Not only did I feel like I didn’t belong with the rest of the group, but I also didn’t feel pretty and attractive. All the girls at this age wanted to look older, and for me, this was not an option. But what I didn’t realize at the time was that most of those girls put too much makeup on, and they ended up looking worse because of it.
When I started putting makeup on, I was aware of this, and I used only a little bit so that it was barely noticeable, but still getting the effect I wanted. The same principle applies to photo editing as well. I can’t stress how many good photos I see taken by photographers who do their job well, but then somebody comes along and edits it too much and ruins the artistic value of the photo.
When I started putting makeup on, I was aware of this, and I used only a little bit so that it was barely noticeable, but still getting the effect I wanted. The same principle applies to photo editing as well. I can’t stress how many good photos I see taken by photographers who do their job well, but then somebody comes along and edits it too much and ruins the artistic value of the photo.
Photo editing can either make or break a photo, and you need to learn certain things before you can do this properly.
6 Photo Editing Do's and Don’ts That Will Make or Break Your Photos
All RAW files are not compressed, meaning that they contain a lot more information, so there is more room for editing. With these files, you can fine tune your white balance, exposure, and many other things right there on your camera when shooting photos.
If the images you or somebody else takes are shot in JPG format, this means that you will have a lot fewer options available for finishing the final project. Of course, RAW files take more space, and you will have to make sure you have a big memory card to store all the images.
At the same time, not all photo editing software tools can read these file formats, and this brings us to the next step. Just remember to take photos while thinking about the editing process as well, and get RAW images.
2. Get the right software
2. Get the right software
You won’t be able to edit your photos professionally and get great results if you don’t have a professional piece of software to use. If you want to be good, you will need to acquire professional tools that allow you to achieve the specific look and feel you are going for.
The best way to go is to invest in Adobe Photoshop, and I'm not talking about Gimp, Windows Photo Editor, Photoshop Elements or anything like that; you need the real deal. After you get your tool, learn as much as you can about it.
There are people that like to improve their arsenal by using Lightroom as well. Learn all the features, tools, options and take enough time to get some experience and train yourself to use your software.
3. Don’t use the Blur Tool
3. Don’t use the Blur Tool
Nobody is saying that you should never edit people’s faces or skin when editing images. You should do this when necessary, of course. However, when you are doing this, you must make sure that you don’t go over the top when cleaning skin irregularities or blemishes because you won’t remain true to your photo and the subject in it.
There is a simple recipe to make sure that you don’t go too far - don’t use the Blur tool. What blurring pixels do is that they simply attract attention to the area that has been fixed and they also destroy all the pixel information in the area which has been edited.
Don’t go this way, you will need a lot of time and work to avoid ruining areas, and it’s simply not worth the result. Luckily, there are alternatives for cleaning the skin and a lot of other tools that do the same job much better.
4. Don’t crop straight away
A lot of people take it too far with their cropping, and they are in quite a hurry when it comes to cropping. Nobody says you have to crop straight away and that you should remove absolutely everything from the image to make it look good.You must remember that you can always crop the photo a bit more, but you can’t stretch it when you need to. This is why you should do all of your editings and leave cropping for later, who knows what you might notice and what fresh ideas you might get from your editing.
5. Leave out cheap tricks
There are a lot of “flashy” options you can use in most photo editing tools. Just because they are there and have a drastic effect, doesn’t mean that you should use them. If you do use them, you should adjust the setting to make the changes minimal and natural.
There are various coloring options, lens flares, fake HDR, sparkles and other filters that might seem attractive to you, but you should avoid them as much as you can. They will only distract you from the photo idea, and you will completely change and ruin the original thought.
One last thing you should make sure to avoid definitively are the frames. These things will only make your photos look trashy and if you want to be taken seriously and make your photos professional, make sure to avoid them. These things are for Instagram.
6. Shoot with low ISO
Make sure that the images are shot with the lowest ISO possible. The lower the ISO is, the better the dynamic range you can create. Take your time and shoot the best exposure possible, low USO and high F-stop. When you are really in a hurry, you can set your exposure speed t 1/160th to prevent any blurs or vibrations from disrupting your shots.
Conclusion: These are some of the essentials you should know before you start photo editing services. As you learn more, you will have to constrain yourself more, so you don’t cross the line and make your photos unnatural and tacky. A lot of people have a problem with wanting to do as many edits as possible and they completely destroy the original idea of the photo.
