Top 7 Photo Editing Mistakes: What You Should Avoid

Only some people post photos on the Internet without processing. This applies to both ordinary users of social networks and professional photographers and owners of various sites. Regardless of which camera the pictures were taken with, they require post-processing. This allows you to emphasize all the advantages of the image.

Modern processing programs allow you to change the picture beyond recognition. You can change hues, draw on objects, unwanted crop details, change proportions, and more. But it is essential to understand that processing can be excessive. Its main task is to emphasize the merits so that visually it would seem to the audience that there was no processing. Unfortunately, few know the measure in this matter, and only a few have sufficient knowledge and understanding of what processing should be. 

This article will examine a few familiar photo editing mistakes newbies make. We will also give you tips on how to avoid them. 

Incorrect Photo Cropping

Some controversial advice about cropping says that you need to crop photos intuitively and in the way the author considers correct. Partly it is. But some nuances need to be considered so as not to spoil the frame.

This applies when you have to crop photo depicting a person. Many people make typical mistakes: they cut the image at the level of the joints of the wrists, waist, elbows, and ankles. Because of this, the picture looks unaesthetic.

There is also another error. If a person or object is turned in one direction, the author cuts so that there is no space left in front of the hero’s face. These photos look bad.   

Here are a few tips for those who don’t know how to crop photos properly:

• You need to leave space around the central object so that the image is organic.
• All essential details must be left in the frame.
• When cropping an image, you must follow and align the horizon.
• When cropping a portrait, you need to leave the shoulders.
• If you need to cut at waist level, it is better to do it a little higher or lower.

The Wrong Balance of Light and Shadow

Many people make photo editing mistakes when working with Shadows/Highlights sliders. This leads to the fact that the picture loses depth and naturalness. For example, the sky becomes too bright in the foreground. Because of this, shadows and mid-tones disappear, and the image becomes flat.

To avoid such a mistake, you should not bring the Shadows / Highlights slider to extreme values and always remember the law of light propagation.

Unsuccessful Attempts to Restore Detail

Trying to get image details without them will result in an unnatural image.

To prevent these photo editing mistakes, you must choose your correction carefully and avoid overexposure when taking your photo.

Image Oversaturation

This is another common photo editing mistake. The problem is that the author is trying to add color to the picture, making it attractive but fleeting. No one leaves their attention on such images for long.

Correcting the error is simple – you need not change the Saturation and Vibrance data. You must work with contrast and build the right balance between light and shadow to get beautiful colors. You need to work with each color separately to adjust the saturation significantly.

Too Much Noise Reduction

To work with noise or not depends on the image itself. As a rule, it does not affect the perception and does not spoil the image in any way. But many still begin to change the data of this parameter. Due to the wrong approach, it turns out that the author removes all the noise, resulting in the picture becoming unnatural and plastic. Without noise, the image loses its natural detail.

How can you avoid such photo editing mistakes? Try removing only its color component if you are keen to work with noise.

Loss of Hue Information

This photo editing mistake occurs when the author increases the saturation of the entire image or individual colors too much. For example, reducing the amount of red in a photo too much will cause the transition between colors to be unnatural and unsightly.

Therefore, you need to work carefully with the “Saturation” parameter.

Too Sharp Transitions Between Shadow and Light

Unnatural parts of the image appear if you make too sharp borders between light and dark areas. You need to use additional exposures and blur the masks to prevent this from happening. In this case, tonal transitions will be smoother.

Let’s Sum Up

Everyone makes photo editing mistakes. But, if you want to attract an audience or customers, you must learn how to avoid them. When processing, it is important to compare “it was and became.” And do it as often as possible. In this case, you will notice mistakes and create a natural, high-quality picture.