I took this shot during the ice storm last week. I liked the original picture, but it looked flat and kind of boring (see below). So I used Photoshop to bring in a contrast of color temperatures to the image. I think it makes the icy tree look even colder by having a warmer color temperature around it. The porch also works like a frame to the background now. Here’s how I did it:

1) First, I used Channel Mixer to make the whole image look cool blue. I monkeyed around with it until I got the blue tone I wanted.

2) Next, I created a new layer from the background

3) Using the Polygonal Lasso Tool, I drew around the outline of the porch. Then I went up to the Select menu and chose “Inverse.” This basically selected the porch portion of the image only.

4) Then I used the Channel Mixer again to tint the porch a warmer color.

Like I’ve always said, I know next to nothing about Photoshop, but a few easy tweaks can really improve an photograph.