{"id":83082,"date":"2016-08-23T02:50:48","date_gmt":"2016-08-23T02:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onsoftware.en.softonic.com\/?p=83082"},"modified":"2025-07-01T23:55:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T06:55:59","slug":"processing-and-enhancing-your-photos-how-to-do-it-like-the-prosd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/processing-and-enhancing-your-photos-how-to-do-it-like-the-prosd\/","title":{"rendered":"Processing and enhancing your photos \u2013 how to do it like the pros"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Why do my pictures look like crap?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We all ask\u00a0ourselves that question. Then we empty our bank account and buy the newest many-megapixel-magic-voodoo camera, and we descend into\u00a0regret 3 days later because our photos still look like crap.<\/p>\n<p><strong>That&#8217;s because the camera is not the problem,\u00a0you just need to enhance the photos.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Enhancing your photos isn\u2019t as difficult as it sounds. Today, we outline the four simple steps to help you enhance your photos like a pro, so that you can make your friends green with envy as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-83083\" title=\"Selfie?\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/iStock_000062041066_Large-568x426.jpg\" alt=\"Selfie?\" width=\"568\" height=\"426\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/iStock_000062041066_Large-568x426.jpg 568w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/iStock_000062041066_Large-256x192.jpg 256w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/iStock_000062041066_Large.jpg 1306w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 568px) 100vw, 568px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Backup<\/h3>\n<p>Before you embarking on anything, back everything up! This means that you should make a duplicate of all the photos you have taken &#8211; good, bad, and ugly<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-83085\" title=\"Who uses disks? \" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/iStock_000000820945_Large-568x378.jpg\" alt=\"Who uses disks? \" width=\"568\" height=\"378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/iStock_000000820945_Large-568x378.jpg 568w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/iStock_000000820945_Large-120x80.jpg 120w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/iStock_000000820945_Large-256x170.jpg 256w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/iStock_000000820945_Large.jpg 1383w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 568px) 100vw, 568px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Sort<\/h3>\n<p>Now it\u2019s time to organize all your photos. There are many ways to do this, but the simplest way is to <strong>create three folders: Delete, Keep, and Enhance<\/strong>, and start dropping your photos into each as you go.<\/p>\n<h3>Enhance<\/h3>\n<p>Now for the really fun part <strong>where all the magic starts to happen<\/strong>. There are many tools you can use to help you enhance your photos, ranging from the professional (and very complex) programs such as Adobe\u2019s <a title=\"Download Photoshop\" href=\"http:\/\/adobe-photoshop.en.softonic.com\/\">Photoshop<\/a> and <a title=\"Download Lightroom\" href=\"http:\/\/adobe-photoshop-lightroom.en.softonic.com\/\">Lightroom<\/a>, to the more user-friendly ones such as <a href=\"https:\/\/deals.softonic.com\/sales\/hdr-projects-4-professional?utm_source=softonic.com&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=hdr-projects-4-professional\">HDR Projects 4<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.75\"><strong>Simply put, HDR (high-dynamic-range) imaging technology<\/strong>\u00a0gives your photos the pro-touch in a few simple clicks. The main problem with most photos is uneven lighting, where one part of the picture is darker (your friends sitting under an umbrella), and the other parts are much too bright (the rest of the beach). HDR corrects that by adjusting the lighting, so that you can perfectly capture that soft, indoor shadow, or bring out every color in a sunset.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/deals.softonic.com\/sales\/hdr-projects-4-professional?utm_source=softonic.com&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=hdr-projects-4-professional\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-90059 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2016\/08\/button.png\" alt=\"button\" width=\"469\" height=\"40\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2016\/08\/button.png 469w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2016\/08\/button-300x26.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 469px) 100vw, 469px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.75\">While tweaking your photos one by one, always keep in mind that each photo has to fit within the entire collection. For instance, a photo that has enhanced color saturation next to a photo that is black and white could make your collection disjointed. <\/span><strong style=\"line-height: 1.75\">Try to keep the style of every photo in your album as consistent as you can.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>For that extra special touch, read our article on <a title=\"4 commonly overlooked ways to better photographs\" href=\"http:\/\/features.en.softonic.com\/4-commonly-overlooked-ways-to-better-photographs\">\u20184 usually overlooked ways to enhance your photographs<\/a>\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-83087\" title=\"You weren't there man...\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/iStock_000073029685_Large-568x378.jpg\" alt=\"You weren't there man...\" width=\"568\" height=\"378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/iStock_000073029685_Large-568x378.jpg 568w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/iStock_000073029685_Large-120x80.jpg 120w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/iStock_000073029685_Large-256x170.jpg 256w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/iStock_000073029685_Large.jpg 1358w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 568px) 100vw, 568px\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Keep &amp; Share<\/h3>\n<p>Now you\u2019re almost at the end of your photo processing journey. The last things to do is to share them with your friends using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/\">Facebook<\/a> or WeTransfer, and store them safely for the years to come with <a href=\"https:\/\/photos.google.com\/\">Google Photos<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/\">Dropbox<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-83088\" title=\"Kids with photos\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/iStock_000049570732_Large-568x416.jpg\" alt=\"Kids with photos\" width=\"568\" height=\"416\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/iStock_000049570732_Large-568x416.jpg 568w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/iStock_000049570732_Large-256x187.jpg 256w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/iStock_000049570732_Large.jpg 1036w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 568px) 100vw, 568px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Enjoy your photos<\/h3>\n<p>Your photos are your memories frozen in time, so process and enhance them with care! Don\u2019t be too anxious to get it finished. <strong>Take your time and relive the moments<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why do my pictures look like crap? We all ask\u00a0ourselves that question. Then we empty our bank account and buy the newest many-megapixel-magic-voodoo camera, and we descend into\u00a0regret 3 days later because our photos still look like crap. That&#8217;s because the camera is not the problem,\u00a0you just need to enhance the photos. Enhancing your photos &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/processing-and-enhancing-your-photos-how-to-do-it-like-the-prosd\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Processing and enhancing your photos \u2013 how to do it like the pros&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2064,"featured_media":83090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[2441],"tags":[],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-83082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2064"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83082"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":328903,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83082\/revisions\/328903"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83082"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=83082"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=83082"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=83082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}