Fairytale Scene - The Photoshop: Professional Retouching and Compositing Tips, Tricks, and Techniques - page 473

Figure 9.73
Finishing Touches
At this stage the picture is complete, apart from a few finishing touches. Ordinarily I would
now save the image and come back to it later.
By doing this, the next time I look at the picture will be with fresh eyes and I'll be able to
see right away if anything needs altering or adding to. If all looks good, then I'll add the
finishing touches.
When I originally made this picture, I experimented with plug-ins to see if I could add to
the final look.
1. To add a merged layer, go to Select > All, then to Edit > Copy Merged, and then to
Edit > Paste (or press Shift+Option/Alt+ Command/Ctrl+E). (This adds to the top
of the layer stack a single layer that is a combination of everything below it.)
Name the layer FT (for “finishing touches”).
2. One of the plug-ins I turned to was Color Efex Pro 4, from the Nik Collection by
Google. The Detail Extractor preset did a great job of enhancing overall detail in
the picture, especially in the children's hair and clothing, and the patterned wallpa-
per. Each time I used a plug-in, I merged that layer down so I was still left with the