Some people take their digital photos, download them onto their computer and never look at them again. Some actually send all the photos to a lab and have them printed for their albums. The beauty of digital photography is that you can do so much more with your photos before you send them to the lab. There are three things I always do to my pictures before I print them: adjust the color, contrast and exposure. It can be the difference between a good picture and a great picture.
There are tons of different photo editing software programs out there. Which one you use depends on your skill level and budget. Regardless of which program you use, though, you should be able to make these simple edits to improve the quality of your photos.
Sometimes I adjust the color to make the shot more accurate, but most of the time that is not necessary because I have taken the time to adjust the white balance and exposure while taking the photo. Most of the time, I am adjusting the color to make the shot more artistic. Sometimes I will decrease the saturation until it is almost black and white, then I will increase the saturation of a single color until it is almost back to its original shade. This is a great way to highlight bright colors in a photo. It produces an effect that is similar to color selection but it’s slightly different.
Adjusting the contrast very slightly can help deepen the colors and shadows in a photo while brightening the highlights and lighter colors. The result is a crisper photo and if you have a lot of noise, it can make it less noticeable.
If you want extra bright pictures, you can achieve this by adjusting the exposure of your photo. Brightening a photo can help improve the appearance of skin and can give a photo a nice upbeat feel.