Most amateur and professional photographers know that creating the perfect photo takes time and hard work. Although some people manage a perfect shot now and then by accident, many popular high quality photographs seen attached to news articles and glossy mags or online only turned out perfectly with assistance from photo editing tools. Even if a photographer creates the perfect photo by patiently waiting for the lighting or moment, they must still usually edit the photo so that they can share it with others. With advances in technology in recent years, most people don't have to empty their wallets to gain access to image editing tools to modify digital copies of their scanned print photographs and pictures or digital camera photos. They simply need to know how photo editors work and where to find the best free options.
What is a Photo Editor?
Any software capable of altering the appearance and size of an image is referred to as a photo editor. People can load third-party software onto a desktop or laptop computer. They can visit a website that features a photo editing application linked to a remote server. Lastly, they can load a mobile app onto a smartphone, tablet or other portable device. Within the photo editor's user interface, the software allows a person to edit a digital photo or other picture in basic and complex ways to customize the image as they see fit. Basic editing tools include touch-up options to remove red eye, lens flare and other unwanted elements like dust and scratches seen on scanned copies of old, non-digital pictures. Typically, users can alter the size of an image, crop part of it and adjust various areas like color contrast, brightness, blur and perspective. Beyond the basic tools and features, people can also find special effect and filter options. A photo editor user might colorize all or part of a black and white picture or turn a colored photo into a black and white or sepia one. They might blur the background of an image so that a foreground subject stands out more. They might add extra elements that enhance the image like text, stickers and frames. Many photo editors also allow users to combine photos to create collage artwork and wide panoramas from non-panoramic shots.
How Do They Work?
A user opens the photo editor software and uploads an electronic copy of the picture from a computer hard drive or an external storage device. They then pick drop-down menu and virtual selection tools to make changes, save the edited image and then share and use it as desired. With most high-quality photo editors, a user who has mastered photo-editing techniques and software can also make custom changes manually. They merely need to select the whole image or a portion of it, open a window that allows for tool customization and then input into provided fields their preferences with certain number and letter codes designed to represent various types of editing choices. A mobile photo editor app works much the same way: a user opens the app, finds an image to add to the app and then edits the picture using the available tools. Some photo editor apps also connect directly to a device camera, which means that a user selects a camera tool, takes a picture and waits for the image to automatically load to the app. To create the perfect picture with any type of photo editor, a user only needs to learn how to use every tool offered within the software so that they can take full advantage of the options at their disposal.
Finding an Online Photo Editor
It's not difficult to find a photo editor online. A person must simply use the correct keywords for their online search. To find a photo editor that works in a browser, they should use the keywords "free photo editor." To find one that works with a mobile device, they should use "photo editor app" in their device's app search field and then scroll through the available free and paid options until they find a free one that best matches their needs. They should never settle for the first photo editor that pops up in search results. Instead, they should look at several different options and the available tools and features. Before they select a photo editor, they should also conduct a separate online search for reviews about the top three apps that they like the most and compare the products based on consumer, tech experts and professional photographer reviews.
