More than 1 trillion digital pictures were taken in 2017. The number has only increased since then because of mobile phones.
Nearly anyone can become a photographer if they learn the right editing tricks and have access to a camera.
Instead of spending money on classes, you can learn the basics of enhancing photos yourself.
Continue reading to discover some of the most basic photo editing skills to improve your photography!
Table of Contents
1. Take RAW Images
Taking a RAW image, along with your edited photos, is important if you want to excel at photo editing.
RAW images are data that are naturally captured by a camera sensor. The RAW files are uncompressed. Unfortunately, this means that it will also take up more space than compared to standard JPEG images.
When editing your RAW images, they shouldn’t touch the edges of the histogram. It is common for RAW images to be brighter than your other shots.
Having these RAW images has multiple benefits. Not only does it give you a reference while editing other files, but it is also a safety net. Photographers should always try to get an extra shot in case something is wrong with another photo.
You can also learn to overlap images if you are having a difficult time getting the lighting correct.
2. Control Your Exposure
One of the most basic photo editing skills that you should learn is to find the correct exposure balance.
Exposure is essentially the window of the camera, letting light in. When you are working photographing in the sunshine, you might see blown-out highlights and dark shadows on the pictures you take.
To get rid of these problems you will have to find the correct aperture, shutter speed, and ISO for your situation. These numbers will vary from camera to camera and for each situation.
Look at your histogram while adjusting photo settings, before taking the perfect shot! Histogram settings are often found on the top right corner of your editing screen and are an excellent representation of the tones you have.
When editing, you don’t want any of your pictures to have these blown out spots. They can ruin the picture and block out important portions of the photo.
3. Adjust Your White Balance
To properly edit photos you should have something white in each image as a tonal reference.
The white balance can be adjusted so that all of the colors in the image are correct. If you notice that a white electrical outlet is looking yellow or blue, you need to change the balance.
Many people recommend putting a piece of white paper somewhere in the image if there is no pure white already there. Typically, you can use wall floorboards, outlets, and anything else that is pure white. Once you select the white balance editing tool, you just need to click on the white and adjustments will be made.
Although this typically works on the first try, you may have to make minor adjustments. To get a cool effect for images, you can put your settings more towards the blue side. Yellow and orange hues are considered to have a warm effect on images.
4. Fix Your Contrast
Contrast has been a common editing feature on any device.
Digital cameras, cell phones, and photo editing programs all have contrast adjustments that you can make. Contrast is the setting that controls light and dark pixels of an image.
A low contrast image may look like a faded black and white photo. Many people often change low contrast images so that they don’t look dull or flat. High contrast, on the other hand, is the opposite.
High contrast images are bold and focus on bright colors. If you want an image to show more texture and look “alive,” you will want to go towards the higher end of contrast.
5. Get Rid of Blurry Lines
There are many details that you must focus on while editing your photos.
One of the best editing tools you will find is the sharpening one. This can help define lines in your image so that is doesn’t look blurred. You can also turn your definition setting up to give more structure to a photo for finer details.
Noise settings are another tool that you can use. Noise helps blur anything that isn’t in focus in the picture. This setting is ideal for taking headshots and photos with a busy background.
You must pay attention to your adjustments so that they don’t ruin the picture. The smoothness of the pixels can easily change if you include too much definition or sharpening.
6. Remove Parts of an Image
There are many reasons to learn how to remove parts of an image.
You can extract text from image files for legal reasons, cool effects, and making photos look cleaner. After selecting the eraser tool in your settings, you can click on the spots that you want to get rid of.
Once you have erased your desired spot, grab your editing brush to automatically fill it in. This will allow you to set the background color to match the surrounding areas and fill in space.
Learn These Basic Photo Editing Skills
Have you ever wanted to become a professional photographer or just want the knowledge to enhance your selfies?
Learning basic photo editing skills can help you display your talent and let your photos shine. Depending on the adjustments you make while taking photos, you may only have to make minor adjustments in editing programs.
To make your pictures come to life, give them contrast, sharpness, and definition. Low contrast and noise reduction can make an image dull and flat if the settings are incorrect.
Be sure to check out our blog for more articles about enhancing your photography skills and capturing special moments!
