correctmyphotos

Fix Photos Before you upload to Facebook
When Craig joined Facebook a few weeks ago he was surprised to find old classmates posting  class pictures on their pages. So, he dug out his elementary scrapbooks (his mother kept everything and gave him the books after he got married) and started scanning the class photos.  And, since we are in the color business he had to fix the scanned photo before he uploaded it to Facebook. The first grade class print was 36 years old so it was a bit faded and a little yellow and the scanned file was a little fuzzy. He could have used Photoshop to crop and color correct the picture with iCorrect OneClick plug-in, but he was in a hurry so he used CorrectPhoto.  Here is the photo he uploaded to Facebook. The original scanned photo is below the fix photo.

Craig's class photo-cropped, color corrected, resized with CorrectPhoto

Craig's class picture-original scan

Regardless of the photo editing program you use, Photoshop, Elements, or CorrectPhoto (these are the only editing programs that you have access to PictoColor’s OneClick Color technology) you should do three (maybe 4) editing steps.

1. Crop the photo. In this example a little cropping to eliminate some of the border area makes the photo somewhat larger and easier to see the faces.
2. Color Correct the photo. The easiest and, frankly, the best is OneClick color available in iCorrect OneClick plug-in for Photoshop or Elements or CorrectPhoto which has OneClick color built in.
3. (Optional) Sharpen the photo. This step is more important for a photo that was scanned with a desktop scanner. It is less important or necessary with a photo taken with a digital camera, particularly one with at least 5 MP.
4. Resize the photo before you upload. This is IMPORTANT. In general, most social websites limit the pixel count of the photo that can be displayed. When you upload a high resolution photo the site will automatically resize (or scale) it down.  In most cases, the scaling algorithm that is used is not very good. So, to ensure the best quality image use the resizing functions in either CorrectPhoto or Photoshop as they are much better.

The point of this post is to suggest that the photos you upload to your Facebook page are a reflection on you. So, take a few extra minutes and fix them so you can be proud of them. It is easy and fun to do. For more information on editing, cropping and rezising photos click on one of the Categories on the left of the home page of this blog.

Wayne www.correctphoto.com

Snapshots to Great Shots  is a new photo tips tutorial written by Craig of PictoColor.

Sometimes, the most interesting images can come from unexpected sources.  All it takes is a little creativity, the right tools, and, in most cases, a few extra minutes.

Turning Snapshots into Greatshots

We can turn this ordinary snapshot into a stunning portrait in minutes with the simple, intuitive tools found in CorrectPhoto and iCorrect EditLab Pro Plug-in or iCorrect EditLab ProApp).  The tutorial takes you step by step through the process. (http://www.pictocolor.com/turning_snapshots_into_greatshots_tutorial.htm)

 If you prefer Black and White instead of a Sepia Tone iCorrect EditLab Pro all it takes is a click of the mouse with iCorrect EditLab Pro.

Black and White with iCorrect EditLab Pro

 Yes, all it takes is a little imagination and the right tools and you can easily turn and average snapshot into a great shot. Read the full tutorial at http://www.pictocolor.com/turning_snapshots_into_greatshots_tutorial.htm.

Craig at PictoColor, www.pictocolor.com

Greetings,

I’ve been a bit remiss in posting the past couple of weeks. We moved our office to a new location and, as usual, it takes more time to get settled than one plans.  But, we are settled and the view from my new office window is much better. I can look out the window and see the skyline of downtown Minneapolis in the distance over the Minnesota River Valley. I do have to look over the roofs of a couple of warehouses, but it is certainly a better view than seeing cars parked from the small window in my previous office. When spring arrives in Minnesota and the leaves are on the trees I will post a photo or two of the new view. Right now it is still to wintery and we are really tired of winter.  It has been a very cold and snowy one in Minnesota so the natives are getting restless.

David Ziser’s New Digital Wakeup Call Tour.
My guess is that most of you reading this blog do not know who David Ziser (www.davidziser.com) is. David is a well known wedding photographer who shares his knowledge and experience with others through his web site, blogs, seminars, and training classes. In 2006 David and his wife, LaDawn, conducted the Digital Wakeup Call 2006, a training seminar they took to over 35 cities and more than 6000 photographers and photo enthusiasts attended. PictoColor was one of the tour sponsors (David is a fan of iCorrect Portrait) and Craig and I attended the Minneapolis seminar. Neither Craig nor I are wedding photographers but we thoroughly enjoyed the evening and learned a lot about taking better pictures. I can recommend David’s seminar to any digital photographer.  You don’t have to be a wedding photographer to learn from David.  Well, David and LaDawn are doing it again with the Digital Wake Up Call Tour 2009–A New Dawn. They will give the seminar in 58 cities beginning in Jacksonville, FL on March 30th. (I am tempted to go just to get away from winter.)

David Ziser's Digital Wake Up Tour 2009--A New Dawn

The cost for this information and fun filled evening is only $59.00 (advance registration) and it is well worth the price.  Plus, there are over $2,500 in prizes given away at each seminar.  One of the prizes is iCorrect Portrait Color Correction Photoshop Plug-in with PictoColor’s Beautiful Skin Tone Technology. 

Check out when David and LaDawn will be in your city or one near you and sign up.  You will be glad you did.

Wayne http://www.correctphoto.com  

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