HOW TO EDIT YOUR PHOTOS TALK

Taking a photo is only the half way stage to creating the final image, and the final polish that you provide in the editing can make all the difference between an OK image and one that really stands out. In this talk I start at the absolute beginning to show what you can do with free software, and explain what extra benefits paid software holds, so that you can see what to do and understand how to do it in the easiest way. For more advanced photographers I go into the more specialised techniques such as HDR and image colouring and toning, and examine how you can control the whole look and mood of an image.

Although Photoshop and Lightroom are the industry standards they can be difficult to use, especially for beginners, and not everyone will get value for money from their monthly subscription model. New software is now getting rather good and can be much easier to use, such as Affinity Photo, ON1 Photo RAW, DxO PhotoLab and Exposure, and the artificial intelligence features of products like Luminar can make many tasks so much easier, even for a beginner. Some editing programs such as Exposure (Used to be called Alien Skin), Topaz Studio and add-ons like Nik Collection are particularly good for their filter effects which can simulate the look of many film brands.

I am based in Newton Abbot in Devon. Contact Me for further details.

Here are some of the topics I cover in my talk.

NO COMPUTER

You don't need a computer to organise and edit your photos now. You can do it with your phone or tablet. There is online storage and apps to do all this in a very advanced way.

BASIC EDITING

Basic editing is what you need to be able to do on any image to show it at its best, yet many photographers struggle to see what needs doing and knowing how to do it.

FREE SOFTWARE

There is good software available for free to organise and edit your photos on your computer, and if you are on a tight budget or are just starting out this is a good place to begin.

ADVANCED EDITING

Advanced editing is not for everyone but you can produce amazing results if you can develop the skills to do it, or know which programs to use which have the features you need.

PAID SOFTWARE

There are now some great photo editing programs and the problem is finding which one to choose as there are good alternatives to Photoshop and Lightroom. I explain the features to look for.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Software is getting smarter and artificial intelligence (AI) is now able to easily do some editing tasks which needed a lot of time and skill before. Find out which programs give these features.

These are some of the before and after images I use in my talk.