The invention of image editing softwares like Adobe Photoshop could sincerely be one of the things photographers must be thankful for.
AFTER PHOTOSHOP:


BEFORE PHOTOSHOP:


Notice the glaring difference? The original photo is too dark and none of the details are distinct. While it may look good in your camera's LCD screen, it sometimes appears too dark in your monitor. So a little photo manipulation should do the trick.

I don't understand how people could still post terrible photos. I for one do not have magnificent photos, but I make it a point to weed out the particularly terrible ones and never put them for the entirety of the world to see. You know those terrible photos: things are just too blurry you barely even see a thing, or when it's too dark you can not even tell what you're looking at.

I have this standing belief that pictures or photographs are a way to remember, and that these blurred photos are not the best way to try to recall a memory. Unless of course you were drunk and that you are trying to make a statement. Blame it on the cheapskate in me who wasted so many rolls of film back when I was in high school, and weeding out the better photos from the negatives before printing them.

Good thing Photoshop was invented. Photoshop is really simple, one really needs to remember a few things. A few Photoshop commands can turn your photos from terrible to bearable. Say goodbye to dark photos with indistinguishable faces, or to badly composed photos, or what-have-you. Here are 5 simple Photoshop commands everyone with a digital camera MUST know for better photos:

1. Crop - The term suggests it clearly, it cuts your photos. You can pick out your main focus and place your subject in the third of the photo as the rule of third suggests, or what have you. Notice how this action is used in the above photo. A part of the trees and leaves behind the girl was cropped out of the photo. This command can be found at the "tools" window, at the upper left part of the screen.
2. Screen - For the lack of a technical explanation, screen lightens the photo. It screens out the light from the images, making your photos appear brighter. This can be done by making a new layer (Ctrl + J), and then editing the layer style at the drop down menu located in the upper left side of the layers window ( lower rifght of the screen). Adjust the screen layer's opacity. In the same window. Best used for photos taken in low light conditions and times when the LCD screen in your camera lies.
3. Sharpen - This command makes your photos look sharper or more distinct. It is a photoshop filter. This can be done by making a new layer (Ctrl + J), And from the Filter Window (main toolbar), choose Sharpen. You can repeat this process if you want it sharper. Just press (Ctrl + J) plus (Ctrl + F). Again you can edit the opacity of the layer in the layers window.
4. Blur - What this command does is defocuses the area where you run your blur on. Basically blurring the things in the backgrounds, creating a soft focus on some details while leaving some areas sharp. There are many ways to do this option. The simplest is to (ctrl + j) and then click the blur tool which can be found in the "Tools" Window. It is that droplet, seventh button down on the left. Pick a small brush, preferably one with feathered edges, and then blur away all the details you want to have soft focus on.
5. Curves - This is perhaps the trickiest of all the previous commands enumerated here. Trickiest but sill very simple. Just make a new layer (CTRL + J), and then (CTRL + M), the curves window will pop up. Just drag the line in the graphs to whatever it is that suits your fancy. Again, this is tricky as there is no one effect that the curves will do, but edit the colors, to whatever you like. Just experiment on the line graph. (I did not use curves for this photo, though)

**command = CTRL for Mac Users.
**Again, every new command you want to execute on your photo is advised to be done on a new layer, so if you screw up you can just delete the layer and start over a new layer instead.
**I do not claim any expertise in Photoshop, I am speaking from a beginner's point of view where I find that these things are the easiest way to edit photos.

Only those commands were done in this photo. See the difference? So all photoshop geeks unite! Leave a comment on what is your favorite photoshop command. ♥

 
head on over here: that photo album, and try guessing who are these people who they are and or how they might be related through a degree of separation. contest ends, after three people has topped the list. 8 out of 9 correct answers still warrant honorable mentions. :D

you can comment here or there (if you have multiply), it's no biggie. HINT: all of these people are from Baguio.