Are you getting more serious about your photography? You may have started to play around in photo editing software, but perhaps you feel like you don’t know what you’re doing. That’s all about to change, as we unleash our best photo editing tips on you.
According to Photoion Photography School, 68% of adults edit selfies. Whether you want to up your photo editing skills to look better in your self-portrait shots or take better landscape snaps, we’ve got you covered.
We’re going to tell you what to use, what to learn, and how to improve. Keep reading!
1. Software Choice
The best photo editing software will have a variety of features, which may or may not be exclusive. We’re going to focus on key features available in the main contenders, like Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Express and Photoshop.
Adobe Lightroom is superb for editing large batches of similar photos and copying and pasting editing styles within a large group. For full control over individual shots, you can’t beat the flexibility of Photoshop. Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) is a great plugin to use with Photoshop to make quick general changes in one window.
Adobe Express is a free to use beginner friendly software. Whether you are looking for a photo editing for the Social Media or for your Small Business, Adobe express has all the features required to address all your basic photo editing needs. It also comes with great features which can help you to easily create mirror images in few seconds.
Our advice is to always shoot in the camera’s native RAW format rather than JPEG. RAW photos are not pre-processed and compressed like JPEGS, so retain more detail. They may look too dark at first, but your ability to save over or under-exposed shots is a godsend.
2. Basic Adjustments
Open your RAW photo in ACR within Photoshop, or find the corresponding functions in your preferred photo editing software. Drag the exposure slider to correct a shot that’s too bright or dark overall. Be careful not to lose too much detail.
The contrast slider, when taken to its extremes, makes the tones in your image appear flat. It will create a significant difference between the light and dark tones.
The white-balance corrector will change the color levels in your photo. Look for something that you know to be white in the shot and click on it to reset the white-balance. The temperature and tint controls can be used to fine-tune the color levels further still.
Shoot your photographs with the lowest ISO setting you can, for the best tonal dynamics, with the least amounts of noise. If you are taking lots of similar shots, like portraits, consider using a white-balance reference card in one photo. If you are taking photos in the night, you can consider reading our guide on night photography.
3. Learn Shortcuts
One of the best photo editing tricks to speed up your workflow is to know those keyboard shortcuts.
The best way to get familiar with them is to locate them in your software manual and print them out. Highlight the ones that you use most, and force yourself to use them until they become a natural habit.
As you get more advanced, you could consider getting shortcut stickers for your keyboard to help with less common actions.
4. Profile Corrections
If you’re using a DSLR or flagship smartphone, see if your camera is supported by ACR.
If it is, then camera matching profiles may be included. These try to match the RAW output to the pre-processed JPEG file as much as possible. This will give you a better starting point.
Camera calibration settings will help tailor adjustments to your model if the correct profile is available.
Lens profile corrections are also available, such as for wide-angle lenses. These can correct camera distortions that will be a useful step to take before cropping.
5. Crop Tool
Knowing how to edit photos means honing the knack for a good crop.
If you’re good at composing a flawless shot in the viewfinder, you might want to try using a “content-aware” fill to remove distracting elements rather than re-crop the image. If you want to retain more flexibility at the editing stage, shoot more than you need and give yourself options.
Use the “rule of thirds” grid with the crop tool to perfectly balance the main focal point of your shot. If you failed to capture a straight horizon, the straighten tool will quickly correct the rotation.
6. Subtle Changes
While you’re photo editing, keep in mind that less is more. Unless you want to achieve a larger-than-life effect, like High Dynamic Range (HDR) shots, it’s best to refrain from going too over-the-top.
Another one of our photo editing tips is to move effect sliders back and forth while monitoring the results. When you think you’ve struck the right balance, if in doubt, back off just a little bit to play it safe.
When you’re happy with the results, export a JPEG and take a break for a few minutes. When you come back, alternate between the JPEG and the original RAW file. Comparing the unedited original to the exported edit may suggest areas where you might have gone overboard.
7. Graphics Tablet
Photo editing software will often work with a graphics tablet.
As you devote more time to editing, using a pen rather than a mouse will be easier and will save your wrist. Some tablets have buttons that are pre-assigned or can be mapped to shortcuts, such as the zoom tool.
Using a graphic tablet in combination with a keyboard makes for a fast workflow, and you can still have a mouse on your desk for other tasks. You’ll probably find it easier to quickly navigate around a photo and more natural when brushing in corrections and effects as you advance in skill.
8. History Palette
Don’t forget to open up the history palette if you’re using Photoshop (Control/Command-Z).
It’s easy to undo and redo changes and visually check whether the adjustment works or not. For more elaborate changes, you might want to create an adjustment layer, as described below.
9. Adjustment Layers
The last of our photo editing tips is about controlling which parts of an image you want to adjust in Photoshop.
The adjustment layer button allows nondestructive tweaks to colors and tones. You can hide or discard the layer if the changes don’t work out. This allows selective editing and the ability to easily copy and paste the adjustment layer to other similar images.
When you’ve got a final result you love, check out our guide on how to repost your Instagram photos from a desktop PC.
Photo Editing Tips
We’ve shared our top photo editing tips, and now you should feel confident taking your photographs to the next level. Don’t miss future advances in photo-editing software.
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