back. Then I lowered the opacity more to around 25% and unmasked the greener areas of the head and neck. Then I added a new layer, filled it with black, got a huge feather brush and took out the middle so there were only edges left. Then gave it an overlay blend and lowered the opacity of the layer to 20%.

Gliding

Canon EOS REBEL T2i

Duck Pond

f/5.6

1/1600

For this shot I converted it to a smart object and then applied the ink outline filter on it. After that I once again filled the mask with black paint and lowered my brush opacity down to around 20% and began to brush away the mask over the ducks body. I like this effect because it actually makes the duck look sharpened while making the color more deep. And it has a extra glassy look when applied to the water.