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Photo Editing Tip



Photo Editing Software


Selecting a photo editor depends on what you want to do and how much you want to spend. Digital cameras and scanners normally come bundled with a photo editor and this may be sufficient for your needs. There are some nice freeware programs but they generally have skimpy help files, but don't let this discourage you from trying them.

When evaluating editors, think in terms of ease of use, comfortable and intuitive interface, and capabilities for your needs. Do not look too far down the road, if the program you select now is too complex for you, you will be discouraged and you may abandon photo editing altogether.

I have performed photo editing for several years and the following list of features is what I use the most.

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  • Acquire a photo directly from the scanner.
  • Rotate image 90 degrees left, 90 degrees right, 180 degrees, or variable.
  • Crop a selection either variable or control aspect ratio.(Ratio of length to width)
  • Resize/resample
  • Undo or redo adjustments steps
  • Various print package layouts (eg.1-8x10, 2-5x7, 4-4x5, etc.)

Overall Adjustments:
  • Automatic adjustment
  • Adjust lighting: backlighting/fill flash
  • Color correction: color cast - hue/saturation adjustments
  • Remove color for black & white
  • Brightness/contrast
  • Blur/sharpen
  • Remove dust & scratches
  • Despeckle
  • Add text

Touchup Selected Areas:
  • Zoom in & out for touchup accuracy
  • Red eye removal
  • Dodge/Burn tool (lighten/darken specific areas)
  • Clone tool (duplicate specific areas)
  • Sponge Tool (saturate/desaturate specific areas)

Here are several editors to consider. Some may not have all the features I described but may satisfy your needs.

  1. Adobe Photoshop Elements - An excellent program that enjoys a lot of support, free web tutorials, and how-to books. You may want to go to Barnes & Noble and look at "Teach Yourself Visually Photoshop Elements" and "Photoshop Elements for Dummies". This is my primary image editor.

  2. Photoscape (freeware) - PhotoScape is a complete photo editing suite that includes image browsing/viewing, photo editing, picture page printing, photo resizing and renaming, and even RAW conversion. Easy and intuitive.

  3. PhotoFiltre (freeware) - This program has a nice clean interface and is not difficult to use.

  4. Corel Paint Shop Pro - This program was recently acquired by Corel. It is the least expensive program for its capabilities and I would place it at the serious amateur or professional level and not easy for beginners.

  5. Ulead PhotoImpact - If you are a beginner enthusiast this program deserves a close look. It gets high ratings and is a very complete program. The price may be a bit higher, but it's worth it.

  6. Arcsoft PhotoImpression - This is a nice beginner's editor except I feel that the price is a bit high for its capabilities.


All the programs listed above are downloadable at CNET downloads. If you have never downloaded software before, check my file download tip.
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