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

Did you get snowed in recently? There certainly were a lot of people around the USA that were treated to record snow falls these past couple of weeks. In the Twin Cities area we were blessed with another 10-12 inches over the last week and the piles are getting pretty high with no melting in site. If you are like me you can’t resist taking “snow photos”.  And, you will probably want to send a few shots to your friends in the warmer parts of the country to show them what they are missing.

Yesterday morning we were treated to one of those beautiful winter spectacles called Hoar Frost. (Frozen dew that forms a white coating on a surface. It is also called white frost.). I took the above shot out of my car window (I did stop the car) on my way to the store.  After cropping (16×9 TV format) and color correcting the photo I clicked on the sepia tone button in CorrectPhoto to create the above image.

Here is the color version for comparison. You can decide which version you prefer.

Snow photo was cropped and color corrected using CorrectPhoto Editor.

Here is another example of a snow shot that was cropped (4×6 portrait), color corrected, and converted to a sepia tone photo.

For the most part, snow photos are pretty dull color wise.  So, turning a few of your favorite shots into a sepia tone images might just make them a bit more interesting. And, it is easy to do.

It seems that much of the US has been blessed with snow and bad weather over the past few weeks. Maybe taking a few photos and applying some creative touches to them will ease the problems the weather has created.

Wayne http://www.correctphoto.com/index.html

USA 15 Star Flag Flying over Floyd’s Monument, Sioux City, IA.

15 Star Flag at Floyd Monument, Sioux City, IA

This past weekend my wife and I took a little road trip from Minneapolis to Sioux Falls, SD by way of Sioux City, IA (Nebraska and SD).  Why? Well, when our trip to a friend’s cabin in Spearfish Canyon, SD was cancelled we decided to take a couple of days and see the eastern part of South Dakota. And, another friend suggested we go to Sioux City where South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska join.  So we did and that is where we learned about Sergeant Charles Floyd. Don’t feel bad if you don’t know who he is. No one I ask, even those who grew up in SD and IA, know who he is either.

Sergeant Floyd’s Claim to Fame—He Died!
That’s right. Sergeant Floyd’s claim to fame is that he was the only person to die on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Quite remarkable that only one person died on that famous trip across the US. Here is a link if you are interested in learning more. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Floyd_(explorer)

The 15 Star Flag—The Digital Photo Lesson
The flag flying over Floyd’s Monument has 15 stars representing the 15 states comprising the US when Thomas Jefferson commissioned the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  Trying to capture the flag to show all of the stars turned out to be a challenge, however. But, as I have said before, one of the benefits of a digital camera is that you can take lots of shots to get a usable one. This is the best of about 10 shots I took.  Even with the multiple shots I still needed to edit the photo with CorrectPhoto. Here is a before and after comparison.

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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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I have a Stangl Bird collection that I am thinking about selling. So I did a litte research on eBay to see what was being offered. Since I have never sold nor purchased anything on eBay I really haven’t spent any time looking at how items where being presented. I was somewhat surprised (maybe I shouldn’t be) at the quality of the photos people posted to sell their stuff. For the most part the quality ranges for poor to terrible. In particular, the colors of the items (in this case ceramic birds) were dull and washed out. Okay, so I am more sensitive than most when look at photo colors, but how can anyone purchase a Stangl bird where color is very important by looking at a dull lifeless image? Here is an example of what I mean.

eBay Photo Example. eBay photo on left. Color Corrected with CorrectPhoto on right

 The photo on the left is a photo of a listing on eBay. I color corrected the photo with CorrectPhoto’s OneClick (I clicked on the gray concrete background and adjusted the brightness and saturation.) The colors are certainly better and the dullness has been reduced making it a better photo.  Even with better color the photo still is not very good.  The cracks in the background is distracting and one could argue that the perspective of the shot could be better.

How do you take better eBay photos?
That is a question I spent a little time on this weekend and I think I have come up with a simple approach that should work for almost everyone that wants to sell an item or product online. And, it won’t break the bank. I will layout the approach in upcoming posts, but here is an example photo of the same Stangl bird that is in my collection.

Wayne's Bird Photo

Okay, so this post is a teaser. The next post will tell you how you can take better photos for selling online.

Wayne  www.correctphoto.com