correctmyphotos

Freshair Software, a Minnesota software company has developed several iPhone Apps that helps iPhone photographers take and send better photos. So, if you are an iPhone user this post will be of interest. If not, send a link to CorrectMyPhotos Blog to that friend of yours that shows off their iPhone every time you are together. You can find these apps at Freshair’s website, www.freshairsoftware.com and at the Apple App store.

iCorrect OneClick Color iPhone App

Give your photos the color of life with iCorrect® OneClick Color.

Almost every photo can be improved with a single touch of your finger and you won’t find another color correction app that is easier to use.

iCorrect OneClick iPhone App for better color

Wishing you’d had a camera flash for that photo, or are the colors just a little bit flat? Use the Auto Fix button, or touch the photo in an area that should have been gray or black or white. The exposure and color balance will be automatically corrected, bringing life to your photo using the same powerful PictoColor® OneClick technology that professional photographers have relied on for years.Read more about it at oneclickcolor.com. Here is a direct link to iCorrect OneClick Color iPhone App.

The better way to zoom with your iPhone camera.

Shoot'n'Zoom iPhone App from Freshair Software

Don’t miss another great shot fumbling with sliders and other controls. When you are limited to a digital zoom (as you always are with the iPhone camera), photographic experts recommend zooming after you take the photo. The lens will capture the same level of detail, and you’ll have more options at your fingertips. Quickly capture your best shot and then zoom to perfect it.

Shoot'n'Zoom is a better way to zoom with iPhone Camera

Here is a direct link to Shoot’n’Zoom iPhone App.

Crop'n'Frame is a great way to enhance iPhone Photos

Outdoor Photographer magazine says, “Crop’n'Frame is like a tiny framer living in your iPhone.”

Unlike other framing apps, with Crop’n'Frame you design the frame and mat, and it’s fun and easy to do. Choose shapes, styles and widths, and pick colors from a palette that is customized for every photo. You can even view your photo in the frame while you decide how to crop it.

Crop'n'Frame is a great way to enhance iPhone photos

A great way to enhance your photos before uploading them to your favorite website or e-mailing them to your family and friends. Or take it along to the frame shop and use it to visualize how your artwork will look with different sizes and colors of frames and mats. Here is the link to more information on Crop’n’Frame iPhone App.

Freshair software has several more iPhone and iPad Apps that may be of interest. Go to www.freshairsoftware.com for information on all their iPhone Apps.

Wayne www.correctphoto.com, www.oneclickcolor.com,

Turn a not so good photo shot into a memory before you post it on your Facebook page.

Create a Memory by Cropping and Color Correcting using CorrectPhoto

Last weekend at Kathryn’s 16th birthday party I took the photo on the left. While I captured Kathryn’s beautiful smiling face, Justine’s bemused look and someone’s (maybe mine) big toes detracted from her joyful moment. I wanted to post a photo on my Facebook page for Kathryn’s birthday and this shot was the best shot of her in the batch of photos I took. So, I created the memory of her birthday with a little cropping and color correction using CorrectPhoto.

Making a Portrait Memory-Crop the photo 

Crop photo with 3x4 cropping format

I used the 3×4 Portrait cropping format to frame Kathryn and eliminate the rest of the picture. Since I was going to upload the photo to Facebook I used the 3×4 format which is the best format for Facebook and is the same aspect ratio as the camera chip. If you were going to make a print for framing I would have used the 4×6 or 5×7 cropping format. And, with the OneClick color correction feature in CorrectPhoto I was able to make Kathryn come alive by a single click.

Resize before you upload to Facebook
I always resize (or scale) my photos to 640 X 480, the ideal Facebook size, before I upload the photos. It is a simple step in CorrectPhoto and the resizing algorithm is much better that Facebook’s.

Resize to 640 x 480 before uploading to Facebook

Add a title with ImageTitler
As an added touch I added a title to the photo before posting it. I used a simple program called ImageTitler to do this.

Add titles to photos with ImageTitler

Here is the final photo memory of Kathryn on her 16th birthday as posted on Facebook.

