Have you ever been to a department store portrait studio to get your photos taken? When the session is done, the associate takes off to add all kinds of fancy effects and filters in order to sell more photos.

When she comes back, she attempts to charge you approximately $578.56 for a photo with selective colour. (ie: a black and white with one section still in colour). You ooh and ahh over it because it just looks so professional and decide to empty your wallet out onto the counter to pay for it because, face it, you’ll never achieve something like that at home.

Hey, “Miss. The-Glass-Is-Half-Empty”, never say never! Take heart. Achieving that look is easier than you might think and I’m the girl who’s going to show you how to do it. From the comfort of your own home, no less! Yahoo!

Let’s get started, shall we?

All you need is a copy of Photoshop and the picture you’d like to alter.

(I am using an older edition of Photoshop – Photoshop 6, to be exact – because I am too cheap to upgrade, but I am assuming that the function buttons are similar, if not exactly the same in newer editions.)

(This is a picture of my daughter, eagerly waiting departure to her beloved dance class.)

It’s a pretty shot, and to be perfectly honest, I love it just as it is. But let’s see if we can give it just a little more oomph.