Quick Photoshop Edit: Brightness, Vibrance, And Style

I've been digging through Adobe Bridge today trying to find some interesting images to share with you.  I stumbled across this one, and although it isn't especially dramatic, it is one I really love.  I took this where I live, in the Middle East (only a couple more months!).  Falconry is very big in the region and this man is shown here with his hawk.
By the way, I always look for images in my Bridge that are dramatic and I usually only edit those.  I feel like I have to get away from that because I am missing a lot of everyday-experience type shots in favor of only perfect shots.   This one for example, is far from perfect.  I mean, I don't think Nat Geo is going to call me on this one.  The man isn't looking at the camera, the hawk isn't looking at the camera, his tank top is weirdly pulled to the left of the picture.  Gents, please don't wear tank tops under cotton shirts, or any other kind of shirts.  Short sleeve undershirts look much less "my cousin Vinny"-ish.
Undershirts aside, this is definitely a RAW image, and it's slightly underexposed.  The first thing I did, was look to my Actions palette to see what I had that might help me brighten the image.  I went straight for the Spring sets of Actions (5 for $5.00) that we released last year.  

I started with Bright & Creamy from Spring IV, and it brighten things right up while adding vibrance.  It only needed one click.  This looks good but lacks contrast.

Next, I chose Pastel-erator from Spring I, to give it a washed out pastel-look while adding contrast.

Next, I used Limerick.  Actually, next I tried a million different Actions before settling on Limerick.  Personally, I kind of wanted to have a vintage vibe, but finally landed on Limerick as a clean-ish example.  Limerick is our FREE ACTION that was released last March, and honestly one of my all time favorites!  I turned the Boost and Warmth layers off, and reduced the Tone layer to 51%.  The handlers face is still a little dark, but I wanted to hawk to stand out so I am okay with it.

This was a five minute edit, and not too in depth.  You can find the Spring Actions for only $5.00 on the 5for $5 page, and you can find Limerick here for free!