You’ve probably already found yourself in a situation where you have a picture that you like because of what’s on it, but the aesthetics don’t really suit you. From personal photos to those you want to promote your brand , images often need finishing. In this text, we will look at some of the ways to edit images and improve their appearance and quality.

Why are images so important in marketing?

According to research, it has been proven that our brain reacts to images and processes them much faster than any other data . That’s why, in marketing and design, where you have very little time to attract attention, images and photography are of great importance.

How to edit pictures

So, regardless of whether it’s photos you took yourself, hired someone, or simply downloaded them from the Internet, you should pay attention and, above all, adapt and improve your photos according to their purpose.

Here are some simple ways to edit images.

Crop – cutting or framing

So the first thing you could do, whether you want to reduce the photo to a certain format, remove unwanted elements, improve the composition or emphasize certain parts, you will “crop” the image.

What you need to take care of is that your original photo is large enough so that it does not lose its quality during cropping.

Saturation – color adjustment

Professional photographers and designers often include increasing or decreasing the color intensity of the photo as a next step.

Professional photographers and designers often include increasing or decreasing the color intensity of the photo as a next step.

What you should be aware of is that any photo color editing can be overdone, so adding too much can cause saturation and make the image look unnatural. The only exception is if you want to achieve a certain effect.

On the other hand, by subtracting the color, you get more moderate and uniform and even black and white photos that can be more practical for further design.

Blur – blurring the photo

Although it may seem strange at first glance, there are times when you will need to blur the whole or certain parts of the photo. In this way, in addition to getting the plans or “depth” of the photo, you will also be able to emphasize certain parts that you will leave crystal clear.

This effect is most often used for the background, especially for text that is not visible or readable on a crystal clear photo, but also for graphic solutions where the use of color or gradient is not enough.

Brightness and Contrast – the ratio of light and dark

By increasing the contrast, that is, the ratio between highlights and shadows, the range of tones in between is widened, making the image appear richer than what you would see in real life.

On the other hand, reducing the contrast makes the image “flatter” and gives it a more uniform tone, thus opening up space for adding new graphic elements.

The same applies if you want to lighten or darken the entire image.

Filters

First of all, we should thank Instagram for popularizing this technique. Filters are mainly used to add special or artistic effects, as well as to correct certain flaws in your photos.

Filters are mainly used on special occasions when the design dictates it or you want to shorten the photo processing process.

Of course, the rule that applies especially to filters is that they will not work at all if they are overemphasized. On the other hand, the correct use of filters can really improve the photo and give it the desired effect.

Another disadvantage of filters is that each application offers a certain number of filters, so their use is easy to notice.

Other graphic elements

Adding graphic elements such as frames, masks or text can also affect the aesthetics of the photo itself.

If you think that your photo is not good enough regardless of finishing, adding and combining other graphic elements with the image can additionally attract the attention of the viewer.

These elements could be simple or decorative, illustrated, designed, colored or not, depending on the style and tone of your project.

These are just some of the basic techniques for beginners to improve your photos without needing too much skill.

Of course, there are much more complex techniques for processing photos, such as adding effects or combining elements from multiple photos, but you need a lot more time and experience for them.

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