Transform Your Old - Worn Out Photos In Minutes With Adobe Photoshop

By David Peters

Do you have old photographs that are faded, worn out, crinkled or even torn? Of course you do, everyone does. Many of these photos are likely very old family photographs that are simply irreplaceable should something happen to them. In the past it was very expensive and time consuming to have old damaged photographed restored. It usually required a photo restoration expert and sometimes the results were not really that great. +

Digital imaging, and more specifically Adobe Photoshop, has revolutionized the process of renewing and restoring old photographs. It is amazing the results you can achieve with Photoshop. Old and damaged, even torn, photographs can be restored and renewed to their original colors and vitality using the tools available in Photoshop. 

Adobe's Photoshop is the number one choice digital photo editing software application among today's professional photographers, graphic artists and web designers. It is not only the best but easier to work with than you might think. Many shy away from Photoshop because there are intimidated by the complexity. With the help of a good Photoshop tutorial you can begin to learn Photoshop within minutes and be on your way to restoring those old photographs and preserving your family's memories for year to come. 

There are less expensive digital editing applications but the problem is that they often have very limited capabilities when it comes to doing high quality digital photo restoration. Those cheaper digital photo software packages often utilize a one size fits all approach to photo restoration and they just don't have the functions to deal with all of the types of damage you may encounter in renewing your old photos. 

The other benefit of using Photoshop to fix your old photographs it that you can work in layers. The layers function ensures that you won't waste an hours work with one little mistake. As you work your photograph you can save each new change as a new layer. If you mess up simply delete that layer and try again. Photo restoration requires patience and attention to detail. Only Adobe Photoshop has the tools to do a quality job restoring your old photographs. Learn Photoshop now and start bringing those old photographs to new life.

Master The Basics Of Adobe Photoshop In Under 2 Hours With 

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Article Source: Transform Your Old - Worn Out Photos In Minutes With Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop Tutorials For Beginners

By Peter Davidson

Photoshop tutorials is the introductory course on Photoshop . You'll learn the ins and outs of getting the most from the course and a general overview of the Photoshop for the Web product. You'll view and mimic the Photoshop tutorials for saving files, displaying them and using the cursors. You'll learn about Adobe Photoshop transparencies, gamuts, units, rulers, grids and guides. You'll learn to use plug ins and scratch Photoshop disks. You'll be taught the basics of Photoshop memory and image caches.

You'll learn the basics. You'll become familiar with screen areas, layers and their styles, the management of Photoshop assets, actions, droplets, and the creation of new images. You'll learn how to open and grab images, how to blend modes and how to use and understand the differences between vector and bitmap graphics.

The techniques and tools that make Photoshop such a great product are part of the next set of tutorials. Now is when you'll learn navigation, beginning and intermediate painting, drawing, creating shapes, and beginning and advanced selections. You'll learn about filling, cropping and clone modifications, as well as modifying through sampling, annotation and retouching.

Now is when you become proficient with Internet delivery and architecture and learn about the origins and behavior of the Internet and the World Wide Web. You learn the meaning and reasoning behind the structure of Internet pages, and how to manage and use graphic architecture and animation.

Next on the Photoshop tutorials agenda are the lessons about optimization and download times, compatibility for browsers and platforms, browser offsets, JavaScript, table backgrounds, absolute positionings, resolution of monitors, interpolations and shapes of images.

Web color is an important part of using Adobe Photoshop. You'll need to know about the mode of colors, how to pick them and specify them, how to choose color that is safe for the Web, what monitor bit depth is all about, the way the browser can compensate for colors that are missing and how to save it for the Internet.

The use of type is also part of these Web Photoshop tutorials. You'll learn the various types of type, and take beginning and intermediate lessons in setting graphics type.

An overview of image formatting will be part of the Photoshop tutorials, as well as several training CDS for Gif. Included in these are the table for color lookup, LZW compression, dithering, algorithms for reducing color, transparencies, matte and the avoidance of halos. JPEG is part of the tutorials, both the general overview and saving.

As part of the Web Photoshop tutorials you'll learn to work with photos, create backgrounds and layer styles.

Master The Basics Of Adobe Photoshop With My Easy To Use Photoshop Video Tutorial. For More Information Visit: http://www.forphotoshop.com

David Peterson is a writer for http://www.forphotoshop.com which is an excellent place to find photoshop links, articles and Information. For more information go to: Photoshop Tutorials

David Peterson is a writer for which is an excellent place to find photoshop links, articles and Information. For more information go to:Photoshop Tutorials

Article Source: Photoshop Tutorials For Beginners

Become a Photoshop Expert in 10 Steps

By Dawn Pedersen

After working with Photoshop since version 4 in 1999, I realize that nobody really knows every thing that Photoshop can do. This makes it a great toy and tool, because there's always something new to discover. But you can learn most of it and keep learning. I recommend the following habits if you want to become a Photoshop Expert.

For this article, I'm defining expertise as being able to:

• imitate something from real life (e.g. how shadows and light really work, how glass and water bend light).
• guess with reasonable accuracy how a particular effect was created by someone else in Photoshop.
• troubleshoot your own errors as well as someone else's.
• manipulate pixels non-destructively.
• work efficiently through the proper use of shortcuts, panels, actions, and tools.
• know how and when to use most of the features in Photoshop.

Here are the 10 things I recommend you do if you want to be a Photoshop expert.

#1: Own the latest version of Photoshop

It's pretty hard to really experiment with Photoshop if you don't have your own copy at home. Having the latest version is important too. Particularly with the last two versions, CS3 and CS4, new features are added all the time. These features usually either make your job easier (like the Adjustments panel), or give you tools that didn't even exist in prior versions (like some of CS4's 3D capabilities).

I do recommend you purchase your own copy. Please don't used pirated stuff. If you are a teacher or student who is not using Photoshop for commercial purposes, you are allowed by Adobe to purchase the educational version at about half-price. It is as fully-featured as the non-educational version. You can usually buy this version at college book stores, or online at sites such as creationengine.com.

You are allowed to run your Photoshop software on two machines. I have one copy on my desktop PC and one on my laptop for travel.

#2: Play and Make Mistakes

Experimentation and play is the key to learning something beyond the basics. Try out all kinds of tools and filters, and see what they do with different settings. You can't really ruin Photoshop. And if you do, you can reset all the defaults by closing Photoshop, then pressing and holding the Shift+Ctrl+Alt keys (Mac: Shift+Cmd+Opt) while Photoshop restarts. 

