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

Which Stangl Hummingbird would you buy?

UseMultiple Views for Greater Sales Impact
One of the benefits of digital photography is that you can easily take many shots of an item making it easier for the prospective buyer to make a buy decision. Taking mutiple photos of an object is real easy once you have the photo setup. Here is a composite of photos of the bird from different angles. (Note: the composite photo is for illustration only. You will want to show individual photos in your listing.)

Use Multiple Photos to Show Off Your eBay Listing

Photo Editing Required
Wouldn’t it be nice if my original photos were just like the ones shown above. Alas, that is not the case. My photos, as will yours, require editing. They need to be color corrected and cropped. This process can be easy or difficult depending on the photo editor you use as will the quality of the edited photo. In this post I will show you how to edit the photos using CorrectPhoto with OneClick Color. In a future post I will describe the process using Photoshop Elements for those of you who have it.

CorrectPhoto Editor
There are several reasons I use CorrectPhoto for most of my editing (I do use Elements when I have to.). The main reason is its simplicity. This is the tool bar of available editing functions.

CorrectPhoto Editor Easy Tool Bar

For editing the bird photos I used the cropping function and OneClick Color correction function. The second reason is the OneClick Color correction. And, the third reason is the AutoRez algorithm in CorrectPhoto’s cropping function which maintains the original resolution of the photo after cropping. These features combine to make it not only easy, but extremely fast to edit photos. It took less than 5 minutes to color correct, crop and save the seven photos in the composite example shown above.

OneClick Color Correction

CorrectPhoto OneClick Color Correction-Click on Gray Background for Auto Color

As I previously mentioned, I recommend using a gray background because it doesn’t detract from the object and it is the ideal background for OneClick color correction. If you have a GretagMacbeth Gray Balance Card (this is the mini version) I suggest you use it. Just place it such that it can be easily cropped out of the photo. When opening the photo in CorrectPhoto the OneClick Color is activated. Simply click on the gray card or the gray background (if it is truly gray) and the color cast will be removed and the exposure, contrast and saturation will be fixed. If you want to tweak the color a bit more use the Enhancement function to adjust the brightness and saturation as I did in this example.

Crop to Size

Crop photo to highlight the object

 The next step is to select the cropping format (i.e. variable,  3×4, etc.) and position the box over the selected area. Click Apply and you are done. Here is the Before/After view. The AutoRez feature in CorrectPhoto will automatically re-scale the photo to the original resolution to maintain quality. This really is an important feature when you are doing close cropping and subsequent re-sizing for upload to eBay and will guarantee the highest quality image.

Final Crop of Hummingbird compared with original photo

Crop Close to Show Detail
To show the quality of the item you are selling it might be helpful to show a small portion of the object. In the Stangl Bird collectors world there are a lot of bird beaks that have been repaired over the years. So, to show that my bird’s beak is a really good beak (how is that for a statement?) I did a close crop of the flower and the beak.

Crop close to show quality of the item you want to sell

Creating Better eBay Photos is a Simple Process
Creating better eBay photos is really a simple process. It starts with the right photo setup, using a neutral background, taking multiple photos of the item, and editing the photos (crop and color correction). CorrectPhoto makes it easy and fast. If you have Photoshop Elements it might take a little longer but with iCorrect OneClick Plug-in the color correction will be as easy and the OneClick in CorrectPhoto. I will go through the Elements process in another post.

Wayne  www.correctphoto.com

One is that we are not as careful “framing” a shot with our digital camera as we were when we were shooting film. Remember when you looked through a view finder to frame the shot? And, since the roll of film only had 24 or 36 exposures AND you had to pay for developing the film AND pay for prints you took your time to make sure the shot was a good one. (I use to drive my family nuts with the time I took to take a picture.) Now, we look at that little screen on the back of the camera while holding the camera a foot in front of our face and expect to get a great picture. Good Luck!

