5 Photo Editing Tips That Will Make You Better at Photo Editing

When editing a photo, the best thing to do is duplicate the layer before making changes to it. This comes in handy because it allows you to compare what you had before your edits by hiding your duplicated layer to see the before and then un-hide the duplicated layer to see the after. This comes in especially handy when you have different layer modes and other modifications in layers above that make changes to the final image.

All in all, it's very handy to always have the absolute original image somewhere for reference. Sometimes I have several different versions and keep each one until I find a predominate look for the image I'm editing.

Now would be a great time to talk a little bit about RAW format. If you have a camera that shoots in RAW, you will have a lot of extra photo-editing options, and with raw you never lose the original version of your photo. There are a lot more benefits of shooting in RAW besides just that though. Check out this post for a list of 3 huge benefits of shooting in RAW, or check out my list of affordable RAW shooting cameras.

Very rarely do I ever erase anything when I'm editing. I will almost always mask it off to suit my needs. Layer masks come in handy because you can easily use a combination of selection methods and color modifiers to create a perfect selection. Did you know one of the best ways to select hair, grass, trees, and all of the really challenging things is with a combination of a black and white layer mask and making adjustments to color levels in select areas? That's right! not the magic wand, not the paths (or pen) tool, and definitely not the select by color tool (although they sometimes help!)

Tediously tracing an object will take time, come to terms with that. There is usually no shortcut to making the best selection, and if there is one it usually will not outperform your eye. If you take your time, and trace an image very slowly with the paths tool, it will give you an easy way to make a selection for your layer masks in the future. Plus, the paths tool is easier to change if you realize you made a mistake.