Take a bunch of photos from your camera (or online) and throw them together. See how blend modes change an overall image as layers are moved around. Try all of the layer adjustments, and every filter combined with another filter. Don't worry if it's ugly. You're learning. And there's always the History panel to allow you to back up several steps and try something else.

#3: Take a Class

To be honest, I had an awful Photoshop teacher. He did little beyond schedule what we were supposed to complete in the textbook. I stopped going at one point. I had learned how not to teach, and four years later I was teaching Photoshop. What a good teacher can do is give you assignments you never dreamed you could do (and enjoy!) More importantly, a good instructor can give you personal guidance when you don't even realize you made a mistake, or there's a typo in the textbook, or you accidentally skipped something, and something goes wrong. 

Finally, a good instructor will give you projects to do that give you real-world scenarios and specifications. This prepares you for making real money with Photoshop. 

#4: Go to Seminars

Kelby Training provides absolutely fantastic seminars all over the United States. I have had teachers such as the amazing Bert Monroy and Dave Cross. These seminars have increased my creativity and efficiency in Photoshop beyond belief. The day-long seminar is always fun and very inspiring. Go to one of these seminars if you can, or find something comparable in your area.

#5: Read Photoshop Magazines

Photoshop User Magazine from NAPP is the undisputed master when it comes to American Photoshop publications. You can find it for $10 at book stores, or you get an automatic subscription when you become a NAPP member. You will need that NAPP membership to access the tutorial files online. Each issue has a bunch of tutorials at all levels, plus reviews of products and news about the industry. The magazine caters to photographers, designers and hobbyists alike. 

Layers Magazine is great too, but does not cater just to Photoshop users. It addresses almost all of the Adobe design products. It only has a couple of Photoshop tutorials per issue. If you work with Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, and Dreamweaver as well, this mag's for you.

I also like to buy those really expensive ($15) imports from the U.K., such as Advanced Photoshop and Photoshop Creative. These can be found at book stores too. Unlike Photoshop User, they include a CD-Rom with every issue that provides all the resources for the tutorials, plus brushes, textures, and the like. These magazines sound like an awfully big expense at first, but they are so worth it. The tutorials are always very well done, and gorgeous to boot.

#6: Read Photoshop Books

Some Photoshop books out there are not so great, but most of them are really top-drawer. When considering a Photoshop book for purchase, look for three things:

• Are the images really beautiful or interesting? I have a book here I taught from before I really evaluated the images. They are bordering on ugly. Find a book that makes you feel like you can't wait to create those images.
• Is the book written to your level? It can be really frustrating if the instructions are too easy or too hard for your experience level.
• Does the book match your learning style? Some books use blocks of text and others make each step into a bullet point. Some have more step-by-step images than others. Decide what works best for you and look for books written that way.

I do have three specific book recommendations. Each of the books below contains wonderful tutorials, and is written very well.

"Layers: The Complete Guide to Photoshop's Most Powerful Feature" by Matt Kloskowski

"Photoshop Fine Art Effects Cookbook: 62 Easy-to-Follow Recipes for Creating the Classic Styles of Great Artists and Photographers" by John Beardsworth

"Adobe Photoshop CS4 One-on-One" by Deke McClelland

#7: Do Online Tutorials

I love doing online tutorials. Some good places to find Photoshop tutorials are psd.tutsplus.com, good-tutorials.com, and tutorialized.com. If you work with online tutorials enough, you find some favorite writers. Look for tutorials writers who provide enough images, proofread their work, and don't leave steps out. You should be able to create a result that looks much like the one promised by following exactly what they have written. As with books, look for tutorials written to your skill level. But push yourself to do more challenging stuff than you're used to.

#8: Be a Community Member

This can take many forms. Sometimes I like to check out online Photoshop forums and see if anybody needs a question answered. I often find cool ideas for myself as well. I also hang out on Twitter, and follow a large number of fellow graphic and Web designers. They are always feeding me new links to incredible online resources. I have RSS feeds I read from my favorite design blogs, and I comment on all of the articles that move me. I read everything by smashingmagazine.com and minervity.com.

There are design communities in the offline world too, of course. I am a member of the local group called ADAC. When I had more time a few years ago, I was even a board member. Real-world design clubs are a great opportunity to learn all about design in addition to some of the business aspects of freelancing (ADAC once had a great talk from an intellectual property attorney about copyright law for artists.) More importantly, you can come away inspired with fresh ideas by looking at the works of others.

#9: Learn Other Adobe Programs Too

Photoshop rarely works in a vacuum for most designers. There are many times when a Photoshop project is enhanced by the contributions of artwork done in Illustrator, for example. 

Learn how to save your work for the press using Acrobat. Learn how to create vector artwork in Illustrator and import the paths into Photoshop. Learn how to place your Photoshop files into InDesign. Learn how various Photoshop plugins can expand your design horizons or make your work easier. These are but a few examples. A thorough understanding of Photoshop must include an understanding of how well it plays with others.

#10: Teach Photoshop

I wasn't a Photoshop expert when I started teaching Photoshop. I am now, thanks in part to having taught it. Teaching Photoshop helped me develop my expertise in ways that no other experience can. When you have to communicate how to do something to someone else, you come to understand it in a way that sets it in concrete in your brain. 

I often get my students to find something new to learn, and then have them turn around and teach it to another student. And when both students make mistakes during this teaching process, they both learn more. Writing tutorials - and finding out if someone can follow them - takes this concept step further.

Dawn Pedersen

Blue Lobster Art and Design

Web Design, Graphic Design, and Design Tutorials BluLob.com

Article Source: Become a Photoshop Expert in 10 Steps

Adobe Photoshop - One of the Famous Photo Modify Editing Software

By David Urmann

Photoshop has been known as a business mainstream for graphics specialists. It may be difficult to learn it in your first try, but with continuous study, you will find it easier to use. It can do wonders to your images than you can think possible.

If you are a beginner, it may be best to enroll first in course classes at your own local district academy to study the fundamentals of the software. These essential modifications are included in each preliminary Photoshop session. Self-studying later on may be much easier once you learn the basics from these classes.

In 1987, Thomas Knoll, a PhD apprentice at the University of Michigan, started writing a composition on his Macintosh Plus to present grayscale descriptions on a colorless representation. This program, named Display, interested his sibling John Knoll, who was an Industrial Light and Magic staff, who suggested Thomas to turn Display into a complete image-organizing program. 

Thomas took a six-month vacation from his studies in 1988 to work in partnership with his brother on the program. They called their first software ImagePro. Later on Thomas renamed it to Photoshop and devised a temporary agreement with Barneyscan, a scanner manufacturer, to supply copies of the program with a slide scanner.

