7 Easy Photoshop Fixes for Your Family Photos

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If you are the proud owner of a digital camera, chances are that you’ve got hundreds (if not thousands) of photos on your hard drive. A huge advantage of going digital is that you can take as many shots as you need to capture the “perfect” image.

However, despite constant clicking, you’re likely to want to learn to improve your photos with an editing program such as Adobe Photoshop.

Read on for seven easy fixes that every photographer should know.

1. Put Your Best Face Forward

If you’re using an on-camera flash, you’re likely dealing with annoying red-eye in your photos. In addition to red-eye, you may encounter small imperfections in your portraits. Sometimes the difference between a good photo and a great photo is just simple red-eye and blemish removal.

Red-eye removal is simple with Photoshop’s redeye removal tool:

1. Open the photo and duplicate image.

2. Zoom in on the eyes (you can select them with the rectangle tool).

3. Select the red-eye tool – you’ll find it under the spot healing tool.

 

 

4. With the tool selected, click once on the red portion of the eye.

The fastest way to remove blemishes is to use the clone tool:

1. Open the photo that contains minor skin imperfections and duplicate image.

2. Select the clone stamp tool.

3. Adjust the diameter of the brush to be slightly larger than the blemish.

4. In the options bar, change the mode to “lighten.”

 

 

5. Place the brush over an area of clear skin that is very near the blemish.

6. Hold the “alt” key and click once.

7. Now move the brush so that it covers the blemish. Click once (be careful not to paint).

2. Let there be Light (in Dark Photos)

It might seem obvious to use the Brightness/Contrast function to bring light into a dark photo. This function can be useful for minor improvements, but you’ll find more flexibility with the Levels tool. To use Levels:

3. Keep Color in Balance

Despite my best efforts to control color with white balance, I still find the need to adjust colors in my photos at times.

The quickest way to do this is to choose image>adjustments>variations. This auto-function will allow you to see color variations quickly.

You can also use the Color Balance function:

4. Making Colors Pop 

Bright saturated colors are all the rage in photography. I often use intense colors and high contrast to add a more dramatic feeling to my photos. To bring a little more “pop” to your photos, follow these simple steps:

5. Converting to Black & White

Black & white conversion brings a classic look to portraits, and can help calm busy backgrounds in photos. Everyone has their favorite conversion methods, so you’ll want to experiment until you find your black & white groove. The method that I use most often is this:

6. Adding a Touch of Tint

Want to get a little more creative with your photo conversions? If you’d like to add a wash of color to a black & white image, start by following the b&w conversion steps listed above. To add a custom tint:

7. Staying Sharp for Print & Web

As a final step in your editing process, you’ll want to ensure that your photos are sharp for printing, or posting on the web. You can accomplish this by using the Unsharp Mask (I know it sounds contradictory – trust me, it works!).

Learning to edit photos can be daunting, but with these seven Photoshop fixes, your photos will be frame-worthy in no time. Say cheese! 

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