You probably already know that editing images can make them look better, but did you know that there are also other ways to improve them? In order to get the best from every image, there are a few edits you should perform on every image. The following guide will walk you through how to perform these edits on any image.
Exposure
The first thing I do with every image is crop it. After I’ve taken a photo, I usually crop it right away to remove the unwanted background or distracting elements. If you take a lot of images, you can set up your camera to automatically crop the image right after you take it. However, when you crop an image, you lose some of the photo’s pixels, so the smaller the crop, the lower the quality will be.
Color
There are a few things you can do to any image to make it look more professional, even if you don’t have any editing software. One of the first things you can do is resize it to fit your content. If your image is sprawling across your page or isn’t the right size for your content, it will distract your reader from your words. After you’ve resized it, crop it to remove any distractions.
Clarity
There are three editing tasks that can make any photo look more professional: retouching, color correction, and sharpening. Every image needs to be retouched to remove imperfections and fix lighting. Even if the photo was taken in a studio, it’s important to remove any distracting elements, such as people or an unskilled photographer. Finally, color correction and sharpening will make any photo look more vibrant and realistic. These edits are usually pretty straightforward, and with a few tweaks, any amateur photographer can make their images look stunning.
White balance
The three quick and easy edits that you should do to any photo are white balance, crop, and sharpening. While these aren’t the only editing you should do, they are the most impactful and can take your images from good to great in no time. Let’s take a closer look at each one to find out how to make the most of them.
Lighting
You can make a few small edits to any photo that will make it look more professional. These edits don’t require any special software, just some well-placed editing tools in Photoshop or Lightroom. While I’m not going to tell you exactly what to do, I will show you some examples of the kinds of things you can do to improve any photo.
Contrast
Having a good image is important for all types of marketing, whether it’s social media, advertising, or email. Every image needs to be well-lit, well-framed, and of good quality. If your images aren’t up to par, no amount of editing will make them appealing. Take these three quick edits to help you make any photos look sharp and professional.
Rotate and crop
When looking at an image, there are a few things you should always look for. For example, if your image is blurry, then the easiest fix is to use the Crop and resize tool to resize the image to a more appropriate size. Make sure you resize the image to the correct aspect ratio, as that will keep the image from looking distorted when it’s uploaded. Also, never crop an image so that it’s smaller than the original. A small image will look pixelated when it’s enlarged and will be much harder to upload to social media.
Conclusion
When it comes to editing images, there are three things that all photographers should do to all of their images: crop, contrast, and retouch. If one of these things isn’t done, an image can look bad. Even if you don’t plan on selling your images, editing them can ensure you still get the most out of them.