For a period of time, John took a trip to Silicon Valley and presented an exhibition of the program to the engineers at Apple Computer Inc. and Russell Brown, art director at Adobe. Both presentations were victorious. 

Adobe won the bid and bought the program in September 1988. While John performed on plug-ins in California, Thomas continued writing program system in Ann Arbor. Photoshop 1.0 was released in public in 1990 entirely for Macintosh.

Photoshop was continually modified to perform better and suit the needs of graphic editors. It was in November 1992 when a Microsoft Windows port of version 2.0 became available, and a year afterwards, it was ported to the SGI IRIX and Sun Solaris stage. 

It was in September 1994 when version 3.0 became available worldwide, which presented tabbed palettes and layers. In February 2003, Photoshop distributed with the Camera RAW 1.x plug-in, allowing users to import RAW configurations from unusual digital cameras exactly into Photoshop. 

In October 2004, the program was called Adobe Photoshop CS. The name makes use of the acronym CS for products in Adobe Creative Suite. The logo was a feather portrayed in shades of blue and green, which was also used in 9.0. 

The 10th edition, Photoshop CS3 became available in the market on April 16, 2007, with a blue symbol formed after periodic table elements, together with the new representation of other Creative Suite products.

In January 2008, the Wine project proclaimed authorized assistance for Photoshop CS2, permitting the Windows edition of Photoshop CS2 to be used on Linux and other UNIX program.

Photoshop has durable links with other Adobe software for media editing, computer graphics, and authoring. Documentations in Photoshop's indigenous layout,.PSD, can be exported to and from Adobe Image Ready, Adobe Illustrator, standard DVDs and offer non-linear editing and unique sound effects services such as backdrops and textures, for television, film, and the Web. 

The software revolves around editing pixels. Photoshop facilitates by controlling every distinctive pixel. Pixels are operated according to any tool that is being used. 

Photoshop versions:

1. Photoshop CS3

2. Photoshop CS3 Extended 

3. Photoshop Elements 6.0 for Macintosh 

4. Photoshop Elements 6.0 for Windows 

5. Photoshop Elements 6.0 & Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0 

6. Photoshop Express beta 

7. Photoshop Light room 2 

8. Photoshop CS4 (Stonehenge)

For more information on Photoshop Brushes and Photoshop Resources please visit our website.

Article Source: Adobe Photoshop - One of the Famous Photo Modify Editing Software

Photoshop Business Guide to Make Money Using Adobe Photoshop Software

By Dave Martin Peters

In today's economy any extra cash is a welcome addition. If you have experience using Photoshop and have a few hours a day to dedicate to earning a few extra bucks online Photoshop business freelancing might be the answer. 

What does a online Photoshop business freelancer do?

The obvious answer is that a online Photoshop business freelancer uses Adobe Photoshop to earn extra money. Adobe Photoshop is an image and photo editing software program that allows you to create new images and edit existing photographs. You can also add amazing effects to existing images or photos. 

How can you make extra cash as a online Photoshop business freelancer?

Photoshop is a powerful program and if you have a working knowledge you can join hundreds of other Photoshop freelancers and potentially earn thousands of dollars monthly. A search of the Internet will pull up numerous web sites that offer this unique service. 

Obviously, to become a Online Photoshop business freelancer you must know the basics of Photoshop. Understanding the various tools and how they work is essential to turning ordinary photos into extraordinary works of art.

The program, while very powerful, doesn't take all that long to learn. Simply experiment and read the available tutorials. Play around with your own photos and soon you will be ready to take on smaller photo editing jobs. 

Photo restoration is one example of a project you can take on using Photoshop. Fading, tears, even water damage can all be fixed using the tools available in Photoshop. All you need is a scanner, a computer with Adobe Photoshop installed, and a high quality color printer as well as a lot of photo paper.

Another basic task is the removal of red eye. The red-eye phenomenon is something that even professional photographers come across and can easily ruin a perfect photograph. With red eye detections tools available in Adobe Photoshop you can easily remove the red-eye.

Photo editing is another common job that freelancers take on. Removal of distracting items or extraneous people are common editing tasks that can easily be completed with a few clicks of the mouse. This is a bit more advanced than red eye removal but is possible with just a bit of work. Other tasks include changing the background of the photo. Again, this is also possible to do with Adobe Photoshop but it will also require more skills and you need to have plenty of time to do these kinds of jobs.

All these tasks plus hundreds of others are possible with Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop is the professional photographers secret tool and is often why many are so successful. 

By becoming an Online Photoshop business freelancer you will have the opportunity to earn some extra cash and create some amazing works of art. With time and attention you can improve your skills and increase your earning potential.

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Article Source: Photoshop Business Guide to Make Money Using Adobe Photoshop Software

What Can a Free Photo Shop Download Do For Me?

By Alberto Martinez Miller

When it comes to exploring the world of graphic design, a free photo shop download will certainly come in handy. Whether you are a beginner, intermediate user, or expert, there are plenty of ways to enhance your skills with the software program that brings newsletters, photos, and graphics to life. Today, the Internet is filled with plenty of free photo shop download opportunities for computer users to explore. 

As you sit in front of your PC or type away on your Mac, you never know when a free photo shop download will make life much easier for you. With the changes in technology and the way the world now uses the computer to tweak digital camera prints or create greeting cards at home, software is needed to execute these activities. Photoshop is one of the most popular software applications on the market, but how do you know if it is for you? 

Depending on the software title, you could be spending more than $100 on a selection that may or may not complete the kind of tasks you wish to accomplish. Sometimes, the application is great, but a little too advanced for your taste. When you are interested in checking out the line of Adobe products, a download helps you test-drive the goods before committing your finances. 

A free photo shop download allows you to see the kind of skills needed to operate the software. After a trial period, you can decide whether or not the software will satisfy your needs. Not only does a download permit you to navigate the ins and outs of an application, but may also provide tutorials to help you create a wide-range of projects and achieve a variety of graphic design goals. This type of free photo shop download also helps save money for the individual that often gets into the habit of purchasing a self-help manual for their software applications. 

The best part about most free photo shop downloads for tutorials is that many offer animation and colorful screen shots that present step-by-step instructions in a slow, easy-to-follow manner. Many individuals have learned how to effectively use the toolbox, filters, and adjust colors - all by using a download. Once you find just the right photo shop download for free, navigating the application becomes much easier, allowing you to make the most informed software purchase.

