Thank God there’s Photoshop to edit the unnatural images unlike the older times when getting a perfect capture meant everything. We often hear people screaming out “This Photo Has Been Photoshopped” and there’s no surprise element since every professional photographer edits images using this wonderful app. But, one should always keep in mind the limitations and accuracy of using the app. Here, we shall talk about various tools to be used judiciously for an almost natural look or just to enhance the existing picture.
Shadow and Highlight
Modern equipment come with an advanced technology to capture every little detail but depending on the light of the shoot, the shadows might appear darker. In order to avoid this, open your image in Photoshop and go IMAGE > ADJUSTMENTS > SHADOW AND HIGHLIGHTS. Adjust the shadows and enhance the true beauty of the picture.
Levels Tool
Yet another interesting tool for those who want to adjust the exposure element of the image. Post editing shadows and highlighting the picture, ensure that your image is not over or under exposed which might fade away the beauty of the picture. Enhance the image by boosting contrast or adjusting highlights as and when required.
Color Balance
This is probably the favoruite of many designers who like to play with colors and effects. You can turn your image into monochrome, warmer tones or even give it a vintage effect by using Sepia. Simply, put together the effects and colors in such a way that the image looks sharp and natural and colors compliemnt the image well. Open the image in Photoshop and then, IMAGE > ADJUSTMENTS > COLOUR BALANCE (or using the keyboard shortcut Command/Control+B)
Hue and Saturation
This is again a very powerful yet effective tool of Photoshop that helps to achieve a perfect color balance in your image. Simply, go to Photoshop, open the image and IMAGE > ADJUSTMENTS > HUE/SATURATION (or using the keyboard shortcut Command/Control+U) Hue is basically to select variation of colors for the image and saturation helps to intensify the richness of color content in the image. Lightness is yet another feature that helps to blur down or simply reduce the color effect of the subject.
