Curves | This has always been one of my favourites when it comes to editing, as it enables me to control how bright I want the image to look as well as helping me to control shadows. I start by working with the upper part of curves to highlight the photograph and work my way down. There's no magic formula to working this, as it all depends on the photograph you've taken and how dark it was originally. I would suggest that, as it's quite easy to overexpose and over edit, it would be best to start small and work up.
The 'Quick Selection Tool' down the right hand side can help you in getting the right amount of contrast. If I've gone a bit too far with curves, but I like the way I've brightened the background. Quick selection can enable you to darken a lipstick so that it looks like the colour it actually is or to make a blusher look a little sharper against it's background. This page may be a good place to go if you want to know more about this particular tool.
Saturation | If you've got Instagram, you've probably played around with the saturation at some point so may know a little bit about what it does. The further left you go on an image the less colour remains, the more right you go the more vibrant the colours become. For my photography, I tend to opt for -15 as this still allows the hues to pop, but they never overpower my photographs. It can also help if you're experiencing colour correcting problems.
Cropping | Every image I take is either cropped or straightened in some way. It helps with the composition of a flatlay in particular and enables me to frame a product better. There isn't a set photograph length and width I use as it's all about the individual photograph that you're trying to crop.
Colour Correcting | You see the little icon that looks like balancing scales? This is called colour correcting and it has changed the way I take my photographs. I'm probably one of the only bloggers that hates blue skies when it comes to blog photography and would rather a session when there's white, fluffy clouds in the sky to help act as a giant soft box. Although I prefer taking photographs in these conditions, when I'm unlucky and my camera catches more of the blue tones, colour correcting has helped save quite a few images of mine.
Depending on the colour you're trying to conceal, the bars are quite self explanatory. If you're battling blue hues then you'll want more of the yellow or red tones and vice versa. Saying this, I do think it's all about playing around with the settings to suit your photograph. Not only can they help to save flatlays, this tool can be your best friend if you're trying to emphasise on certain colours in an image.
Removing Dust | I remember seeing this on From Roses' post last year and it completely changed my life. Exaggeration? I think not. If you've ever struggled with makeup smudges on your makeup packaging or a strand of hair that has made its way onto your flatlay, then the "Spot Healing Brush Tool" -found on the left hand side of Photoshop- is perfect. Using the layers on Photoshop, you click on background layer then on the brush tool to remove dust particles in a matter of seconds.
How do you edit your blog photography?
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