Experiments in processing photos

I mentioned in a previous post that we got new photo editing software, and I've been spending a lot of time working with it. I feel like I've only scratched the surface of what is possible, but I wanted to share a couple photos with you.

I intentionally made this one heavy in shadows so that the focus is more on the shape of his body than the expression on his face. I love those little shoulders, the belly, the almost-pouty cheek...

I used a generic preset (which made specific changes to the coloring) and then tinkered with it to get this one:

And here's a great before-and-after of something that I worked on for quite a while. I was really disappointed with the first shot, because I love that little smile of his but the picture was so off - bad lighting, snot everywhere, etc.:

But I'm quite happy with this, even if it's a bit heavy on the white: