Get Punchy

One of my major annoyances is washed out photos.  As a portrait photographer, this is most likely to happen on bright days, the sunlight causing refraction in my lens.  Or worse, when I've over-exposed and there's just not enough data for strong contrast.  On the images below, I kinda had both things going on....  Here's a fast technique for getting the punch back.

 

Here's the Before and After.  The technique is simple: in Photoshop (or Lightroom) work the image to produce the best exposure and contrast possible without torturing the pixels too much. Then create a Black and White Layer in Photoshop.  Set that layer to "Soft Light" and then adjust the Layer Opacity to taste.  For more control, paint in your mask on the B&W layer as I've done.

The "punch" created by this technique tends to be a little "crunchy"-- it can push skin tones towards porcelain white and etch wrinkles-- so it's really a matter of adjusting to taste.