Alberto Martinez is a successful affiliate marketer who regularly makes a

healthy living from the Internet. He highly recommends the following site about Adobe Photo Shop Video Tutorial: 2 Hours of PhotoShop Video Tutorials [http://www.go-4-info.com/photoshop.html]

Article Source: What Can a Free Photo Shop Download Do For Me?

Photo Shop Tutorial for Beginners - 6 Tips for Getting Started

By Mario SG Churchill

Photo Shop is one of the most amazing and yet complicated software programs out in the market right now, but don't worry...you'll only have to suffer its complicatedness at the start. After a while, you'll soon get the hang of Photo Shop and then you'll be editing your photos like mad!

Tip #1 Choosing the Type of Image File

Whenever you edit a photo in a major way, the default settings of Photo Shop would usually ask you to save the file in psd format; be that as it may, it's better for you to save your photos in jpeg as this is the most commonly accepted file and allows you to upload photos easily on just about any website.

Tip #2 Images without Background

Let's say you wish to create a particular shape or text or you've cut out a particular figure and you wish to use it on a website or even any design without white background. This is impossible to do with MS Paint, but certainly easy to achieve with Adobe Photo Shop.

First, set the background to transparent. Next, paste or create the desired text, shape, or photo. Once you're done, you have to click on Save for Web and not simply Save As because the latter would cause your photo to lose its transparent background.

Tip #3 Understanding Contrast

You see this term being used a lot when describing art or even when discussing about adjustment levels of a plasma TV. But do you really understand what contrast is? To put thing simply, contrast is the ability of a certain object, in this case that would be Photo Shop, to display the contrast or difference between dark and light colors or the difference between black and white. In a monochromatic photo, contrast is especially important because it makes distinguishing various objects in the photo easier. In colored photos, contrast is important when the photo has a particularly dark background.

Tip #4 Choosing the Quality Level

When you use Photo Shop to edit a photo, you might be asked in the end to choose the level of quality for your photo before saving it. The ideal level to choose is 60 because it allows you to enjoy superior quality while reducing the file size of your photo. Anything more can be particularly heavy and consume much disk space while the anything less can compromise the appearance of your photo.

Tip #5 Going Retro

To make your photos black and white, simply go to the Image Toolbar then click grayscale and your photos would immediately look decades older.

Tip #6 Layers

This feature of Adobe Photo Shop never fails to intimidate most beginners, but you shouldn't let it scare you. Once you understand how layers work, you'll be virtually addicted to using it frequently to enhance your photos.

Layers basically let you know the different layers that your photo consists of. Yes, your photo is indeed made up of multiple layers, and you can a new one or remove an old one with the Layers Toolbar. Using layers will allow you to edit one part of the photo without affecting the rest.

Tip #6 Marquee Tools

Lastly, these tools allow you to select a portion of the photo in the shape you prefer. The rectangular selection tool is the simplest and most commonly used. The elliptical marquee tool will allow you to make a circular selection while the single row or column marquee tools - as their names imply - allow you to make a straight line selection in your photo.

Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects.  For a free photo shop tutorial and or to purchase a video photo shop tutorial checkout his website.

Article Source: Photo Shop Tutorial for Beginners - 6 Tips for Getting Started

Different Types of Photo Shop Effects Tutorials

By Mario SG Churchill

Photo Shop is the most widely used image manipulation program in the world today. It should be no mystery therefore that so many people know the basics of the program. However, not many people know the full capability of Photo Shop. 

This is partly because every person has a limited time to devote to this program. In order to compensate for this, many people are putting up Photo Shop effects tutorials. This is in order to share what knowledge they have and maybe gain a little more. Here are some of the different types of Photo Shop effects tutorials you can find today:

1) Retouching - this type of Photo Shop effects tutorial attempts to teach people how to accomplish the basic goal of Adobe Photo Shop -fix pictures. The retouching Photo Shop effects tutorials helps people get rid of red eye, fix skewed angles and basically make the picture presentable. This is done through the various tools offered by Photo Shop. 

Majority of the people who look for Photo Shop effects tutorials go with this first because, let's face it, everyone wants to look perfect in their pictures. By learning this Photo Shop effects tutorial, you will be able to take what you can see in nature and give it a whole new reality. Some people eliminate wrinkles, scars, and some actually erase people from group pictures! 

2) Lighting effects - a change in the lighting can dramatically alter the mood of a photograph. In the past, photographers either had to wait for the sun to be just perfect or make use of special lighting in order to achieve the effect that they need. With lighting Photo Shop effects tutorials, you can adjust the lighting of a photograph even after it is taken. 

Think of the possibilities! You can take the picture of a sunset even in the middle of a cloudy day. You can light up the subject of a photograph even without using a flash. Photo Shop effects tutorials will even teach you how to make it look like you are living on an alien planet, by adding 2 different colored suns to your picture. The great thing about this is that, unlike other image editors which just paste a sun into the background, Adobe Photo Shop can really make it seem as if the addition does affect the lighting within the image. 

3) Presentation effects - want to place your image inside a glass sphere? You can find Photo Shop effects tutorials to do precisely that on the internet. You can find different ways to manipulate your images. You can put an object in space, traveling at light speed. You can place yourself in field of flowers. You can turn your picture into an oil painting. A Photo Shop effects tutorial will teach you how to do these things and more. With Photo Shop, your imagination is the limit.

4) Photography - many photographers today resort to using special filters and customizing their cameras to get different effects. They take pictures in ultra-red, monochrome, and other styles to give people a whole new perspective of the world. Some Photo Shop effects tutorials can teach you how to make it seem like you took a picture using the same techniques as professionals do. This is certainly something every person wants, right?

Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects.  For a free photo shop tutorial and or to purchase a video photo shop tutorial checkout his website.

Article Source: Different Types of Photo Shop Effects Tutorials

The Art of Digital Photo Retouching

By Javier Ideami

The Limits of Photo Cameras

We live in an age of amazing technological advancements in the visual technology fields. Photo camera models renew themselves each year with the promise of more mega-pixels and new features. And yet, if we think about it for a moment, the photo that comes out of each of our digital camera models most times has strengths and weaknesses that persist through all the successive models that go through our hands.

Digital Cameras and in general all photographic cameras are, despite all of the marketing buzz, still very limited machines. For example, they register our world with sensors that can only capture a fraction of the tonal range that our eyes can perceive. 

Imagine yourself on a sunny day in front of a beautiful landscape. 

