Being the non-professional photographer that I am, my photos ALWAYS need to be edited. I’ve learned a few tricks on how to edit a photo to get it to look the way I want, even if my original shot wasn’t exactly great. First thing’s first, what tools do you use to edit?? I edit everything straight through my phone (unless I need to photoshop something big, then that’s on my pc) and I primarily use Adobe Lightroom. However, I have the free version of Lightroom, so I also use Snapseed to blur backgrounds when necessary, and sometimes I will also edit the photo straight in iPhone Photos’ editing features since I’m able to adjust the “brilliance” more easily.
Okay so you have the right tools, next you need to decide how you want your final product to look! I don’t like when my photos look over-edited to where they seem unreal, but I also prefer sharp lines, vibrant colors and decent contrast. The point of my editing is to accentuate my pieces and make the viewers see how great they are in real life- the last thing I want is to misrepresent how something will look when you buy it! That being said, sometimes it’s fun to have artistic photos that are edited to look (in my opinion) super cool, even if they definitely don’t look like that in real life.
When I get to the actual editing, I use Lightroom first and I go down the line of tabs: start with lighting, next adjust color, then increase texture, clarity, and sharpness. If I had to choose one editing feature that’s my favorite, I’d have to say it’s playing with contrast (this helps the image pop and not feel as flat). After getting my lighting and colors fixed up in Lightroom I consider the focus within my photo. If too much of the image is in focus and I want to narrow that down, I’ll open it up in Snapseed and use their Blur tool as my last step.
So you’re editing your photo and something just doesn’t feel right about it, it happens to all of us! Take a step back, do something else and come back to it, you may find you love it as it is (and were overthinking things per usual) or that you now realize what’s missing! In the end, it’s about how you want the photo to appear to the viewer, and that just takes practice.
Happy Floristing and Happy Editing!
Sincerely,
Savannah Wichman
Mountain Mama Florals 