Everyone can learn to improve their photos with these simple steps. All you need is a photo program like: Paint Shop Pro, Adobe Fireworks, Photoshop, etc. There are also free programs out there on the web that will allow you to edit your photos to show their best. Picasa 3 is a free photo editing program. PhotoBucket even has a buit in program for editing photos as well.
I wanted to give a short tutorial on how you can edit your pet photos in just 4 steps to make them look their best. I'll be using Photoshop 11, but you can also do these steps with other photo editing programs.
Note: To view the pictures full size in this tutorial please click on them.
Here is our straight out of camera original photo:

Step 1: Sharpening Your Photo.
Sharpening your photo will make it clearer & crisper. (It helps to pick a photo where the subject is in focus.)


Step 2: Brighten & Contrast.
We need to brighten up our photo a bit & increase the contrast.



Step 3: Color Balance
I'm going to increase the color balance towards warmer because this photo has a gray overcast look to it.



Step 4: Increase Saturation
The last step is increasing the saturation to give the photo more color. This tool is usually called: Hue & Saturation.



Now that's we've finished let's compare the original photo to the finished version:
Original:


1 more tip for getting clear photos. If your camera has a MACRO setting, it will help for taking close up clear pictures without being blurry.
I use a Sony Cyber Shot DSC-W55 for all my pictures.
Thanks for the detailed tutorial! I found it helpful...now to just talk J in to a new camera, lol!
ReplyDeleteI want a new camera myself, but a NICE Professional one, a Sony SLR... sigh... maybe next year, haha!
ReplyDeleteWow-- too much for me to take in. Can I just hire you as my personal photographer? :)
ReplyDeleteHaha! Thanks Christine, I'm flattered. I need a more professional camera first! :-p
ReplyDeleteGreat topic! I do this with ALL photos I put in the web. I'm obsessed with picture quality :)
ReplyDeleteI would be thrilled if I could just get my rats to sit long enough for a picture!! Also, I'm in the market for a new camera and there are too many options for an inexperience person like me. Nevertheless, thank you for the advice!
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