3 Simple Beginner Tips for Photo Editing

Nov 06, 2020

With smartphones being incredibly common, everyone has a good camera on them all the time. However, a good camera doesn’t mean that the pictures will be just perfect. If you ask any professional photographer how they get their pictures just right, they will probably say a major chunk of the magic is in photo editing. That’s why we prepare photo editing tips for beginners.

But editing a picture doesn’t mean simply putting a filter on an image. There is quite a lot to know. But first, you need to download a beginner or simple photo editor for practice. Be sure to use a VPN to be safe online.

Now, let’s get started.

photo eiting tips for beginers

Crop for Better Composition

While you had to use a professional camera to print out images, you can probably print the ones you take from a smartphone with a 20-megapixel camera. It would be enough for an 18 x 12 inches photo in 300 dpi or larger with lesser dpi. This means you have plenty of working space to crop your image and make it even better.

Even though it would be good to get the composition just right before you press the button, sometimes you need to work on it after taking the picture. For that, you should use a cropping tool.

It’s not always easy to get a picture just right or to keep zooming in and out all the time. Sometimes, you only notice what needs to be in the image and what needs to be out after you take it. So, you can play around with the cropping tool till there aren’t any distractions from the original subject.

Adjust the Highlights and Shadows

The shadows are the darkest parts of your image, and the highlights are the lightest ones. This happens when certain areas of your picture are under or over-exposed. For instance, you might’ve noticed that your images are too dark when there is less light outside.

Fortunately, photo editors have a feature that lets you adjust the shadows and highlights by simply moving a couple of sliders.

However, the camera’s quality can vary the level of change you can make to your images. If you are using a professional camera or a smartphone that can capture RAW images, then you will have a lot to work with and the result might be very pleasing.

If your editor doesn’t have sliders for shadows and highlights, you can simply use the exposure adjustment feature.

Correct Your White Balance to Make Your Images Pop

Sometimes your device might not be able to get the right white balance, and other times it might just be an issue with the light source you are using. Different sources give off various types of light, and getting the right kind can make all the difference.

If the skin tones, white areas, and gray areas aren’t looking right, or your image seems too dull, then you might need to play around with the white balance to make it better.

To make the dullness of an image go away and really make the colors pop, you can use the vibrance adjustment feature. Usually, you will need to increase the vibrance and see where your image looks just right.

If your image seems too blue (cold) or yellow (warm), then you will need to play around with the temperature slider in the white balance feature. After you have found the right temperature, you can look into the green and pink issue. This would concern the tint slider of the white balance feature.

If your editor doesn’t have a white balance adjuster, you should look for individual vibrance, temperature, and tint sliders.

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