Editing Photographs

One of the greatest advantages of digital photography is the ability to edit photographs after they are taken without the need for expensive darkroom equipment. In fact with only a home computer, a photo can be edited in ways that were impossible for even the most sophisticated darkroom. Many problems with a photo including underexposure, overexposure, white balance problems, and red eye can be corrected. The photo can be enhancedby sharpening. And much more.

Some of the editing actions that can be applied to a photo include:

• Resize
  Change the dimensions of the photo. The image can be made smaller with minimal loss of image quality. It is probably not a good idea to resize it to larger because this results in significant loss of image quality.
  
  
• Crop
  Allows you to cut out a rectanglar section of the photograph. Great for eliminating undesirable background elements.
  
  
• Change image format
  The format can be changed by saving in a different format.
  
  
• Lighten
  The photo can be lightened to correct for underexposure.
  
  
• Darken
  The photo can be darkened to correct for overexposure.
  
  
• Change color levels
  Color levels can be changed to correct white balance, or for an artistic effect.
  
  
• Sharpen
  The photo can be sharpened several levels.
  
  
• Blur
  The photo can be desharpened.
  
  
• Optimize for internet (change jpeg compression).
  The photo can be depressed to desired level of JPEG compression for use on the internet.
  
  
• Add special effects
  Many types of special effects can be added (hundreds if you have all the Photoshop plugins. They include swirls, blurs, patterns, fancy borders, and many others.

And many, many more!
Digital cameras often come with proprietary image editing software that is bundled and integrated with the camera. Some cameras come with Photoshop Elements. This program has most of the photo editing features of the full size Photoshop program without the confusion and clutter from all of the other things that Photoshop does. This is probably the only image editing software you need. It will accomplish all of the functions listed above.

There are also many other programs that can used to edit photographs and other images. Two of the most capable and expensive are Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Fireworks. A capable midpriced program is Corel (formerly JASC) Paint Shop Pro. If you want powerful editing capabilities without spending a cent, as in free, you can use Editonline right on this website.

Each individual program has unique operation and would need its own tutorial. There is a basic tutorial covering the use of Photoshop Elements at: Photoshop Elements Tutorial