Photo Editing Basics

Getting Started

One of the most important steps to photo editing it to make sure that you have a backup of your original file. This should have been done as the first step in loading your file on the computer. If it wasn't do it before you start editing it.

Recommended ways to do the backup are:

1. Copy it to a thumb drive. 8 Gig Flash Drives can be a convientent way to back up limited numbers of photos before you start workin on them. For a few dollars more you can purchase a quality 16 HP Flash Drive which will hold many photos.
   
   
2. Copy it to a portable HDD. These drives are very inexpensive and are often on sale at stores like Best Buy and Office Depot.
   
   
3. My choice in backup are CDs and DVDs. If you chose to use this approach buy a quality brand and do some write and read tests.
   
   
4. Another backup option is to use online backup companies like Idrive. They are very inexpensive and will backup your precious photo memories to a secure remote server. (Learn More about Idrive.)
   
   
5. At a minimum, open your image file in your editor and do a "Save As" to a different file name. For example: Open img_0001.jpg and save it as img_001 work.jpg. Always remember to either save as a TIFF format or if asked about JPG quality use the highest setting.
   
   

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Basic Steps

1.  Flip the image if its orientation needs to be changed. While not required most people will find an image easier to work with if it is oriented to the final viewing position.
   
   
2. If you know what size your final image will be it is recommended to go ahead and crop to the final image size. Be sure to make sure that your resolution is between 250 and 300. The reason for this resolution that most printers print best at 300 dpi.
   Cropping Considerations:
   - Always leave room for framing.
   - Keep in mind compositional considerations.
   
   The reason that this step is first is that it allows you to do your enhancements in the final image size. You do not have to do this step for successful photo enhancement and actually I never do myself. If you are thinking you may have to increase the image size it is best to do this step first. (Art)
   
   
3. Enhance your image image by adjusting its brightness first, followed by contrast and then sharpening if needed. This is where it can get tough. There are so many image editing programs available that it is hard to get specific. When selecting a program you will want to look at educational materials. One reason that I recommend Paint Shop Pro is because it comes with excellent training materials.
   
   If your editing program supports Layers, you will want to learn how to use them. They are one of the most powerful tools available in editors.
   
   
4. When you are ready to save your image you will first want to save it in the highest resolution you can. This is your printable format. If you are wanting to email the photo you will need to reduce the size. Your editing program may have a "Save for Web" option. If it does, this will resize it for you. If it does not, do a "SAVE AS" and reduce the PPI to 72 and the image size to 600 wide. You can play with the latter setting some to send your recipients emails that won't clog their inbox and will allow them to print the image with a reasonable about of quality.
   
   Good Luck
   

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