Photo editing has come a long way since the darkroom. Actions that used to take hours of painstaking work can now be done or, more importantly, undone at the click of a mouse. So where do you get started in learning how to navigate the world of digital photo editing Here is a quick guide on photo editors to help get you started.
Digital Photography Editing Software
There is a long list of software on the market that is made exclusively for editing photos. There is a huge range in price and quality when it comes to digital photo editing software. In the end, you will need to decide what you are willing to spend and what you want to do with it. For this article, we won't talk too much about different bits of software's plusses and minuses, but know that there are options. If you're looking for free editors, you should look at The Giimp or Paint.net or if you want to buy a professional program definitely check out Adobe Photoshop.
Basic Functions of Photo Editing Software
Although photo editing software can be very complex and allow for endless creativity, here are a few basic things that you'll want to know right away.
- Cropping: Cropping is when you take parts of a photo you don't need, then get rid of them by redrawing the frame. So, anything inside the frame will become your new cropped image while anything outside the frame will be deleted. One important thing to remember about cropping is that it changes the final dimensions of your photographs, so if you're planning on printing them make sure you crop with the same aspect ratio (width to height).
- Image Contrast: Contrast impacts how much the colors or tones stand out from one another. Add contrast and you'll see your darks get darker and your lights get lighter, remove contrast and eventually everything will cloud into a gray fog. Higher contrasts can make for interesting imagery, but will also make the grain of your photos stand out more.
- Level of Brightness: Brightness applies to the overall level of the entire image. If you've taken a picture that turned out too dark, turning up the brightness may help some of the details stand out. If you slowly increase the contrast and brightness together, you may be able to save an otherwise un-usable picture.
- Photo Saturation: Saturation refers to how deep your colors are. In a color image, if you completely remove the saturation the image will turn to black and white. If you amp it up, your colors will quickly begin to look unnatural and super-bright.
- Hue: The hue changes the tone of your picture. Adjust the hue and your entire image will shift from a blue or green tint to red, purple, or any other color. Although it takes a little time to get used to, changing the hue can make a big improvement to images taken under fluorescent light.
- Transforming Your Photo: Although each software does it differently, they all allow you to rotate, resize or flip your picture. Hopefully you won't have to make too many adjustments of this nature, but should an image turn out slightly crooked it's good to know you have alternatives.
Regardless of which photo editing software you use, you should be able to adjust all of the elements mentioned above so you can get your photos exactly how you want them. One way to add depth and bring out the picture's color is to decrease the saturation amount while increasing the contrast. Otherwise, do your best not to rely on editing and try to get all of the work done in the camera. If you're going to spend time editing a picture, make sure you start off with a good picture and make it better instead of trying to make a bad picture good.
