Favourite Photo Editing Tricks

I do most of my photo editing via Picasa by Google. It’s free and easy to use.

I’ve used this program for a while now, and experimented with many of the features.  I always fall back on the same two ways to edit my photos, depending on whether I want them in black and white or colour, and I’m sharing them in this tutorial. Many of the photos you see on the blog or my Facebook page, are edited using these methods. The idea is to make my pictures look gorgeous, capturing a concept, while staying true to the realness of the subject.

My aim is to improve my photography through practice, and when I do, I find there is less editing needed.

1. Black & White

I adore black and white photos. The simplicity allows for emotion to shine through.    To convert and enhance black and white photos, I follow these three steps.

Before

After

Step 1

Select the black paint brush tab (third across) and click the B&W button.

Step 2

Click to the lighting tab (second across) and adjust the fill light so the picture looks washed out (I slide the bar close to the right hand side).

Step 3

On the same lighting tab (second across) adjust the shadow guide to the right, putting depth back into the photo. Stunning!

2. Colour

This is the process I often use for colour photographs.  Although, if the subject is of a person close up, I don’t use this process but skip to step 3.

Before

After

Step 1

Under the pen/green box tab (fourth across) there’s a range of fun features to use. My favourite is  the HRD-ish because it brings out the colour, detail and the depth of the photo. However, I like my photos to still have that natural look so I apply it very subtlety. The first step is to click on the HRD-ish button under the tab fourth tab.

Step 2

Then move the Strength and Radius bar right back to the left so the change is barely noticeable.

Step 3

Many of my photos are a little too dark so I lighten them a fraction. So the next step in this process is to select the light tab (second tab) and adjust the fill light tab, just very slightly.

Step 4 (optional)

If I still want a little more colour in my picture, I click on the black paint brush tab (third tab) and click on the Saturation  button. Then I move the slide bar until it’s just off centre to the right. Again, so the change is only very slight.

These little changes to my photographs make a big difference to how they look.  The wonderful thing is you don’t need any special skills or knowledge to do it!

It’s all about telling the story.

More Photography Posts

Getting Kids to Smile for the Camera

The Rule of Thirds 

What’s in The Background?

Setting Up a Photo Shoot

A Different Perspective

Make the Most of Your Mobile Phone Camera

Mobile Phone Picture Gallery

My Favourite Pictures (so far!)