The key to good photo editing is not to over-do any effect. Subtle changes to an image work better than too much jazz which makes it look obviously ‘photo-shopped’. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
The Bokeh
You probably already know what this is, but haven’t yet called it a ‘bokeh’. A bokeh is the numerous out of focus ‘dots’ in your image, as a result of a shallow depth of field. Try the blur filters on Photoshop to mimic this effect on computer. Don’t forget to carefully select the background first!
Turn Your Lifeless Images into Paintings
If an otherwise good image is plagued by bad lighting, why not try the Adobe Photoshop art filters? Try the various filters under the artistic filter menu to get some interesting paint-like effects.
Monochrome
Converting your images to black and white is a simple process in Adobe Photoshop by changing them to greyscale. Add a little extra to the photos by turning them BACK into RGB mode and then playing around with color balance. You could give your images a light blue, green or sepia tone to make them more appealing.
Turn Your Images to Vector Format
If you have images that are a little too pixilated, you could rescue them by turning them to vector format. This is very hard work, but if you are keen on becoming a pro photo editor, you should try and learn more about vectorizing an image.
Make It Looks Like Miniature Models
This effected was earlier achieved using tilt-shift movements in very professional cameras, and that is still the preferred method. But you can get similar results by selectively blurring out image areas.
Add Some Image Noise
You can add image noise to a lifeless scene and give it a grainy film feel. Check out the noise filter on Adobe Photoshop, which can add varying degrees of grain to your images.
High Dynamic Range
You can get the HDR effect by shooting multiple images of the same scene. Usually you would need 3 exposures minimum – one for high-lights, one for mid-tones and one for low-key areas. Combine them all in Adobe Photoshop layers to get the HDR effect!
Sharpening Images
You can use Adobe Photoshop to sharpen your images. Do so using the SHARPEN or SHARPEN MORE filters if you don’t want to fine tune the effect. Personally I prefer using the UNSHARP mask filter, which lets you preview varying degrees of sharpness before committing to a selected level. Almost all images need to be sharpened, especially if you are going to be resizing them.
Removing and Repairing Parts of an Image
How we hate to see a tourist standing in front of a beautiful monument, ruining the essence of the photograph! Well, you can use the Adobe Photoshop CLONE STAMP tool to take such undesirable elements out of your photos.
Stitch Together Images
This is a great idea if you wish to make huge panoramic images. Simply shoot multiple images and ‘stitch’ them together on Adobe Photoshop. This can take more than a bit of practice to perfect, but it is well worth the effort.
