Sponsored by Adobe®, makers of Photoshop Elements®
Editing rescues
bad photos
Cropping and
resizing
Before and after
Composite
Before and after
COMING HOME WITH a set of stunning vacation photos is a great way
to relive wonderful memories. But for those of us who aren’t professional
photographers, taking perfect photos isn’t always foolproof even with today’s
digital cameras. When everyone’s eyes in a shot glow bright red or a batch of
photos appear to have been washed in yellow dye, the value of being able to
alter photos after they’ve been taken is easy to appreciate.
Thanks to digital photography and photo-editing software, you don’t
ever have to settle for not-quite-right photos again. While most digital cameras
come bundled with very basic editing software, there are affordable software
options that give you far more freedom to change your photos, or even re-create them with a new and improved look.
Wish the sun had been shining the day of the big party? With the click of
a mouse, you can turn that gray sky blue. The same goes for removing everything from red-eye to wrinkles. Commonly used editing functions include:
• Color correction. Applies to everything from removing red-eye to
enhancing or altering a background, creating more realistic skin tones,
lightening a dim photo or removing shadows.
• Resize. Allows you to change the physical dimensions of a photo, which
could be useful when using a photo in a layout such as a holiday card,
scrapbook or slide show.
• Crop. Quickly remove unwanted areas of a photo to remove distractions
from the subject.
• Composite. Create a photo collage from selected parts of multiple photos.
• Retouch. Make a wide range of adjustments to specific areas of a photo.
• Sharpen edges. Get crisp-looking images, and even remove blurring
caused by low lighting.
In addition to ensuring that your photos are always perfect, some
programs allow you to add exciting creative touches, including:
• Creative layouts. Incorporate your great-looking photos into one
(or several) of the layout options that come with the editing software.
This is great for creating photo collages or other creative projects.
• Creative effects. Add frame edges; convert color images to dramatic
black and whites; create a vintage look with sepia tones; add paintbrush
effects, animation, text, sound and more.
Using image-editing software, your photos can come to life through a
variety of output options. Now you can share your child’s first birthday party
with faraway family, with a themed scrapbook or a slide show with text and
audio so they, too, can enjoy your child’s chocolate-covered face. If you want
to delve even deeper into the image-editing process, professional-level applications are also available, giving you nearly endless editing options. The only
limit is your imagination. A
