If you have decided that it is time to dive into the photography world, the first thing you’ll have to do is to, of course, purchase your first professional camera. Besides learning some photography tips and tricks, there is one thing that you might find confusing and a bit overwhelming as a beginner – editing your picture.
When it comes to using photo editing software such as Photoshop or Lightroom, there are literally thousands of things that you can do with your pictures. However, if you are just starting out, you should first learn some basic things that will allow you to enhance your pictures – and this is exactly what this article can help you with. Let’s take a closer look at the tips and tricks:
1. Learn How to Correct The Exposure
Now, although it sounds quite difficult, it actually is not. Basically, it will require you to create a balance between three important things – the aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. If you manage to get the balance right, you will get a photograph that is perfectly balanced. Hence, there will be no blown details or highlights, and nothing will get lost in the shadows or dark areas.
One of the most useful and powerful tools for determining if you adjusted the exposure properly is to look at the histogram in the program you are using. It shows you the tonal values for the entire image. When you look at it, you’ll be able to see whether it is even or if it needs more adjustment.
To adjust the exposure, all you will have to do is move the sliders to increase the exposure if the picture is dark or you can decrease it if it is bright. If there is overexposure, you can also recover the highlights. Hence, when you first load the picture to the editing program, take care of the exposure first.
2. The White Balance is Important as Well
Although you might know what white balance is, it is still worth mentioning. Basically, the white balance is the adjustment of your camera that reads the temperatures of the light in relation to neutral white. A good balance should represent white to be white as it is naturally, and there should be no colors that can change the, let’s say, the whiteness of the color white.
However, if you will need to find a balance as well. And, just like adjusting the exposure, you can adjust this as well. If you want a warmer or colder white, you can adjust it with the sliders in your editing software. But, there is one thing that you should keep in mind, your images should not be too orange, cold, or yellow since they will not look good.
Source: photographypro.com
3. The Easiest Thing to Adjust Will Be The Contrast
When it comes to the contrast of your picture, this is perhaps the easiest thing to learn. Simply said, it revolves around how strong the darker areas of your image are. After you finish the previously mentioned adjustments (contrast + white balance), your images might look a little bit flat and bland.
All it will need is a quick fix on the black areas, any shadows, highlight, and lighter areas. However, you should not cut the white or black if you want more contrast. You can choose to use curve tabs – which is the one that displays a grid with curvy lines – for adjusting your contrast. If you want to see what professionals can help you with, you can check out Background Remove.
4. Noise Adjustment and Sharpening You Pictures
You should also find the tab that will allow you to adjust how sharp your pictures are, as well as the noise levels. Once again, you should not change it too much, slight adjustments are required for this. Now, it is extremely important to view the image at 100 percent, especially since this will allow you to see everything that you are changing.
Another thing that you should pay attention to is the luminance – which revolves around the smoothness of the pixels. You’ll not want to add too much since it will lead to the image losing definition. The colors have to do with the level of RGB pixels and if you make some drastic adjustments, you will either lose colors or make the pixels too saturated.
5. Do Not Be Afraid to Try Presets
Depending on what software you are using, you might be able to locate a preset panel. When learning how to edit your pictures, one of the best things you can do is to experiment with preset colors. This is incredibly fun as well, especially since you can undo your choices, hence, you can always adjust your pictures as you want.
There are presets that you can get for free, however, you can also purchase presets that were created by other people. Now, it is recommended that you first experiment with the free ones. This is especially important if you are just starting out with photo editing software.
Bonus Tip – Do Not Forget to Use The Shortcuts
This is perhaps the most important thing that you will read in this article, especially since it is extremely useful. Do not forget to use shortcuts! Using them will not only save you a lot of time and effort but, it will also allow you to command the program better. For example, if you are using Photoshop, you can simply zoom in by pressing and holding the “H” button. This will allow you to zoom in on a specific area. Hence, try and learn the basic shortcuts that will save you time – and your nerves as well.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are various things that you can do to enhance your images, and by following the tips and tricks from this article, you will be able to get photographs that are perfectly edited. So, now that you know what you can do, do not waste any more time and start trying editing the pictures you took right away!
