Digital Photography

Chapter 10
Image Editing Software
Once you get beyond the basics of digital picture-taking it can be fun to edit your photos before printing them. In most cases, the end results will be a significant improvement on prints made directly from the camera or memory card. 

Many digital cameras and scanners are supplied with a basic editing program that allows you to correct minor imperfections, resize image files and create prints, slideshows, screensavers and desktop wallpaper with your pictures. Some applications include templates for producing greeting cards, calendars, album pages, mouse mats and other items. Most of these applications are compatible with a wide range of printers.

Essential Editing Tools
The most frequently-used editing tools include:

* Resizing tools - for changing the physical dimensions of a picture without changing its content. Most resizing tools also allow users to adjust the image resolution for printing or emailing.
* Cropping tools - for removing unwanted areas of a picture or changing the picture's aspect ratio so it can be printed on a specific paper size.
* Brightness and contrast adjustments - for changing the brightness and contrast in the whole image.
* Colour adjustments - for correcting colour casts and adding filter effects.
* Cloning tools - for removing blemishes by 'painting' over them with pixels copied from an unblemished area.

Free Software
You don't need to look far if you are using a relatively new computer because the latest operating systems for Windows and Mac PCs include some excellent image and video editing facilities. As long as your requirements are straightforward, the controls provided should be sufficient for most of your requirements so you may not need to buy a dedicated editing application straight away.

Both Apple's iPhoto (which is part of the iLife suite) and Microsoft's Photo Editor include brightness and contrast adjustments, cropping and resizing facilities, red-eye removal, monochrome conversion and automatic colour correction. The latest version of iPhoto also includes highlight and shadow adjustments, noise reduction and image straightening facilities.

Some excellent third-party freeware applications for beginners are listed on below. Some of the websites listed will expect you to register before you can use the application when you download it. (Registration may involve signing up for email newsletters and other marketing communications.)




The photo editing and image management facilities in Windows Vista are more extensive than in earlier versions of the operating system.

Google Picasa2 (www.picasa.google.com) is primarily an image management program, which will take over any images you upload to your computer and arrange them in folders, identified by the date of the download. These folders are arranged in a 'Library', where you can view thumbnails and see the folders of shots you have taken. Editing facilities are limited but cover the basic crop, straighten, brightness, contrast and colour adjustments plus red-eye removal.



PhotoFiltre (www.photofiltre.free.fr) is available in several languages. Its simple user interface provides lots of one-click image adjustments as well as easy-to-apply filters and effects. An explorer panel makes it easy to find image files. Batch processing is supported and there are some effective (though basic) selection, retouching, drawing and painting tools.



For more advanced photographers, the following applications:
The GIMP (www.gimp.org) is a popular open-source image editor that was originally developed for Unix/Linux but is now available for Windows and Mac computers. It has many of the features offered by Photoshop but, because it has been developed by volunteers, support is negligible and stability can be a concern.



Serif PhotoPlus (www.freeserifsoftware.com), now in Version 6, contains a full suite of image adjustment tools, along with cloning, painting, morphing and erasing facilities. Text tools with drop shadows and bevel effects allow text to be added to pictures and PhotoPlus 6 makes it easy to create GIF animations. (The download file is 19.4MB.)



Paint.NET (www.eecs.wsu.edu/paint.net) was developed at Washington State University with assistance from Microsoft. This Windows-based image and photo manipulation software continues to be updated and maintained by some of the alumni that originally worked on it. Features include support for layers, painting and drawing tools, special effects, unlimited undo history and levels adjustments.

What to Look for in an Image Editor
As your knowledge of photography increases, you will probably demand a much higher level of functionality in the image editor you use. It's important to match the application you select to your own level of understanding and involvement. Below is a list of the key features you should look in for three levels of involvement:

Beginners:  An easy user interface is the most critical feature at this level. Many packages provide helpful 'wizards' that 'walk' newcomers through common tasks and some include on-screen and online tutorials to help you get started. Several come with professionally designed templates that help novices achieve pre-determined outcomes with minimal fuss. But, in some cases, these sacrifice functionality for ease of use and users can become frustrated when they progress beyond the initial learning stage and discover the application won't do what they want.