Below you, around your feet, you can see the rich lush green vegetation; above you, the bright blue skies. As we contemplate this scene, our eyes are able to perceive all its richness, the details in both the shadows and the bright clouds above. The dynamic range that our eyes can process, which goes from the darkest to the brightest areas, is enough to contain most of the rich detail in that scene.

Now take your photo camera and snap a shot from your position including both the vegetation and the sky. The result is very telling. Depending on the parameters that either the camera or you choose, some detail of the scene will be gone from the result. Either parts of the vegetation will blend to black and lose all detail or parts of the sky will blend to white and lose all detail.

In summary, the retina of the camera, its digital sensor, which captures the light of the scene, is not capable of dealing with a tonal range as large as our eyes can. It can only capture the full detail in a small range that can be positioned at different levels of brightness by the camera itself or us. Because of that, in a scene like the one described above that has a very large contrast, it ends up capturing the detail only at the highlights and mid-tones, or mainly at the mid-tones, or mainly at the shadows and mid-tones. It simply cannot capture simultaneously the full detail of the scene from the darkest to the brightest areas.

This is of course a simplification of an scenario that we could describe in much more detail. But the conclusion is still the same. When we look at the final photo, we realize that what we remember seeing with our eyes is not what the photo shows. That richness of detail everywhere is gone. And this is just one of the limitations that all Photo cameras share. We could go on to describe many others related to color precision and other areas where cameras simply cannot cope with the depth and richness of the world around us.

Photo Retouching comes to the rescue

Here is where photo retouching enters the scene. So what really is photo retouching and what is it useful for? We can approach this question from two angles and both are related to each other:

Bringing the Photo closer to what we remember

1) On the one hand, photo retouching is the art of taking that initial photo and working on it by various means to bring it closer to what our eyes saw when we were in front of that beautiful scene. 

Photo retouching applied to the scenario described above is, for example, the art of manipulating the image we captured and making more visible some of the details that almost disappeared due to the limitations of our photo camera. It enables us as well to enhance the color of the picture and bring it closer to what our eyes enjoyed. In short, retouching allows us to take the photo and compensate for the limitations of our camera. It gives us the possibility to try and bring the final result as close as possible to what we remember.

Two key points here: 

a) First, retouching is not synonymous with Photoshop. Photoshop is the most popular of the tools used in our digital age to retouch photographs. But retouching can be done in numerous ways, either with the many software products available on the market or by processing the digital outputs in other ways (such as printing and scanning the photo successive times including physical interventions in the middle to alter different properties of the image).

  

b) The second point is that when we talk about - what we remember from the scene - we have to take into account the psychological implications of that statement. It has been shown that often when we remember a beautiful nature landscape, we remember it greener and more saturated in color than it really was. 

Therefore, when we retouch that photo, should we manipulate the output to approach what we remember from the scene, or what the scene truly looks like when we stand in front of it?

But no one can possibly say what the scene truly looks like. For each of us, the experience of looking at something will be completely different. Furthermore, what we remember from our visual connection with the scene will also be different for each of us as vision is truly relative. (let's remember the example of the person who is enclosed in a room painted completely red and with nothing else inside to compare that color to. The person will be unable to see that red color until we introduce something with which he can compare it).

So, if we are retouching a picture for ourselves, we will attempt to bring that image closer to what we remember based on our own personal experience. If we are retouching it for somebody else, we may either bring that scene closer to what generally is accepted as attractive for such a scenario or we may ask the client whose photo we are retouching the details of his/her perception of that scene and then manipulate the result towards that direction.

  

Moving Beyond what we see

2) On the other hand, retouching allows us to go beyond the first point and enhance reality in infinite directions. As we mentioned previously, vision is very relative. We all remember the same scene in different ways. That lush green vegetation will be remembered by some of us as more saturated in color than by others, some will remember it more yellow and others greener. Some will remember the vegetation to be brighter and others darker; some will even remember it larger and others smaller. This is all a consequence both of the biology of our eyes and of the continuous filtering that our brain performs on our perception of the world around us. 

Depending on the importance and resonance that our different memories have on us, the brain will remember different scenarios in different ways. Therefore we can summarize by saying that once we leave a scene, its representation in our minds starts to get distorted. What we remember is a mixture of the filtering and processing performed by our brain plus how our mind wants to remember that input. All in all, most times what we remember has little to do with the actual physical input we had in front of us.

This very same human trait that at first may sound a bit disturbing is also what powers our imagination and our capacity to invent, to create, to expand beyond what we see. It allows us to blend, interconnect, associate and produce ideas and images that we have never seen in real life.

And here is where retouching again becomes an extremely powerful tool. Not only can we start from that initial photo we snapped with our camera and take control of the distortion that happens naturally in our minds, but this time we can modify the image consciously in whatever directions our imagination suggests.

We can make a blue shirt red. We can expand that forest of trees and make it five times larger. We can put an ocean around our house or extract a figure from its background and make it fly through the skies. The possibilities are endless. As such, from this second perspective, retouching becomes a wonderful way of visually imagining, exploring, creating and expanding ideas.

The art of retouching, described from these two angles, is an art-form that requires conscious thought and decision-making strategies. We have to decide what parts of the picture we will work on and what style of retouching we will perform. Will it be retouching that will go unnoticed and simply enhance the picture without calling attention to itself? Or will it be retouching that aims to transform the image into something completely out of our imagination and therefore will aim to look surprising and new in an elegant way?

A professional photo retoucher works with the image like a craftsman. He must work carefully with his electronic brush, repairing, correcting, blending and transforming the image in subtle ways that slowly change it just as a sunset or a sunrise slowly transition into a new reality without sudden changes that could call attention to themselves. As such, the work of a professional photo retoucher is similar to the work of a painter, a sculptor or an illustrator. 

Precision work full of creativity and focus that aims to do what our photo cameras could not do; Enhance and transform the photo closer to what our eyes enjoyed and our minds remember.

Retouching can cover an infinite array of treatments including basic color correction, high end beauty retouching, skin retouching, make-up enhancement, glamour retouching, lighting enhancement, photo montages, portrait retouching, eyes retouching, photo illustration, photo restoration and touch up, magazine photo retouching, photo cartooning, background extractions, damaged photos restoration, wedding photography retouching, panoramic photography, photo paintings, other special effects and so much more.

Some online services offer minimal automated basic retouching services like automatic color and contrast enhancements. These perform generic automated corrections to an image and fail to produce optimum results for the same reason that all automated processes in life fail to adapt to the unique individual circumstances of a subject, in our case an image.

Every picture is a different world. Automated processes can improve the contrast and color of an image sometimes, but other times they can degrade the image instead of improving it, taking the image in the opposite direction needed by blindly following theoretical rules and mechanical algorithms.

