Basic digital photo editing involves cropping, adjusting exposure and boosting colors.
Digital photography is so far advanced that nearly everyone can shoot adequate photos. Often what separates a so-so image from a stellar photograph actually happens after the shutter clicks. Basic digital photo editing techniques including cropping, adjusting brightness and contrast, and boosting colors will go a long way toward making your photos look professional.
Instructions
Basic Photo Editing Techniques
1. Crop your photograph to highlight the main subject of your image and to cut out distracting objects like cars, signs and strangers in the background. All photo editing software, free and paid, has crop tools that allow you to highlight the desired areas in your image and cut out the borders.
2. Adjust the brightness and contrast of your image to repair any exposure errors that occurred when you shot your photograph. Adjustment tools look like two sliders, one for brightness and another for contrast, that allow you to view your image as you adjust the two settings. Experiment with the settings until you're happy with the results. When you complete this step, your image should look very bold with deep-black blacks and bright-white whites.
3. Adjust the color balance in your picture to decrease any undesired or over-exposed colors, or to increase beautiful colors that you'd like to highlight. For example, if your subject stood near a red light that cast an ugly glow on her face, you could slightly decrease the red color balance to fix the problem. Alternatively, if you think your photo of a stunning sunset didn't do the golden clouds proper justice, you could increase the yellow colors in the image to enliven the image.
4. Sharpen the focus of your main photo subjects by applying a sharpening filter to your image. Sharpening filters are widely available in free and paid photo editing software. When you apply the filter, there are several sliders that will adjust the focus. Experiment with the settings until you're happy with the results. The main subject of your photo should look completely in focus and should pop out of the background.
5. Zap red-eye effect from the people in your photographs so they don't resemble a demon or another nefarious creature. Red-eye happens when your camera's flash catches your photo subjects at an odd angle and reflects from their corneas. Many photo editors have automatic "red-eye removal" options. Others allow you to zoom into the image and use a brush to color over the red with more natural black or gray hues.
6. Size your photograph based on your planned method of presentation. For example, if you are emailing your photo or posting it online, you should save the image at 72 dpi (dots per inch) and size the picture down to a maximum of 1,000 pixels at its longest side. If you plan to print your image, save it at 300 dpi and size it to 8 inches by 11 inches.
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