Photo-editing software opens up many options for manipulating digital photographs and drawings. The sky is the limit with this kind of creative software. You can develop art in this medium, touch up personal photographs, add various effects, and manipulate lighting. Some photo-editing software is highly complex, as they’re created for image-editing professionals, but there are many programs with good interfaces that allow even inexperienced users to work on them with relative ease. Good photo-editing software will have well-constructed help sections and wizards to guide you through the various components. There are many different photo-editing programs available which range in price from free to hundreds of dollars.
There is a wide array of photo-editing software out there from very simple computer programs to highly complex ones. A simple program may only have options like cropping and basic photo manipulation, while more complex software will have seemingly endless options for modifying pictures. Here is a list of some of the options that you may find:
- Cropping – With cropping, you can create a new image by selecting a rectangular portion of the original image. The area that isn’t selected is removed, and the remaining portion becomes the new picture. It does not alter the image resolution. It is typically used to improve the image composition.
- Image Size – The size of an image is often recorded in terms of pixels per inch (ppi). An option to change the image size allows you to manipulate this value. Expanding the ppi too much will result in an image with poor resolution.
- Color Quality – The coloring of an image can be manipulated in a number of ways. The balance of the colors can be improved with certain tools so the image has more intense coloring. It can correct problems that originated with improper camera settings.
- Color Change – Some programs will offer the option to change a specific color or color range within the image. In this process, you select the desired colors to change, and specify a new color to replace it throughout the whole image.
- Brightness – This tool can make the image brighter or darker, depending on your preferences. It is useful if you have pictures that are underexposed. There are also advanced techniques incorporated into some software to change the brightness of only some of the pixels that are within a certain range of luminosity.
- Sharpness – The sharpness of an image can be manipulated using deconvolution and unsharp masking tools. This can improve the apparent focus of a picture. Alternatively, it can be used to blur portions of the image to draw attention to the subject.
- Perspective – Some photographs have a distorted perspective due to the angle at which the picture was taken, and the camera lens. A perspective control tool can fix this problem, although it takes some care, as you could lose some image definition in the process.
- Orientation – This option allows you to rotate the image in any direction, and to any degree. This is useful to correct photographs that weren’t taken level with the horizon. Rotating the picture a few degrees can fix this problem.
- Image Noise – This tool involves a number of different algorithms that can either remove or add noise to the image. Noise reduction is able to remove scratches or dust marks present on a picture. However, excessive reduction in noise will lead to a loss of detail within the image.
- Layers – Layers allow various elements that make up the image to be manipulated separately. Separating an image into various parts using layers make the process of image editing more efficient.
- Other Effects – The average image-editing software will have a number of tools to alter a picture in strange or interesting ways. This may involve various types of distortion, artistic effects, and the addition of various textures.
When searching for a good photo-editing program, here are some things to consider:
- Price – The cost of a given program doesn’t necessarily indicate the quality. There is some good software available at a low price, and some costly software that is difficult to use. When searching for a good program to manipulate your images, it’s best to focus on whether it will meet your editing needs or not.
- Image Formats ‘- Digital images are stored in various formats. Good photo-editing software will at least support the main types, including BMP, GIF, JPG, TIF, and PICT. The more kinds it supports, the better.
- Editing Capabilities – This part is up to you. If you’re satisfied with basic photo-editing options then that is right for you. Otherwise, look for some of the editing options listed in this article, and others that you desire.
- Help and Support – There should be a good help section with the program, so you can navigate the various options with ease. It’s also beneficial if the vendor has email or phone support available.