Facebook Photo-Edited with CorrectPhoto and titled with ImageTitler

It only took a few minutes with the right tools to create this memorable photo of Kathryn out of a mediocre photo. Actually, I think I will also make a print and frame it.

When the world (at least your Facebook Friends) are going to see the photos you post why not take a few minutes to turn them into photos you can be proud to share. It is really easy and fast and anyone can do it.

Wayne  www.correctphoto.com, www.imagetitler.com

CorrectPhoto is a Windows photo editor. What does a Mac user do to get good color?
The other day I got a call from Burt, a CorrectPhoto user, who was perplexed that his favorite photo editor was not available for the Mac. His family had talked him into switching from a Windows computer to a new Mac and when he realized CorrectPhoto would not run on a Mac he called to ask if we planned a Mac version. He was disappointed when I told him no because he like the simplicity of CorrectPhoto, in particular the OneClick color correction which made his photos really look good. Fortunately, his family gave him a copy of Photoshop Elements and, although he expressed concern about the complexity of Elements, he was happy to learn about iCorrect OneClick Plug-in which adds the same simple and accurate color correction technology that is in CorrectPhoto to Elements. I assured him that since all he really did to his photos was cropping and color correction that Elements wasn’t that intimidating.  After adding iCorrect OneClick to Elements there are the few simple steps to follow to turn an average photo into a great shot.

Here is a photo I took the day after a devastating apartment complex fire near our home in Burnsville (fortunately, no one was hurt). Even though it was a sunny morning the photo is really dull with a gray color cast and the portion of the security fence detracts from the photo.  Here are the few simple steps to follow to create the photo on the right.

Before and After photo editing with Photoshop Elements and iCorrect OneClick Color

Elements Cropping Tool

After you open Elements and select the picture to edit click on the cropping tool on the left task bar. Another menu bar will appear at below the main menu at the top of the Elements window where you can select the aspect ratio (photo ratio, 3×5, 4×6, etc.) of the cropping window. In this example I selected Use Photo Ratio (this is the same 3×4 ratio of the chip in most cameras). Expand the crop window over the desired area and either click on the little green arrow (lower right under the crop window) or hit Enter to save the cropped area.

Photoshop Elements Cropping Tool

Fix the color with iCorrect OneClick Plug-in

Assuming you have purchased and installed iCorrect OneClick in the Elements Filters Folder simply click on Filter on the main top menu bar and select iCorrect OneClick from the pull down window.

Select iCorrect OneClick plug-in from Elements Filter menu

The OneClick window will open. Find an area in the photo that is neutral (white, gray, or black—not beige) and click on it. OneClick automatically removes any color cast, corrects the tonal range, adjusts the overall brightness, and makes any photo more vivid and life-like.

PictoColor iCorrect OneClick Color Correction-Click on Neutral for auto color correction

OneClick Enhancements.

For most photos the OneClick is all that is required. However, if the photo would benefit from a little more tweaking click on the Enhancements button and the enhancements window will open where additional adjustments to brightness, contrast and saturation can be made.

iCorrect OneClick Enhancements may be used for tweaking color

Summary

Edited photo-Photoshop Elements and iCorrect OneClick Color Plug-in

I talked to Burt after he installed iCorrect OneClick into Elements and walked him through the above procedure and he was delighted that it was really easy to crop photos in Elements and that the OneClick plug-in was just like the OneClick Color correction in CorrectPhoto.  He is really proud to share his photos with friends and when they comment on how good his camera is he acknowledges that it is OneClick Color and not the camera that Makes the Color Right.  So, if you have Elements don’t be intimidated by all the tools and features. Just add iCorrect OneClick plug-in and use the cropping tool to crop and OneClick to fix the color and you too will be proud to share you photos with others.

