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Digital photo processing is important for preparing photos for printing. Tips include using the correct color profile and resolution, removing blemishes, balancing color, and reducing noise. Converting from RGB to CMYK is necessary for proper colorization, and correcting imperfections is common. Black and white conversion should use a sepia filter for an aged look. Noise reduction is also important.
Digital photo processing, or the act of using design software to prepare a photo for printing, is just as important as taking the perfect shot. A poorly processed photo can look dull and dark, with skin and eye imperfections, incorrect tonal balance, and a host of other problems. Some of the best tips for working with digital photos involve using the correct color profile and resolution, removing blemishes, balancing the color, and doing black and white conversion and noise reduction correctly. These tips will help your images, whether they’re for the web or print, look their best.
Most digital cameras save photos in what is known as Red Green Blue (RGB), but most printers print in Cyan Magenta Yellow Key/Black (CMYK). If the printer performs this conversion automatically, colors are duller on print than on screen. Most professional photo processing software will include an option to convert from RGB to CMYK, and this should be used for proper colorization. The dots per inch (DPI), or resolution, should also be set to the correct value based on the use of the image. Web use benefits from 72 DPI, which means images load faster, while print use will require at least 300 DPI, for better clarity.
As for the color profile, the photo itself might look a bit dull and lifeless. This usually occurs if the wrong camera setting is used or if the camera makes images appear darker. Most digital photo-editing projects will benefit from hue boosting to balance color.
Imperfections are common, both on people and in the photos that portray them, and should be corrected when processing digital photos. If you experience red eye or other changes in eye color, this can be fixed with a red eye tool in the program or by making the eye slightly darker. Skin blemishes, such as acne or scratch marks, are slightly more difficult to correct. The photographer would use a clone stamp tool, clone a portion of skin that has no blemishes, and then cover the damaged areas lightly.
Many photographers like to convert a color photo into a black and white image. When amateur photographers do this, they lower the color saturation until there is nothing but black and white left, but this tends to leave a cold image. It is best when processing digital photos to use a sepia filter, which will give the image an aged look and work better with the depth of the image.
Noise, or pinpoint distortions in the image, commonly occurs with larger photos. While some photographers enhance the noise to give the image a grainier look, most photographers prefer to reduce the noise. This is commonly used, so almost all photo editing programs have a noise reduction function.
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