Then there are the issues of color, red eye, and exposure that are more prevalent in digital photography than when we shot with film. I won’t go into the reasons in this article, but most digital photos suffer from one or more of these issues.

You can make your digital photos look more professional with a photo editor.

Tiger Woods on the First Tee-Cropped and Color Corrected with CorrectPhoto

The good news is that with digital photos you have a chance to make photos look better. Or, putting it another way, we have a chance to fix our framing mistakes and the camera’s color and exposure problems.  All you need is a photo editor and a computer.  And, you really don’t have to do a lot of editing. All most photos need to make them look more professional is a little cropping and color correction and maybe a bit of sharpening.  In the photo above of Tiger Woods on the first tee at Hazeltine Golf Club in Minnesota a few years I cropped the golfers standing on the tee. Then I color corrected to get rid of the dull morning haze. Because of the tight crop I also sharpened the cropped photo.

Better Vacation Photos

You don’t get many “do overs” when you are on vacation. Normally, you don’t look closely at the photos until you get home and load them on your computer or have prints made. So, you can’t go back and take the photo again. But, in the digital world all is not lost. In the following example I cropped out the food partial food vendor from the photo of the Old Courthouse in St. Louis, MO, framed by the famous Arch-the Gateway to the Midwest.

St. Louis, MO Arch and Old Court House Cropped and Color Corrected

When I took the photo of the paddle boat and the Eads Bridge over the Mississippi River I didn’t think about the focal point of the photo.  Here are two different approaches to cropping format and focal points. On the first example I used the standard 3×4 cropping format with a focus on the boat. In the second I used the 16×7 HDTV format focusing on the Eads Bridge. BTW, the Eads Bridge designed and built by James Eads in 1874 is one of America’s Great Masterpieces and is virtually unkown.

Paddle Boat on Mississippi River at St Louis

Eads Bridge Over the Mississippi River at St. Louis, MO-16x7 HDTV Format

 All photos can be made to look more professional

This sums up the point of this article. Virtually all of the digital photos you take can be made to look better with a little “basic” photo editing. By “basic” I mean cropping and color correcting and maybe sharpening. Unless you are creating something special you don’t need air brushing, cloning, erasing, etc. If you have Photoshop Elements all you need to learn is how to crop and color correct (I would recommend iCorrect OneClick plug-in for color correcting) or an easy program like CorrectPhotowhich has the basic functions you need. Here are links to several CorrectMyPhoto posts that discuss photo editing.

http://www.correctmyphotos.com/2008/11/30/crop-photos-how/

http://www.correctmyphotos.com/2009/07/09/snapshots-to-great-shots-make-your-photos-look-professional/

http://www.correctmyphotos.com/2009/07/28/snapshots-to-great-shots-correctphoto-video/

http://www.correctmyphotos.com/2009/06/23/fixing-color-the-easy-way/

http://www.correctmyphotos.com/2009/02/15/crop-photos-for-a-purpos/

If you enjoy taking pictures and capturing the events of your life you should take a little time to make them better. It really isn’t that difficult and it can be very enjoyable.  And, don’t be embarrassed that your photos don’t look professional the way you shot them. Why do you think the pros take so many shots and have Photoshop on their computer?  Yes, they fix their photos, too.

Happy Cropping!

Wayne http://www.correctphoto.com

If you have read previous posts in this blog you have heard my mantra before: “Every digital photo needs to be fixed.” Or, stated another way, “Every digital photo needs at least two fixes: cropping and color correction.” This past week I have been writing a script and assembling some example photos for a new promotional video for CorrectPhoto. As I was going through a bunch of my photos I was struck as to how true that mantra is. At least it is true for my photos and my guess it is true for yours, as well.  Some just require a little tweaking and some are worth tossing except there is a portion of the photo that is really good. So, I decided to share a few examples of how cropping and color correction can, in many cases, turn a so-so snapshot into a great shot–or at least make it much better.

