PHOTOGRAPHY EXPOSED

by John Peters A.R.P.S.



  

EDIT or EDITING

What is editing? I see it as making a change to a photograph to improve or alter its appearance. It may not be 100% correct as a definition, but it will do for now. Editing is a vast subject and I will only touch on the main aspects of my editing. Editing may be called a WORKFLOW. See WORKFLOW as a sequence of editing functions. First of all, we should look at the programs I use for EDITING and why?

Remember, 95% of my EDITING is handled by FASTSTONE which is FREE to use. BEWARE, many companies say a product is free to download. That does not mean it is necessarily free to use, there is a major difference. Don't get caught out.

WARNING **

Only download FASTSTONE from the official FASTSTONE website and only download PAINT.NET from the official free PAINT.NET website. AFFINITY PHOTO is not so much of a problem as its paid for anyway. Beware of those other companies offering FASTSTONE or PAINT.NET, they also offer a free download of other products (I call bloatware) and they design their websites so its not always clear what is being downloaded. Don't touch them with a barge pole!

FASTSTONE (FREE) main editor and browser, for general editing and browsing, handles photoshop files but doesn't support layers
PAINT.NET (FREE version) When fancier editing is called for e.g. layer work, merging, blending etc.
AFFINITY PHOTO (Paid for, PHOTOSHOP replacement), for burning / dodging, specific area selection, correcting converging verticals etc.

My simple WORKFLOW or EDITING SEQUENCE is as follows:

FASTONE
-STRAIGHTEN IF NECESSARY, (especially if a phone has been used)
-CROP IF NECESSARY
-ADJUST LIGHTING/CONTRAST/SATURATION
-ADJUST COLORS/BRIGHTNESS
-CHECK PHOTO FOR IMPERFECTIONS/CLONE IF NECESSARY
-SHARPEN/USM SHARPEN FOR PRINTING OR DISPLAYING A DIGITAL FILE

TOP TIP FASTSTONE is good, it is extremely intuitive, east to use, and tailorable. It covers 95% of my editing. I often use the cloning tool for tidy-up. Unlike some products, the cloning brush actually shows what your cloning, very important for alignment. Also, the SIZE and HARDNESS of the cloning brush can be controlled.

Consider a donation, I did. No, I'm not sponsored by the makers of FASTSTONE, its just a very good product that is also free.

pigs taken under fence
Yes, taken with a wee compact with one of those 'twisty' screens so that when poking it under the electric fence, I could focus and actually see what I was taking. FASTSTONE has a neat 'CONVERT TO MONO' tool too. Althogh my EB method was used, I really can't praise FASTSTONE enough. I spent a long time reviewing products that I could use with one hand, a laptop and trackpad. FASTSTONE, PAINT.NET and AFFINITY PHOTO are hard to beat and for me, make the perfect combination. Yes there is a learning curve, but you should make the change, you won't look back. You don't have to be one handed to use these products.