Photo editing means an act of altering an image in very simple terminology. These images
can be digital photographs, illustrations, prints, or photographs on film). Some types of
editing, such as airbrushing, are done by hand and others are done using photo
editing programs. Photos of models etc are edited to remove blemishes or make the model
"better" or a photo is edited for fixing errors like red eye, contrast, brightness, etc. Photo
editing is also used to make completely new images
Earlier, when manual photography system was there, the task was broadly categorized in to
retouching and finishing. Retouching was performed on the photo films before taking print
from those films and photo finishing was carried out after the photo in printed. Both the task
was performed to produce a good quality photograph with all the desired modifications. Now
a days, in the digital era, the task is now been carried out by Photo Editors before printing or
publishing the image, as the case may be. The task of photo editing is still complex but with
the use of software and enhanced features, it is a bit simpler than earlier manual
methodology. Some photo editing is even done offline, on actual photographs, posters or
other printed collateral. Photo editing is also knows as
- Image editing
- Image/photo manipulation
- Photoshopping
- Image/photo enhancement etc.
Photo-editing software
Photo-editing software’s are software programs used to manipulate and enhance images.
The use and type of software depends on the use of photos from display ads to social media
and print catalogs to posters. This is now a full-fledged more business to repurpose photos and use them on multiple channels. There are many kinds of photo-editing software, each
with its own costs, features and pros/cons. Cost and features are the main factors when
choosing photo editing software. For a home users and beginners less complex photo editing
software is needed as compared to professional designers. Now a day. With the use of Smart
phones, a lot of photo editing apps are also available to at least perform basic editing on your
smart phone itself apart from conventional software programs to work on the PC/Laptop.
Some photo-editing software programs:
- Adobe Photoshop
- Corel Draw
- Microsoft Paint
- Inkscape
- Capture One
- Fotor
- Snappa
- PicMonkey
- Pixlr editor
- Canva
- GIMP
- PhotoPlus
- Paint.NET
Some photo-editing mobile apps:
- PicsArt
- Snapseed
- Edior De Fotos
- Photo Director
- Adobe Lightroom
- PicShot
- Polarr
- InstaSquare
- Enlight Photofox
- Picsa
Types of photo editing
There are many different types of photo editing. Some are simple and others are more
complex. For example, some photo editing techniques are done manually, while others are
conducted through automated software. We can easily do simple photo-editing easily and
quickly while complex photo editing and digital editing techniques may require specialized
software program along with training and experience. It may be divided into three broad
categories:
Simple photo-editing may include
Noise reduction: Noise is the occurrence of color dots or specks where there should
be none. It is accomplished by reducing the pixel size to make the picture smooth.
White balance: Is used to color of the light in the image
Contrast: Higher contrast makes an image more punchy, while lower contrast makes
it flatter in color.
Exposure Adjustment: The brightness of the image is adjusted.
Color adjustments: Is defined as the change the color of an item or element in the
photo. It may be background color or the component of main object.
Image Resizing: Image Resize is performed to adjust the dimensions of the image.
Image dimensions are the length and width of your image, measured in pixels. For
example, when you apply for a job, the recruiter ask to upload an image of 40x60 mm
etc.
Image cropping: Cropping makes the image to be in proper size or to remove
unwanted parts. Crop feature allows to drag a rectangular shape around an area in the
image to cut off the sides.
Background removal: It is used to remove or alter the background from the image to
isolate the subject like white background etc.
Erasing: Means to erase areas within your image to leave behind transparency or a
background color. There is also a Background Eraser which provides more control in
removing a background to transparent.
Complex & advanced Photo Editing include:
Portrait corrections: Used to fix the complexion of people or objects in images
Special effects: Can be anything from animation to adding weather conditions like
cloudy, fog or snow etc etc.
Clipping paths: It is used extract a subject or element from an image. It may be a
person or object also.
Adjusting text and visuals: We may add text and visuals or manipulate the existing
one even remove them.
Photo stitching: Technique is used to put two or more images together seamlessly to
make it look like they were shot that way
Drop and reflection shadow: It is used create or adjust shadows
Photo masking and Layers: It is used for hiding and revealing specified portions of
an image