Make whites bloom?

hi,

i am trying to convert a picture from color to b&w, and the kid in the photo is wearing a white shirt - i want the shirt to 'bloom' a little.

i am using photoshop - any help please?

thanks in advance,
Saqib.

I'm not sure what you mean by "bloom." I think flowers blooming, opening up, so do you want the shirt to "move" - that is, change the shape?

Or do you wish to do something with the color? This also makes me think "glow."

If you mean having the shirt glows like the old soft focus trick then try this:
1/ Complete all adjustment as needed.
2/ Select the final image, press Control+Alt+~ to select the hilight areas.
3/ Press Ctl+C to copy.
4/ Create a new layer, then press Ctl+V to paste the hilights into this layer.
5/ Blur the hilight layer (Blur 1) with Gausian Blur, be heavy handed with the setting.
6/ Duplicate this blurred layer (Blur 2).
7/ Reduce the opacity of Blur 1.
8/ Change Blur 2 blend mode from Normal to Screen.
9/ Reduce the opcaity of Blur 2.

Adjust the Blur 1 & 2 opacity to your taste. If wanted, you can put a mask on Blur 2 to restrict the "Bloom" effect to the shrit only. Mask Blur 1 to control the soft focus.

Good Luck,
Alan

After you select the highlights, Control-Alt-"~", then just press Control-J and the highlights will automatically be pasted to a new layer. Saves a couple of steps.

by bloom i basically mean like making it almost bleed and appear really bright. bloom is a word coined from setting up tv systems using THX optimizer (found on some dvds) - when adjusting the brightness, some of the white squares 'bloom'.

thanks for the advice - i will let you know how i get on