The Heirloom Edit.
The heart of the course. Nine lessons that take a flat RAW file from your camera all the way to the finished oval-matted heirloom you ship to the client. Lightroom, then Photoshop, then back to Lightroom for the B&W virtual copy.
ClickContinue: Lesson 5.2 →
What you'll learn in this module
- Loading Philip's PWP heirloom preset and adapting it per-kiddo
- The "remove vs. keep" ethics of editing baby skin — what's a flaw to fix and what's a feature to preserve
- The masking step — exposure, contrast, and whites on the inverted background (the move that makes the look)
- Why catch lights matter (and what happens visually if you remove them)
- Opening into Photoshop and setting up your editing layer stack
- The blur and sharpen layers — face mapping for soft skin + sharp eyes
- Crop + generative expand for the safety-net backdrop fill
- The iconic oval — Solid Color fill, layer mask, bracket-key brush sizing
- Returning to Lightroom and making the B&W virtual copy
The 9 lessons
Lightroom Base Edit
Loading the PWP preset, dialing in per-kiddo, the AI Remove tool vs. spot heal, and the ethics-of-editing sidebar.
Why Catch Lights Matter
60-second side-by-side demo. What happens when you remove the catch lights from the eyes. Spoiler — it gets weird.
The Masking Step Don't skip
The single most important step in the whole edit. Select subject, invert, then exposure +1.0 to +2.0, contrast −55 to −60, whites 0 to +20.
Opening in Photoshop
Right-click → edit in Photoshop 2025, unlock the layer, duplicate it for the heirloom edit layer.
The Blur + Sharpen Layers
Blur layer on cheeks, forehead, bridge of nose. Sharpen layer on eyes, eyelashes, lips, hair highlights. Or — alternative Lightroom-only path.
Crop + Generative Expand
Crop tool to center the subject, generative expand for backdrop fill. The BOOM moment when AI builds the missing canvas.
The Heirloom Oval Shape Signature
The shape that made the brand. Solid color fill, layer mask, the bracket-key brush sizing trick, and the final BOOM moment.
Saving + Returning to Lightroom
File → Save → auto-pop back in Lightroom. Then right-click → Create Virtual Copy → B&W edit button → tune contrast / highlights / shadows / blacks.
Final Images Review
What "done" looks like. The most common mistakes and how to fix them. Side-by-side: your color version vs. the B&W virtual copy.
You're at Lesson 5.2 — The Masking Step
The masking step is what makes the heirloom look soft. Philip will tell you twice not to skip it. Take ~10 minutes.
Module downloads
Everything you'll reference across the 9 lessons. The preset and PSD are the most important — download both before you start editing.