Hey there! If you’re a budding photographer or someone who wants to enhance the images you take, this blog is for you. In this article, we will be revealing some easy post-processing tricks that you can use to create stunning visuals. We’ll go through each technique step-by-step, so don’t worry if you’re new to the topic. By the end of this article, you’ll have the knowledge to make your images pop!

1. Adjust the Levels 🎨

One of the easiest post-processing tricks you can use to enhance images is adjusting the levels. This technique adjusts the brightness, contrast, and colors of an image to make it look more vibrant. You can do this using any photo editor such as Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop.

To adjust the levels, you need to use the histogram tool. This graphical representation of the image’s brightness shows the distribution of light and dark tones. Adjusting the levels means dragging the sliders around until the histogram looked balanced. ⁉️

Two histograms, one of the original image and one of the adjusted image

2. Apply the Rule of Thirds 📏

The rule of thirds is a simple yet effective technique to make your images more captivating. The principle is to imagine a grid of tic-tac-toe on the image, dividing them into thirds. Place the main subject at the intersection points or along the lines.

What this does is create a sense of balance in the image by having the subject off-center. This will make it more interesting to the viewer. To apply this technique, you can use the grid overlay on your camera or photo editor. 🔍

Example of the rule of thirds applied to an image of a flower

3. Use Vibrance Instead of Saturation 🌈

Saturation is a common tool that most people use to make an image look more colorful. However, it can sometimes make the image look oversaturated or unrealistic. Instead, try using vibrance.

The vibrance tool adds more intensity to the colors that need it while preserving the natural look of the image. This tool is useful for portraits or natural landscapes where you don’t want to overdo the colors. 🌄

Original image of a landscape and the same image with vibrance applied.

4. Remove or Add Lighting 🌇

Sometimes the lighting in your images doesn’t look good or doesn’t convey the atmosphere you’re trying to create. Fortunately, fixing lighting is simple with photo editors.

If you want to remove lighting, try using a brush tool to darken specific areas. For example, if a streetlight is making the background too bright, darken that area.

On the other hand, if you want to add lighting, use a brush tool to brighten specific areas where you want the focus to be. Such as adding a bit of intensity to the sunset on the beach. 🏖

The original image of a lady walking in the street and an adjusted image where she is brighter, and the background lights are darker.

5. Add a Vignette Effect 🌑

The vignette effect is a technique that darkens the edges of an image while keeping the center bright. This effect can add depth and focus to a photo. This is an excellent method to use to emphasize the subjects in a landscape or portrait photo.

Using a photo editor, you can easily add vignette effect by selecting the lens correction panel and adjusting the vignette sliders. Make sure that the vignette effect isn’t too strong as this can make the image look unnatural. 🕶️

Two images, one without vignette effect, and the other with vignette effect added

And there you have it, folks! 👏 We hope you found this post helpful and that you can now start using these easy post-processing tricks to enhance your images. Remember, practice makes perfect, so keep experimenting and learning.

An image of a mountain landscape with the sun setting in the background, edited using all the post-processing techniques mentioned in the article