5 Tips for Editing and Creating Beautiful Digital Photos

I'm a picture hound and love to take pictures and share with my family.  I have been an avid amateur photographer for years and have been teased for the number of photographs I take but also have been praised for the uniqueness in which I can create little masterpieces.  I was just thinking as I cropped and fixed some photos today how unfortunate it was that photos before digital were what you took is what you received with no attempts at making them the best unless money was paid for professional photographs.  I have had a digital camera for years and have used it to capture so many great memories from births to school events to family get togethers.  All make for great memories to share for generations to come.  Presenting photographs in the best possible way isn't hard to do either.  Just a few extra steps ensures a great photograph can be passed on.  Some of my favorite tips include:

1. I first always crop out unnecessary portions in the photograph and this works great for the little messy areas in the house you want to hide.  Cropping photographs also ensures you have even width and height for your subject.  Photographs generally look better when the subject is in the center.
2. Another easy trick is to eliminate the red eye.  My Canon is suppose to eliminate red eye but now with my blue eyed girls.  Taking the red eye out isn't always easy so having the right photo editing program like Adobe Photoshop Elements helps.  The natural beauty of a person is not in displaying them with red eyes.
3. Spot healing is another trick I use if I see some food left on one of my younger children's faces on those spur of the moment photographs.  I can also eliminate a stain on a shirt and it looks great.  Spot healing is also great for removing those nasty pimples that some of us still get in spite of being way, way past puberty.
4. When Christmas or other special occasions roll around, I don't stop at the normal photograph.  I like to play with features such as a sketch appearance or an edgy type highlighted feature to add a little "wow" to the look.  The beauty with photo editing software, you can add borders and frames to also increase the impact of the photograph.
5. Taking multiple photographs and creating a collage is another inexpensive gift that brings back memories.  Photographs bound in a book also can bring tears to the person you give the gift to.  Two years ago, I created a photo bound book that I used editing on to create a biography of my great father-in-law who served with the US Marines in WWII.  My father-in-law opened the book with all the pictures and text and broke down in tears.  To me, those are the best gifts.  He ended up buying many more to give to other family members.

Photographs are a unique way to give the gift of memories whether for yourself or someone else.  The added bonus of photo editing software such as Adobe, which I use, is such a great way to show off your creative side without taking too much time.  The projects you create are endless and the impact is immeasurable.  I even utilized the program for party supplies such as bottle labels, candy bar wrappers and more.  Your imagination can create something fantastic!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Adobe blogging program, making me eligible to receive a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.