Kathryn and her dog-Crop and color correction improves this photo

 Making Kathryn and her dog the focus of the photo turns this otherwise cluttered shot into a great photo. Make a print and give it to Nana to tape on her refrigerator.

A portrait of Emily

 This photo really wasn’t that bad although the color was a little flat.  I couldn’t resist turning it into a portrait of Emily. I simply cropped it using the 4/6 portrait format and corrected the color.

Turning a bad photo into a great shot of Grandma D and Joey

 The above photo shows how and otherwise un-usable shot taken on a pontoon boat watching fireworks into a great memory.

Fixing color will improve chances to make a sale on e-Bay.

 If you plan to sell something on e-Bay the color better be right.  Sometimes all you need to do is fix the color.

If you can't get close to the subject you can bring it closer by editing

 My sister-in-law’s dog was visiting us the other day and he knew there was a toy on the credenza that he couldn’t have (he destroys them in seconds).  I couldn’t resist taking the shot of this little weiner dog standing on his hinders, but I could’t get too close.  My editing brought tears to my sister-in-law–well, what can I say.

Pat doesn't drink Vodka

 This photo was fixed out of self defense. It is a great photo of my wife, but she didn’t appreciate the Vodka bottle in the photo with her. She really doesn’t drink Vodka–only a glass of wine on occasion. So, with a little cropping and color fix I have a great photo of Pat.

I could go on forever, but that is enough to illustrate my point that every photo needs a little fixing and in many cases you can turn a not so good snapshot into a great shot.  And, it is really easy to do with the right tools and a little bit of time. If you have and know how to use Photoshop Elements then use it. I would suggest getting iCorrect OneClick Color to make the color right. It is a plug-in filter that works in Elements. If Elements is too complicated or you don’t have it you might want to try CorrectPhoto. It is really easy to use and has OneClick Color built in.

You don’t have to be a pro to take great pictures. The best thing about digital photography is that anyone can make their photos look like a pro took them with a little editing. For more information on editing, cropping and color simply click on the appropriate link under Categories on the right.

“Next to my camera, CorrectPhoto is the most useful tool in my photography kit.”
Heather V., Apple Valley, MN writes about her first experience with CorrectPhoto.

“I’ve got a few semesters of college training under my belt, an expensive camera (thanks, Husband!) and plenty of ambition. But for some reason, my photos never seem to turn out quite right. They’re too blue-ish or blurry, not bright enough or too contrast-y. I’ve thought about purchasing special software to help correct my digital snapshots, but was always intimidated by their price and complexity. Until I found PictoColor’s CorrectPhoto, that is.

OneClick Color Correction
One of the easiest, yet most useful, aspects of CorrectPhoto is one-click color correction. All I have to do is find something in the picture that is black, white or gray and click on it – the rest of the photo automatically adjusts to that color scheme. Brilliant. Check out the photo of when I met my new puppy for the first time; it was taken indoors with no flash, so it was very yellow. In CorrectPhoto, I clicked on my white hoodie and the rest of the photo was “fixed” to take out the weird tones. The photo still isn’t great (the dog kept squirming!), but the color is much more accurate now.

Philly (dog) and Heather-Before/After OneClick Color

A Little Cropping Helps
It’s also easy to give photos a bit more “punch.” The photo of the bride and groom was taken from far away (Santa didn’t bring me a zoom lens this year), so lots of unnecessary stuff got in the frame. But I quickly cropped the picture to the right dimensions – CorrectPhoto has the most-used sizes pre-programmed – which made the photo much more exciting. After that, I pumped up the color saturation and adjusted the contrast to make the colors stand out even more. It took less than three minutes to take this from a so-so shot to a dramatic, frame-worthy memory.

Crop Photo to create a great photo

I’m impressed with CorrectPhoto. For someone like me – an amateur shutterbug who wants beautiful, true-to-life snapshots – it provides the right amount of options without being confusing. Next to my camera, it’s the most useful tool in my photography kit.”

-Heather V. Apple Valley,

Heather's photo-cropped and color corrected