Intermediate: Once you've moved beyond the entry level, you need applications that provide more flexibility and give you tools for making fine adjustments to colour, contrast and brightness as well as image management facilities. You may also require animation tools and digital effects. Wizard-based assistance and templates can still be useful but they should be easy to customise. The application must also support your photo printer.

Advanced:  At this level you want as many tools as you can get, along with comprehensive image editing facilities, colour management controls and seamless printer support. Support for Layers and Masking are also vital. Raw file converters (see page 50) can be an important component in top-level applications.

Photo Editors You Purchase
Unlike freeware applications, commercial photo editors come with full product support, including user instructions and help files (both built-in and online). Most of the applications listed below are available as trial downloads, which allow you to use the software free of charge for a limited period (usually 15-30 days). If you like the application, you can pay for it and receive a 'key' to unlock it. Expect a high degree of reliability from these applications, regardless of how you buy them.

Adobe Systems is the best known developer of image editing software. Currently, the company has two dedicated editors: Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. The former is a powerful, high-priced application for professional photographers. Most enthusiast will find all the tools they need in the much more affordable Photoshop Elements, which is available for Windows and Mac. Downloads are available from www.adobe.com.au.


Photoshop Elements includes some excellent facilities for displaying and sharing digital pictures.

Corel's PaintShop Pro Photo has a tool set that ranges from easy automatic photo fixes to precision editing tools. It also includes a built-in Learning Center to help new users get started. Full product details and trial downloads are available from www.corel.com.

Another image editor offered by Corel is Ulead PhotoImpact 12, which includes an image browser, a complete suite of editing tools and facilities for stitching panoramas and producing GIF animations. Trial downloads are available from www.corel.com. 

Raw file Converters
All image editors are designed to work with standard digital photos in JPEG format and most can work with TIFF files - but some cannot handle raw files. If you use a Digital SLR camera or an advanced digicam that supports raw file capture, it should come with raw file conversion software but, as this can vary between competent and problematic, many photographers prefer third-party raw file converters.

There are plenty to choose from and most developers offer trial downloads so you can try before you buy. Photographers have their own ways of doing things and the style of one application may be ideal for one photographer but may not suit another. Consider the 'Lite" versions of the software as well as the full-featured 'Pro' versions. The difference between the two is often added functionality for multiple workstation set-ups. Since most key operations are the same in each version, it makes little sense to pay extra for functions you won't use.

All raw file converters should enable you to adjust the following image parameters prior to converting the image file into editable JPEG or (preferably) TIFF format:

* Colours. Photographers should be able to select from a range of white balance pre-sets (similar to those provided in cameras), fine-tune colours to eliminate colour casts and adjust colour saturation. Monochrome conversions should also be possible, enabling photographers to produce B&W, sepia or colour-toned image files from raw originals.
* Exposure levels. As well as adjusting brightness and contrast globally, photographers should be able to selectively adjust highlight and shadow areas in image files to bring out detail that would otherwise be lost. Shadow and highlight warnings are a useful aid to targeting areas that require adjustment.
* Sharpness. Although many photographers prefer making sharpness adjustments in editing software, there are times when sharpening (or softening) is better done as part of the conversion process. The same applies to Noise Reduction.
* Workflow options. Photographers should be able to choose whether to output files as 8-bit JPEGs or 8-bit or 16-bit TIFF files. You should also be able to choose between sRGB and Adobe RGB colour spaces when files are converted, regardless of the colour space of the original raw shot. Batch processing should also be supported as many professional photographers will have series of shots that require similar (or identical) adjustments when they are converted.
* Metadata support. Support for IPTC metadata. Users should be able to view and edit image metadata.
* Automation. Some photographers like applications that automatically recognise when a device with image files is connected to the user's computer and initiate downloading and cataloguing functions. Others prefer to manage their image files in their own way.

Some of the most popular third-party raw file converters are listed below, with a URL link to the website from which trial downloads can be obtained. (We haven't listed the version number as versions change each time new raw-capable cameras are released.)

Adobe Camera Raw (www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/cameraraw.html)
BibblePro (www.bibblelabs.com)
BreezeBrowser (www.breezesys.com)
PhaseOne Capture One (www.phaseone.com)
Silkypix Developer Studio (www.isl.co.jp/SILKYPIX/english)

See www.photoreview.com.au for direct links to the websites mentioned in this chapter.