Wayne www.correctphoto.com. www.pictocolor.com/oneclick.htm www.oneclickcolor.com

Most Facebook photos are dull and lifeless?
Recently, I have become a more active Facebook participant and posting photos and viewing photos My Friends post. And, while I take the time to edit my photos before uploading, most people do not. As a result, the vast majority of photos posted on Facebook pages are dull and lifeless and many are a bit fuzzy.  So, why is that? There are probably many answers to that question ranging from the fact that most people are conditioned to simply accept the quality of the digital photos from their camera to not knowing how to improve them. Maybe they think it is just too complicated to edit digital photos or they simply can’t wait to share their latest photo with their Facebook friends. The purpose of this post is to show you how to make your Facebook photos better.
Making Better Facebook Photos is Easy—and Fast.

Facebook Photos You Can Be Proud to Post-Original/Improved

There are basically three (3) steps to making your photos better: crop the photo, fix the color, and resize the photo for Facebook. And, if you want to make the photo a little more interesting you can add a title, but more on that in a future post.  If you are have and know how to use a photo editor like Photoshop Elements you certainly can use it to perform the basic tasks, however, I use CorrectPhoto Editor because it is so easy and fast. Here are the basic steps using CorrectPhoto. And, at $40.00 it is inexpensive. Unfortunately, if you are a Mac user you will have to use Photoshop or Elements since CorrectPhoto is a Windows only editor.

Crop the Photo

Crop the photo with CorrectPhoto Editor

After opening the photo you want to edit from the built in Explorer you click on the “Crop Tool” on the tool bar and select the cropping format from the pull down menu. For Facebook publishing I suggest the 3×4 Landscape or Portrait formats since that is the same format of your digital camera and is the most common format for Facebook. Adjust the cropping window to highlight the portion of the image you really want to show. You can see from the example that I cropped tight enough to eliminate Craig from the left side of the photo.

Correct the Color with OneClick Color

CorrectPhoto with iCorrect OneClick Color Technology-Automatic Color Correction

CorrectPhoto is the only photo editor with PictoColor’s unique OneClick Color Correction Technology that is an automatic color correction that really works. Just click on an area of the photo that is “neutral” (white, gray, or black) and the photo will come alive. If you want to “tweak” it a little more as I usually do click on the color icon to activate the advance settings. I usually boost the saturation a bit to make the colors a little more vivid which really makes my photos stand out on my Facebook wall. For you Photoshop or Elements users who get frustrated with the color correction tools you can get iCorrect OneClick Plug-in with the same technology that will plug into Photoshop.

Resize the photo before uploading to Facebook.

Add a title?
I will tell you about an easy way to add titles to your photos in a future post.

Add a title to your photo is easy with ImageTitler

 Wayne    www.correctphoto.com, www.imagetitler.com, www.pictocolor.com

Never Pass Up a Photo OP
You never know when a photo op will pop up. This morning when I opened the front door to retrieve the newspaper I saw a water shooting geyser in the middle of the street. Now that doesn’t happen every day. When I yelled up to my wife to look out the window she replied, “Have you taken a picture?” Why didn’t I think of that?  So I did.

Burnsville's Old Faithful-Photo Edited with CorrectPhoto and ImageTitler

Posting Photos on Facebook
Since I have a number Burnsville Facebook Friends I decided to post the photo on my page.
But, before I posted the photo on my Facebook page I cropped, color corrected, and resized the photo in CorrectPhoto and then added the text in ImageTitler.  I could have done what most people do and post the original photo, but I think you will agree the above photo has more impact.

Original photo before editing and adding a title

And, it was easy and it only took a couple of minutes to edit and title the photos. Recently, I have been looking at a lot of photos on Facebook and the vast majority of the photos friends post would be a lot better if they would take a few minutes to make them better. In a few days I will post a Facebook photo tutorial that will take you through the simple step by step approach to creating Facebook photos you will be proud to post.

Summary
The two purposes of this post are:

1. Remind you to keep your camera handy and take the once in a life time shot, even if it will be of little interest to anyone but you. In my lifetime I doubt I will see another geyser in the front of our house.

2. If you have a Facebook page I suggest you take a few minutes ensure that the photos you upload are ones you can be proud of.

Wayne  www.correctphoto.com, www.imagetitler.com