correctmyphotos

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

Close Up photography can be tricky.
Close up photography of flowers can be a bit tricky if you don’t have a camera with the right macro lens.  However, you can get great results with almost any digital camera and the right photo editing software. But, before I get into “close up cropping” let me tell you about Grandpa Wesler’s Heirloom Cannas.

Heirloom Canna Flower-Edited with CorrectPhoto-Titled with ImageTitler

The Heirloom Canna Flower
 Cannas grow from bulbs (rhizomes) that have to be dug up every fall, wintered, and re-planted in the spring except in zones 8 to 10 which is pretty far south. We live in Minnesota on the edge of Zones 4 and 5.  The bulbs we use in our garden (and in many of our friend’s gardens) date back over 75 years. My wife’s grandfather who lived in Collinsville, IL was the original gardener of these particular cannas and when he passed on many years ago at the age of 92 my father-in-law, Les, became the “keeper” of the family heirloom cannas. Les, now 92, lives in St. Louis and when he and my mother-in-law moved from their house to a retirement facility I became the keeper of the cannas. You can image the responsibility that rests upon my broad shoulders to keep these heirloom Cannas propagating from year to year.  This is no small task in Minnesota and involves digging up the bulbs after a freeze has taken care of the stalks but before the ground freezes to kill the bulbs. Then they must be stored in a cool dry place until spring when they are planted in pots to get them started so they will bloom before the snow flies in the fall.  Since I assumed the responsibility for the cannas three years ago with about a dozen bulbs they have multiplied to almost 60 plants this spring. The flowers are absolutely gorgeous and a real attraction to people passing our house. If you are interested in learning more about history and care of Heirloom Cannas go to http://www.oldhousegardens.com/CannaHistoryAndCare.asp.

Cropping Photos for Close Ups
The other day a neighbor stop by to take a picture of the Canna flowers in our garden with a point-and-shoot film camera (can you believe that?). She was trying to get a close up shot of the flower and while I haven’t seen the photo my guess is that it wasn’t a close up as she had hoped.  Most often it is difficult getting a good close up shot with a point and shoot camera. That is true for digital as well as film. Looking through the view finder or at the digital screen you think you are closer that you really are. With a film camera there isn’t a lot you can do about it after the shot. With a digital camera it is highly likely that you can achieve the close up you wanted with by cropping the photo. Here is an example of what I mean.

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So far in this series of posts on Better eBay Sales with Better Photos I described the various photo shoot setups for photographing items for sale. I have been using my Stangl Bird collection as examples because they are representative of the items many people are selling on eBay and because I plan to start liquidating my bird collection. In fact, yesterday afternoon I photographed 20 birds using the light tent. I took about 5 or 6 shots of each of different views (side, back, front, base, etc.) so the potential buyer can see the characteristics, quality and flaws, if any, of the item.  As I look at other birds for sale on eBay I find that most of them are poorly presented and one would have difficultly deciding if they are worth buying.  If you have followed this series of posts you might recall the example I used in the first post comparing a bird photo I “borrowed” from an eBay listing with a photo I took of a similar bird in my collection. Here it is again, however, with a new photo I took using the light tent configuration with artificial lighting. 

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

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In my previous post, Better eBay Sales with Better Photos-The Photo Shoot Setup, I described two setups: indoor with artificial light and outdoor with natural light and compared the two. My preference between the two was using natural light. I also said that I ordered a light tent to use indoors with artificial light. I ordered it from OBN Photographic Equipment and it arrived yesterday. 

OBN 20” Light Tent
The light tent kit (http://www.obnphoto.com/light_tent.html) included a foldable tent, and four backdrops (white, black, gray, and blue), and a storage case.  For my purposes I selected a 20 inch tent but they offer sizes ranging from 12” to 86”. Here is a photo of my initial test set up.

Light Tent Setup-Light Tent from OBN Photographic Equipment

I chose to use the gray backdrop for reasons that I explained in my previous post and took a few test shots with different lamp positions. I also set my camera to aperture preferred (f8) instead of auto exposure for greater depth of field.  Here is an edited photo of a test shot taken with the best lamp position.

Stangl Bird Photo using Light Tent and Edited with CorrectPhoto Editor

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