Amateur digital photographers these days like to tweak their photos in an image editing software. They all use similar tools to change the images to match how we want the image to look. While some tools are considered as being for advanced use, others are so effective that it serves the amateur well if they learned how to use them.

The cropping tool can eliminate unwanted areas, emphasize the main interest and arrange the centers of interest in a more pleasing location. Most photos are taken too far away to show good impact so the cropping tool can help save these images from being mundane and less effective.

The image adjustment tools of contrast and brightness can correct over or underexposure, skin density, true black levels (when needed) and bright but detailed highlights. Unless you hit the correct exposure right on the head, these tools will be necessary to make a pleasing print. Most software feature a screen of boxes with various changes in brightness and contrast in your image from which to choose. These visual selections are a good start towards what is needed to make the picture right. Several tries may be necessary to find the right level of adjustment.

A similar set of boxes contain samples of color changes. Not all light is perfectly balanced in the camera. Faces can look bluish in cloudy weather, your white tablecloth can come out yellow and a reflection from a colored surface can do weird things to the real color in your picture. Generally, only slight changes will be needed since most digital cameras automatically adjust for color balance to some degree.

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