And what is even more important, automated processes cannot think and cannot create a strategy of what they want to achieve. They cannot contemplate an image and create a plan to bring it closer to what our human eyes would enjoy or to the dreams that our souls envision. 

That is why the best retouching can only be done by humans, by artists, by creatives, by truly, magicians that with their electronic wands work for hours and days on the pictures and create results that sometimes reflect our memories and other times transform our dreams into realities, as real for our eyes as what we remembered but even better, taken to the edges and peaks of human creativity and beauty.

Javier Gonzalez is creative director of [http://www.klinklin.com] 

KlinKlin's mission is to bring the magic of Professional Photo Retouching to the photos of our lives - the everyday photos that we take with our cameras, and to do so in a fast and affordable way. 

With KlinKlin, you can be on the cover of a magazine or on a movie poster, you can appear in a photo illustration or a cartoon, be virtually transported to new backgrounds and places and receive make-up and skin treatments of the highest quality; The possibilities are endless with the different services we offer.

We offer Beauty Photo Retouching, photo repair, picture editing and photo enhancement services that transform your photos into shining keepsake to be shared with your loved ones, friends and family.

Join now for free at [http://www.klinklin.com] 

KlinKlin

Article Source: The Art of Digital Photo Retouching

Edit Pictures With Special Photo Effects

By Alex Maker

In the hi-tech world, each person has a digital camera. It has become a tradition of taking a digital camera to make photographs of something new. How pleasant to show these pictures to our friends! In the world of the Internet and social networking picture, by its own, can no longer impress the demanding user. Many people understand this and try to improve their pictures by to editing with a special image effects.

What are the best methods to improve the picture?

Black and White photo effect

This effect converts any color photo to black and white. This effect can trigger memories from the past, thus adding an image a sense of nostalgia. Want to make your photo more deep? Use black and white image effect!

Sepia picture effect

This is one of those effects that come to us from the past when some artists have painted in this style. In most cases, Sepia is used to "olden" a photo. Sepia makes your photo more dull, giving it a light brownish tint. After corresponding photo editing, picture looks faded and tarnished for many years. If you apply this effect to photos that show the recent events - than the result will quite funny!

The effect of oil paintings

In the old days, when there were no photo cameras - people depicted surrounding world on canvas and paper. Paintings popular to this day. The process of creating paintings of ordinary photography is quite complex. If you're not an artist, you will have to find one, but it is not cheap. Fastest way to turn photos into the picture is using computer algorithms. Modern photo editor can apply such effect in a seconds.

Pencil Sketch photo effect

Would you like to have your picture look like a sketch, drawn with a pencil?. Maybe, you seen on the streets an artist who wanted to paint you on paper. Pencil sketch - is another kind of photo effect, which makes your photo more interesting. Edit pictures and bring a little bit art in your photos!

"Cartoonizer"

Another great photo effect - an animated film filter. Apply this photo effect for your photo and get a unique as a result! The resulting picture is very similar to the cartoon image of Walt Disney. The result of applying effect will delight adults and children! You must try the effect of an animated film to please your friends and family!

Vintage Photo

Retro photo effect can turn your modern photos into very old one. Beautiful results of this effect is achieved with the imposition of all sorts of artifacts and dirt. Effect of the old retro photos - is good choice to laugh and for more serious applications. Above we have described the most popular photo effects. Apply these effects each time to please the family or make fun of your friends

How to apply these effects to your photo?

Among the serious graphic packages can be distinguished Gimp. Unfortunately, to create the effect in this package - you need a solid knowledge in this program. Many of the effects may be required for hours to create the desired result. Fortunately, you can do it all with one click!. At the moment, there are several photo editing sites that apply photo effects for you. Just upload any photo and get a wonderful and unexpected results!.

One of the most easy and powerful editing software is a free [http://ipiccy.com]iPiccy - Online Picture Editor. Also you can use AnyAmking.com to do [http://anymaking.com]free photo editing online and applying beautiful photo effects.

Article Source: Edit Pictures With Special Photo Effects

Best Image and Photo Editing Software Alternatives to Adobe Photoshop - My Reviews

By Heather Bjorkman 

"Photoshop" has gone beyond being merely a brand name to become a regular household word, a verb and a noun. However, Photoshop is really just a brand of fancy image editing software. Fancy, and expensive, image editing software. Adobe Illustrator is a standard vector graphics editor, and Adobe Photoshop is a standard photo editor for pretty much everything else. According to Adobe.com, Standard Adobe Photoshop (not the Extended Version) is $599 and Adobe Illustrator is $699. The Design Standard Suite is over $1,000. What are your options for photo editing software if you can't afford Adobe Photoshop?

Below is a list of my favorite image editing software, including a couple of online photo editors:

1. IrfanView

Experience Level Required: Novice

Pros: Fast, compact, uses minimal resources, many features (even more with plugins installed), many easy keyboard shortcuts available, functions as a viewer as well as a basic image editor, batch conversions, slideshow creation, precise cropping, variety of screen capture options, handles tons of file types, straight forward and easy to use.

Cons: Does not seem to do background saves (file saving requires overwriting the previously saved version every time), photo edits apply to entire image even if only one area is selected.

My Review:

IrfanView is far and wide my absolute favorite image viewer/editor. It is not for advanced edits but IrfanView has many useful features for basic and somewhat advanced editing. It's the most fast and efficient viewer I've seen or used, with the editing functionality that is lacking in many general image viewers. IrfanView is quick, compact, and not a resource hog. Rotating and flipping can be done with a single key.

IrfanView also offers a variety of screen capture options that prove very handy. The screen capture function gives you a choice of capture area (whole screen, current window, foreground area) as well as method of capture (timer, programmable hot-key). IrfanView gives you the option between capturing with or without the cursor. Screen capture and zoom are done with another tap of the key.

Editing in IrfanView is basic, but convenient. Rotate, flip, crop, brighten, sharpen, resize, simple bevels, saturation, hue, add text, etc. Basic editing is simple enough even for a novice to perform without reading a lengthy manual.

One of my favorite features is the crop tool. Unlike cropping in some Windows programs, IrfanView allows you to see the pixel size of the area you've selected. If you try to crop a selection and find out it's still too large, the Resize/Resample function allows you to size it down to the exact proportions you want. Resize/Resample also offers some popular preset size options to help you make your decision. The Resample option allows you to resize images without losing the image quality.

