3 Ways to Become a Better Photo Editor

 Editing photos does not have to be stressful or overly time consuming. Editing should be a fun experience - a time to flex your creative muscles and enhance the vision you captured with your camera. If you are looking for ways to improve your editing workflow, these three tips can help you step up your game and become a better photo editor.

File Organization

If you are anything like most digital photographers, you probably have a collection of thousands of pictures that seems to grow larger every day. Unfortunately, taking the time to organize, label and rate every single picture is usually not on the top of a photographer's to-do list. Well, it should be! Having an organized photo file system is vital to streamlining your workflow, and it makes quickly finding your photos a much less frustrating experience.

Taking the time to organize, label and add keywords to your photos now will save you a lot of time in the future. Don't put it off today, only to be overwhelmed by your ever-increasing collection tomorrow.

Master the Heal Tool

This essential tool is the key to your success as a photo editor. While most Mac photo editing software has some form of healing and touch-up tool set, they can vary in strength and ability. Get to know your healing tools by practicing on some non-essential photos. If you don't have any of your own, then download an image from the internet. Try out the settings for each mode and make note of the results you get. 

Some programs allow you to select the size of the affected area, or the size of the tool. Figure out where the tool is sampling from in your image as well as how it reacts to healing large and small areas. As you learn exactly how your program's healing and touch up tools work, you'll find that you will be able to spot blemishes and know exactly which tool to use, thereby increasing your productivity.

Utilize Batch Processing

Batch processing is an incredible way to save time, and learning how to best utilize it is well worth the effort. This feature allows you to apply edits such as resizing, adjust brightness or adding a creative filter to a group of photos without having to open each individual picture, make the change and save. Batch processing is a great way to save your sanity as well as your valuable time.

These are just a few ways that you can increase your ability to edit photos faster and more efficiently. Another important aspect of photo editing having the right tools for the job. Taking the photograph is only the beginning of the creative process. Using photo editing software lets you take your pictures to the next level. Above all, have fun with your photos!