Imation - Refine Pictures Without Retaking Them

Editing digital pictures may seem overwhelming, difficult or impossible, but photos no longer have to be edited by a professional graphic designer or with expensive programs. In a recent survey sponsored by Imation, 67 percent of Americans said they did not edit their digital photos and 28 percent found editing digital photos to be difficult. The survey also found that 58 percent of women and 51 percent of men polled said they wished they could go back and retake a picture when looking at the final photo.

Not everyone studies the proper lighting or positioning, resulting in pictures that are too dark or lopsided. Basic editing tools, included with most computers or digital cameras, come with options to crop, lighten or darken, resize, take out red-eye and change the file size.

So, Imation created some useful tips to help guide the process.

Save an Original Backup Copy - An important first step in editing photos is to save the original without any edits as a backup. This will help in comparing what the picture looked like before editing, and in case the editing process should be started over, the original will be on hand. A great place to store photos is on a CD or DVD, like Imation ForceField™ discs with scratch resistant coating, so the computer isn't overloaded with numerous files that aren't frequently used. Save photos to a disc by using a computer's burning software.

Crop - Did a stray finger make it into the corner of the picture? Or is there just too much extra space? No problem. Look for the cropping tool, which looks like two overlapping ninety-degree angles that form a small square with the ends pointing out, and select the area on the photo to keep and crop out the unwanted distractions.

Lighten/Darken - Sometimes the flash doesn't carry or the sun is too bright. If the picture is darker or lighter than preferred, choose to brighten or darken the picture, usually by sliding a scale to the desired degree.

Resizing - Take care when resizing pictures as proportions can be easily distorted. The temptation to enlarge photos by a large amount, particularly by a percentage, can also yield a grainy picture. Holding the "Shift" button down when resizing a picture on a computer will keep the proportions intact, or choose to increase or decrease the overall size by a percentage, instead of enlarging or minimizing the size with the mouse.

Red Eye Removal - Everyone has great pictures stashed away because someone in the picture has red, glowing eyes. These can easily be removed with most of the basic software programs available by simply clicking on the red colored eyes or filling them in with another color.

Compress - Fifty percent of Americans polled in Imation's survey say they share their digital pictures via e-mail. Compressing digital pictures for e-mail purposes is a mindful process when sharing memories with friends and loved ones. Simply choose the pictures you want to send and select the "compress" tool, which will "shrink" the file and photo. Most e-mail accounts have a storage limit associated with the amount of data it can save and send. Compressing pictures will result in faster e-mail transfers and fewer family and friends with overloaded e-mail boxes.

Save the Final Copy - There are several options available to store and transfer digital photos, such as CDs, DVDs, flash drives and micro hard drives. Burning pictures to CDs or DVDs can be an inexpensive way to give friends and family digital photo gifts. While flash drives and micro hard drives allow users to quickly and easily download photos directly to another computer through a USB port.

With these simple editing tips, digital photos can easily be "fixed" and shared with loved ones, compared to those hard copy photos that would've ended up in the trash.

Visit the following Imation online resources for more information:

www.imation.com/forcefield for CDs and DVDs that protect against the rigors of everyday life
www.imation.com/didyouknow for advice on digital photos, video and music applications