A unique feature in IrfanView I use very frequently is IrfanView's Batch Conversion/Batch Rename function. The Batch Conversion feature is invaluable for resizing multiple photos at once. Likewise, Batch Rename is great for organizing those large groups of camera-named images. IrfanView even an option to rename your converted files. This is exceptionally useful if you are trying to make a photo CD for someone and have folders full of high-resolution, 1MB+ sized images that need to be shrunk a bit.

All this packaged into one compact - FREE - little program

2. Inkscape 

Experience Level Required: Intermediate to Advanced

Pros: Relatively easy to use, variety of in-depth editing features, supports a variety of input and output types including support for Adobe Illustrator.eps files, filters make professional looking edits with ease, many features are easily tweaked to accommodate your particular needs, many options for exporting bitmaps.

Cons: Some features are more technical than novices may be comfortable with (prior experience with Adobe Illustrator would likely be helpful), resource intensive program, viewing files at full size has to be done carefully to avoid locking up the program, cropping took some time to figure out.

My Review:

I'd like to start by saying that I'm still only a beginner with Inkscape. Yet despite of my lack of knowledge about vector graphic editors, and vector graphics in general, Inkscape is still a convenient and simple way to create professional, impressive looking logos and buttons with little technical expertise or knowledge of graphics editing software. The simplest way to do this is to use the text tool to type out what you want, choose a nice font, and then play around with the various filters until you get the effect you want.

One filter is nice, but multiple filters can make something even more impressive looking. The logo on my blog is a result of doing just that. The rainbow-swirled paint splash is actually the product of a square with a gradient and several different filters stacked on top of each other. You'd never know by looking at it that it started as a square (a gray square even, if I remember right). Working with text is pretty simple with Inkscape and you don't need to rasterize it to use the filters.

Filters are in abundance. Options include the very basic (lighten, darken, sharpen, blur, etc), textures, colorize, "non-realistic 3D shaders," overlays, materials, bevels, and more. Resizing and rotating individual components is a breeze, but cropping them can be a bit confusing. Cropping in Inkscape is actually called "clipping" and it doesn't function exactly the same as most cropping tools. I had to conduct a Google search to figure it out, and even then I only found one or two sites that explained it in a way that made sense. I have re-posted it on my blog for your convenience.

You also have to watch your actual file sizes in Inkscape. If you work without setting the canvas size and go mostly freeform, you can end up with a very large image file without realizing it. If you've done this and try to zoom in, Inkscape's performance reduces significantly, depending on your computer's technical specs. It corrects itself well, but you may have to give it awhile.

The most advanced part of Inkscape is working with paths and nodes. Admittedly I am not experienced with paths and nodes yet. I have used them a little in experimentation, but for the most part I can't give a good review on the usage of paths and nodes with Inkscape. Flattening layers is also something that I imagine is possible, but I have yet to figure it out exactly. That's where the "Advanced" recommendation comes in. If you are comfortable using Adobe Illustrator, figuring out paths and nodes in Inkscape should be simple. I never got comfortable enough with Adobe Illustrator to have a definite opinion on the paths and nodes functions in Inkscape (and have not had a reason to use them much in Inkscape, either).

3. GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)

Experience Level Required: Intermediate to Advanced

Pros: Great feature list, hover tips explain feature icons, supports a variety of input and output types including support for Adobe Photoshop.psd files, variety of filters for professional looking image edits, clean and efficient interface, generally faster load time than Adobe Photshop, many tweakable features for enhanced control, ability to easily reset defaults, supports a variety of keyboard shortcuts, results using GIMP are generally comparable to using Adobe Photoshop.

Cons: Lacks some features of Adobe Photoshop, certain functions take some getting used to, recreating some Adobe Photoshop type results may require additional steps.

My Review:

After familiarizing myself a bit with Adobe Photoshop, it took me a while to switch gears from Adobe Photoshop to GIMP, and a couple tools took me a little Google-searching to figure out. I can't say it's because GIMP is that hard to learn, but rather that I was frustrated and impatient.

Selection, crop, layers, filters, set the image size, etc. are all pretty easy. Gradient, fill (color and pattern options), clone, blur, smudge, airbrush, and various selection tools were also easy, but the clone and gradient tools took me some trial and error to figure out. The brush sizes also originally seemed to be lacking.

Once I experimented a little more, I was very pleasantly surprised with the ability to tweak the brush in a wide variety of ways. This helps greatly with pixel-by-pixel editing around curves and edges. You can tweak the hardness, opacity, angle, shape, aspect ratio and radius of the brush. GIMP even lets you add spikes and make uniquely shaped brushes. Editing the brush sizes and shapes proved to be an invaluable feature when using the clone tool to capture a very specific portion of an image. The brush editor allows you to create a brush up to a huge 1,000 pixels in size.

Another convenient feature of GIMP is the ability to open new images as layers, and open multiple images simultaneously. The locator icon (not sure its actual name) in the bottom right hand corner is also useful. If you zoom in too far on a given image and want to locate a specific portion, you can drag the cursor around the icon and go right to the desired spot in the image.

I didn't find as many filter options in GIMP as I did in Inkscape, or maybe they just weren't as cut-and-dry, but there are still a good range with many options. The real power to GIMP comes very similar to Adobe Photoshop. Layers and masks are allow you to create a wide variety of effects that are not necessarily built in.

Many of the realistic, elegant, or impressive effects can be created with layers. Just like using paths and nodes in Inkscape, layer and mask functions require a more advanced level of knowledge (layers and masks are present in Inkscape as well). You can use layers and masks to create more subtle effects than what I have had to use personally. Rays of sunlight, shiny and/or colored hair, realistic looking shadows and more can be created with these functions.

4. Pixlr - Online Photo Editing Software 

Experience Level Required: Novice to Advanced

Pros: Offers 3 different types of editors - Pixlr O-Matic, Pixlr Express, and Pixlr Editor - ranging from novice level to advanced, creates beautiful photo effects without the hassle, allows you to save your files online, downloadable plug-in allows you to edit images "grabbed" off the web, variety of preset settings, lighting effects, frame effects, more advanced editing options available, allows you to edit images from anywhere, easy to use interface, many languages available, no registration required.

Cons: Pixlr Editor (advanced) and Pixlr Express (novice to intermediate) may run slowly when applying certain effects, functionality of Pixlr Editor is not as in-depth as GIMP or Adobe Photoshop, requires internet connection, may resize your original photo.

