Fix what we can

Hi All!

Sometimes we shoot an image that has great potential but when we do shoot it, the results are somewhat less than we had hoped.  This shot here is an example of that.  When I shot it I was hoping to create a blurred effect, but after playing with it for a bit I realized that this shot did not warrant that type of effect.  I then studied the characters in the image and the setting and decided that the image needed to pop.  So what I did was open the image in photoshop.  I then duplicated the background layer.  To this new layer I added an adjustment layer of black and white. I then merged that adjustment layer and the duplicate layer into one.  Then I changed the setting from normal to overlay and adjusted the opacity to 60%.  I then merged the images together.  I then created a new empty layer above this image and went, filter>render>cloud. I also changed this layer to overlay mode, and reduced its opacity to about 60%.  I then added a layer mask to this cloud layer and brushed out the center of the image.  Try this effect on an image that is good, but needs a bit more drama.  

Enjoy!