Often, when we take a photo in the moment, we don’t have a lot of time to make adjustments for that perfect snap. Even with a great camera, optimal settings, and perfect lighting, pictures rarely come out perfect from the get-go.
This means they need a touch of editing before they’re ready to rack up likes on social media or make the newest products from your business stand out. If you have doubts about your photo editing skills, you can hire photo editors from Guru to handle the heavy lifting for you. If you want to try your hand at it first, though, this guide will give you a few tips to help your photos look great.
The Basics
One of the easiest things you can do to achieve a great photo is ensure your lighting is the best it can be. When you’re taking a picture of a person, make sure they are lit from the front. A bright sunset may look beautiful, but unless you’re trying to get a picture of a silhouette, you should let that beautiful orange and red light illuminate your subject’s face.
The next key is proper subject focus. Thankfully, you can make smartphones focus by simply tapping your subject on the screen. Not only will the camera focus on that spot, but it will also adjust the lighting to make sure your subject is lit properly.
Make a Good Photo Great
Now that you have a solid picture, let’s make it even better. Here’s how:
Trust the Magic Button
Nearly all phones have a magic wand button that you can press to make your photo look better. You’d be surprised at how often you’ll decide this is the best version, even after trying the other tricks listed below!
Adjust Saturation for Maximum Colors
Saturation refers to how vibrant the colors are in your photo. If you take a picture of a colorful landscape that looks better in person, try increasing the saturation to make greens greener and pinks pinker. Some phones and editing software may allow you to adjust both saturation and vibrancy.
Increasing saturation will make the colors more vibrant and intense. Increasing vibrancy will make muted colors warmer and more visible.
Crop Your Photos to Focus on What’s Important
Even amateur photographers can tell you about the rule of thirds. If you divide your photo into three equal vertical sections and three equal horizontal sections, the points where the lines intersect will be where most people’s eyes are naturally drawn to.
If you’ve taken a photo and noticed that your subject is off-center, cropping the image by cutting out small sections can dramatically improve the overall look of the photo, allowing your viewer to focus on your subject instead of the surroundings.
Similarly, you can crop wide shots to fit the narrow portrait style of Instagram or crop the top and bottom of a portrait photo to give it a landscape orientation worthy of posting across the top banner of your company’s website.
For Truly Stunning Results, Turn to the Pros
Despite our best efforts with the editing software available for free on our phones, there’s only so much you can do. Fortunately, professional photo editors can take even the most lackluster photo and turn it into something that looks like it was taken by a professional photographer!
On Guru, you can browse thousands of available photo editing professionals, examine their portfolios, and compare prices. Once you’ve found an editor who matches your style and budget, simply start working with them right on the platform to make all of your photos the best they can be!
Curious about what photographers use to edit photos? Check out our latest post!