My Review: 

Reviewing Pixlr is almost like reviewing 3 separate graphics editing software programs. I found and tested out Pixlr O-Matic first, which contains many preset settings for the photo style, then light effects on the photo, and finally a framed appearance around the photo. The photo styles all have interesting names, and some seem too unusual to be useful, such as having your entire photo in a double-vision appearance.

Using Pixlr O-Matic on a particular photo, I eventually decided on the "Melissa" setting, with a Vignette, and set the frame as "Cornered". Combined, the three effects made the person in the photo stand out with a hazy, dark background and a torn appearance around the edges of the photo. All in all, it gave it an elegant, aged appearance and all in only three quick steps.

Pixlr Express offers the same image effects, but allows you to edit them some. It offers basic image editing functions (rotate, crop, etc) and breaks down some of its other effects that are combined in Pixlr O-Matic. While Pixlr O-Matic is extremely fast, Pixlr Express may take a little longer to apply some of the effects to your image. Pixlr Express is still good for the novice user as it is quick, easy and very self-explanatory.

Pixlr Editor on the other hand resembles an online version of GIMP or Adobe Photoshop. There is a toolbox, layers, brush options. advanced editing, and more. It is not nearly as robust as GIMP, but just as with Pixlr O-Matic and Pixlr Express, its presets make more advanced editing possible in fewer steps. You can edit the brush, layers, masks, etc and also use the filters and other basic image editor functions.

As with Pixlr Express, Pixlr Editor ran slowly when applying effects, since it is an online editor. When I was testing each version out, Pixlr O-Matic had no delay, Pixlr Express had a delay while applying some effects (not others), and Pixlr Editor got held up a few times trying to make edits or test out various effects. When all is said and done, Pixlr can make time-consuming work into child's play.

The only issue I had with Pixlr was when it ended up shrinking my photo unexpectedly. It had been reduced in size by roughly 50%, maybe even more. I may have just overlooked an option to prevent that though, so I can't say that it would happen every time.

5. Picnik - Online Photo Editing Software 

Experience Level Required: Novice to Intermediate

Pros: Easy to use even for a novice, basic editing options, lots of filter effects; ability to create collages, calendars, and other professional looking photo-imprinted items; no registration required, doesn't resize your photos by default, photos can be edited from any computer.

Cons: Many features and effects are not available unless you upgrade to a premium account, tweaking options may not be enough for advanced users, registered accounts only allow 5 photos to be saved.

My Review: 

Aside from the landing page, Picnik looks and acts, in many ways, almost identical to Pixlr Express. The filter options are generally pretty similar, although Picnik has more framing effects. Some of the image effects are drastically different than those found in Pixlr Express. On the other hand, many fancy features require you to be a registered, paying user. Granted, registration doesn't exactly require a month's pay. Picnik's premium features are advertised at a price of "as little as $2.08 a month".

The feature list advertised (for Picnik Premium) sounds pretty robust, and the benefit is the additional features with the same ease of use. Picnik Premium includes more effects, collage styles, advanced editing tools, "stickers", frames, and more. Picnik Premium also lets you work without ads, and offers touch-up tools (burn, dodge, etc aren't included in Picnik by default), batch uploading, and special fonts. Prices start at $4.95 for one month, to $24.95 for 12 months (where the "$2.08 per month" pricing comes in). $19.95 for 6 months, if you want to get half a year less for the cost of one extra month. The 6 month plan almost sounds like an insult.

$25 a year isn't a lot if you're a novice user wanting to do a lot of photo edits. If you have more advanced skills, it may be worth it to you to minimize the amount of time you spend editing any one photo. Then again, if you are well versed in photo editing software, you may find Picnik's features to be too constrained and prefer more control over your images.

Overall, the basic free version of Picnik is an incredibly useful tool that anyone could use. If you don't want to register at all, you don't have to. You couldn't save your edited photos and edit history in Picnik, but you can always save your originals in one folder and then download your edited photos in another to maintain backups.

So which graphics editing software is really the best? You'll have to decide for yourself. Each of the ones I've listed (with the exception of Pixlr [Express] and Picnik [Free Version]) have their own defined purpose, and they all have their own unique qualities.

The best image editing software for you depends on your expertise, the amount of time you are comfortable spending, how often you'll need it, and what you'll typically use it for. Try each one and decide for yourself. Or better yet - use them all.

If you are looking for more tutorials, how-tos, and other troubleshooting help, be sure to check out Techie Beginners - a site made just for those who are just starting out in the techie world. Techie Beginners offers help with blogging, computing, and problems - like this one - that you might encounter.

Heather Bjorkman has worked with all walks of the techie life, from absolute beginners to those that are over her own head. She enjoys helping people better understand technology and sharing the information that she knows with other people.

Article Source: Best Image and Photo Editing Software Alternatives to Adobe Photoshop - My Reviews

Photo Editing Software: Organize, Enhance and Share Photos

By W R Kirk

Photo editing software is essential to making digital photography more rewarding. Software programs range in price from free to hundreds of dollars. The first thing to decide is exactly what you need the software to do.

For many, simply organizing all those digital image files is a nightmare. For others, editing and enhancing photos is a real need. Software that will perform both duties is even better.

Manage and Edit Pictures

Our friends at Google have a handy free software program called Picasa(TM) that makes photo management a snap. It will quickly find, organize and label every picture on your computer. Basic edit tools clean up and enhance photos. Share photos, create movies and slideshows and more with this easy to use editing program.

Another popular photo editor is Preclick. It has many of the same features as Picasa with free and $20 upgrade versions. For photo file management and basic editing tools, these two software programs deserve a close look.

The Best Image Editing Software

The standard and industry leader in editing software is Adobe PhotoShop CS. It will do just about anything you could want or imagine. But for the average user there are two problems. The first is cost. At around $600 it ain't cheap. The second is its complexity. Quite simply, learning how to use PhotoShop isn't easy.

Many experts feel Jasc Paint Shop Pro has nearly the same functionality as PhotoShop and is easier to use. For about $130 they throw in Corel Photo Album to manage and share photos. For those who like the Windows look and feel, Microsoft Digital Image is a close runner up for under $100.

Free Photo Editing Software

GIMP is open-source software with features similar to PhotoShop. Free and shareware software programs that feature painting as well as photo edit functions include Ultimate Paint, VicMan and Pixia.

Digital cameras information from A to Z: camera types & features, how they work, accessories, photo printers, comparisons and more - plus digital photo processing tips and info at A-Z Digital Cameras.com [http://www.a-z-digital-cameras.com], Your Complete A-Z Resource  for Digital Cameras, Accessories and Information.

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Article Source: Photo Editing Software: Organize, Enhance and Share Photos