Digital Photo Editing Tips

Now that you have the “perfect” photo, are you looking to make it even better?  Most professional photographers will use photo-editing software to adjust their photos.  Before you decide on what software to buy, you need to think about what you are going to want to do with your digital photos.  Are you looking for software that offers just the basics, like cropping and red-eye removal? Or, are you looking to be more creative?

Here are some of the most common edits people make to their photos:

· Cropping/Resizing:

    • Most digital cameras are capable of taking large file size photos.  You may want to just use a portion of your large photo or resize them to a smaller file size.
    • Removing red-eye:
    • Red-eye is a very common problem with photos of people and pets.  It is really easy to fix with a photo-editing software.

      Printing:
    • If you print your photos the right size the first time, you will save time and money.  Some photo-editing software will let you pick the size you want to print.

      Are you looking to be more creative with your editing?  Here are some common photo editing techniques that go beyond the basics
    • Layering:
    •  Layering allows for an endless possibility of creativity.  You would use layers to change backgrounds, adding textures to your photo, or layering several images on top of each other.  You would also use layers if you want to adjust a specific area of your photo.  The possibilities are endless!
    • Adjustments:
    • Adjust the brightness/contrast of your photograph.
    • Hue/Saturation/Colorize: adjust the colors of your photo.
    • Sharpen/Soften

·Burning and dodging:

    • Burning: If you have a specific area of your picture you would like to darken, you would use the burn tool
    • Dodging: This is opposite of the burn tool.  You would use this to lighten a specific portion of your photo.
    • Filters:
    • Filters are special effects you can apply to your photos, such as charcoal drawing, blur, embossing, and many more.

With the right photo-editing software, you can do just about anything with your digital photos!  There are many different software programs for any level and budget.  The following is a list of the more popular photo-editing software programs and a link to their website (some of the programs can be downloaded for free or have a free trial):

Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 3 and 4

Adobe Photoshop Elements

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

Corel Paintshop Pro X2

GIMP

LightArtist

Photofiltre

Photoscape

Picassa

Picnik

Photomatix

Portrait Professional

 
Photo-editing can be very addictive so have fun with your photos and just remember,
 BE CREATIVE!!