The Art Of Tweaking Your Pictures With Photoshop Elements

By David Peters

Beginners Adobe Elements Tutorial

Due to the latest technology, capturing unforgettable moments have now become very easy. Besides digital cameras, mobile phones now come along with built-in cameras which make it easier to take images and keep these precious moments. But what about those images that you've taken way before digital cameras became an asset?

Some people can get truly frustrated and disappointed with plenty of photos taken with still cameras due to the bad quality of the picture. Even if you have managed to find the negatives and have them reprinted, if the pictures were poorly taken to begin with, having it reproduced will be worthless. But that does not mean to say that these could not be restored. Using basic elements of Photoshop, you would be able to enhance the quality of the pictures and keep the memories alive.

Below are a few nifty strategies to fine-tune your pictures with simple elements from Photoshop:

Cropping

You look fantastic in your high school prom picture, but you would rather forget that guy standing right next to you. Using the crop tool, you can keep a copy of your school prom picture sans your ex-sweetheart. After scanning the image and opening the file in your Adobe Photoshop, drag the cursor while holding down the left button on your mouse to select the area that you wish to keep. Then simply click Image and choose Crop. You will be left with the chosen area of the photo which you've highlighted.

Fixing the Angles

If your little one tried to take a picture and it came out a bit tilted, you can realign it in order that it comes out straight. Just choose the measuring tool located in your menu toolbar on the left side of your monitor. Click on one horizon of the picture that you'd like to re-align and then dragging it the cursor to the other end. This would repair any minor misalignments. If it still looks a little off, click on the canvas option and rotate it on the canvas until you are satisfied with it. The program will automatically expand the canvas to fill in the empty spots.

Colour Touch Ups

If the lighting caused the photo you took to come up a tad bit too orange, you may also remedy this by modifying the colours on the photo. Go to Image then choose Adjustments and then Colour Balance. It would open up a menu which would permit you to fix up the colours of the picture. Just drag each cursor right or to the left. As Adobe Photoshop has a preview feature, it would enable you to see the adjustments as you drag the cursors to help you make the image come as close as how you remember it.

Sharpen

The most common of all pictures taken by film cameras is that sometimes they tend to look a bit blurred. To bring out the details of the photo, choose the sharpen feature in the Filter option on the menu bar. The software will automatically sharpen the details of the photo a little at a time. Continue the whole process until you're satisfied with the details of the whole image.

About the Author:

Did you like this article? Curious about getting Photoshop Elements 10 Tutorials? Well now you can by reading this free Photoshop Elements 10 Tutorial