Easy photo editing tips for beginners (no experience needed!)

You're ready to make a custom photo book. You've selected your theme and picked out your photos. But what do you do if some of the shots you want to include aren't quite perfect? There's no need to delete them from your project—use these photo editing tips to fix your pics instead.

Photo-editing programs and apps are amazing tools for making your photos look their absolute best. With the right editing tricks, you can improve the composition of a photo, fix imperfections, and turn an OK snap into a gorgeous one. Even the tiniest of tweaks can improve a photo, often with just a couple of mouse clicks or screen taps.

No matter which software or app you use—complex and pro, or free and beginner-friendly—our No. 1 photo-editing tip is to experiment freely. Trust your own judgment. There’s no absolute right or wrong, and you’re free to develop your own personal preferences for photo enhancements. Before experimenting, however, it helps to understand key photo-editing terminology and the function of each tool. Start with these beginner photo editing tips, and enjoy your photo projects more than ever!

Choose the right photo editor

Mixbook Studio™ offers a suite of easy-to-use photo editing tools. These are great for basic edits like cropping and adjustments to brightness, saturation, and contrast.

However, we do recommend making more thorough edits before uploading to Mixbook. It’s great to choose a go-to photo editing program or app and master its basic functions. This enables you to make easy, speedy edits for all your needs, from photo books and home decor prints to social media posts.

Options for software and apps range from complex, pro-level programs like Adobe Photoshop to beginner-friendly apps that are built into your smartphone. The right choice depends on your experience level, personal needs, budget, and preferred device, but you can read our recommendations here: 8 Best Free Photo Editing Software: From Camera to Print.

Suggestions for free apps include Adobe Photoshop Express, Pixlr and Fotor. We also like Google Photos and PicsArt for iOS and Android.

Save the original

It's important to save the original copy of your photo before you do any editing. Saving a copy allows you to go back and start over if you make edits but don't like the results. It’s also good for comparing your edited version to the original.

Be sure to find the “undo” and “redo” functions in your program or app. These are invaluable when you’re learning to edit photos, and for tweaking the edits until they’re just right. Many programs also have the option to hide each editing effect from view. In Adobe programs, for example, the eye-shaped icon in the adjustments panel can be toggled on or off to hide or reveal each adjustment.

Start with auto-correction

Photo-editing programs and apps typically feature an "auto-correct" or "auto-enhance" option that will automatically fix basic problems with your image. Simply click the "auto" button in the app, then review the changes.

For example, you might have a photo that's dim and poorly lit. Auto-correct can flag and fix these problems. Starting with this utility can save you time making adjustments to attributes like brightness and saturation.

Take care of cropping

Cropping is one of the easiest and most effective editing steps. It’s a straightforward way to remove unwanted parts of the photo and improve the overall composition. Your photo should draw the eye to the intended focal point. Understanding the rule of thirds and golden ratio can help you decide the best way to crop a photo. Many editing tools can overlay guides and grids based upon these principles.

If you're designing a holiday photo card with a family portrait, for example, you will want to crop your shot so that the whole family is the focal point. The background might enhance the picture, especially if it’s scenic, but shouldn’t take up more room than the people.

Pay attention to the final dimensions of the photo when cropping. Freeform cropping can result in an oddly proportioned pic. Use a crop-tool setting that maintains the original aspect ratio of the photo, or crops to a standard format like square (1:1) or 6 x 4 (3:2).

Bonus tip: Mixbook Studio™ automatically takes care of cropping when you use the "Auto-Create" feature. You'll have an opportunity to review and refine cropping before your project is printed.

Straighten any crooked lines

A photo with a horizon line or vertical lines that are at a slight angle just doesn't look quite right. Fortunately, it’s easy to fix with photo-editing tools. Some can automatically straighten a photo with a click, and others have straightening tools that require tracing a line across the photo to define its horizontal or vertical axis. If your photo features a horizon or a tall building, choose one of these lines to trace. Grids and guidelines in the editing program can be helpful with straightening, too.

Fix small imperfections

Some small imperfections in photographs are mechanical—a smudged lens, unwanted reflection, or distorted beam of light, for example. Others are elements of the scene you photographed that you’d like to make disappear, such as a stranger’s hat popping up behind a wall, or a piece of litter ruining an otherwise beautiful landscape.

Look through your program or app for handy tools that can fix these types of imperfections. They might be called healing brushes, clone stamps, spot removing, or spot healing tools. Use these tools on the exact spots you want to fix. Be somewhat conservative, aiming to enhance the photo without making it look artificial.

Learn key photo-editing terms and tools (and try them out)

When you’re learning how to use a photo-editing program or app, it’s smart to learn the key terminology and understand what each tool is designed to do. Here are the main photo retouching tips and terms to learn:

Sharpening

If a photo is a little blurry, a sharpening tool can help to fix that issue. Sharpening brings small details into focus, which makes it the perfect tool when you want to draw attention to something intricate like the embroidered details on a wedding dress, or the velvety texture of a flower. Overall, sharpening gives pictures a crisper, cleaner appearance.

The tool is typically a slider with values from 0 to 100. Start at 50 and move the slider up or down until you’re happy with the results. You can also apply sharpening effects to specific parts of the photo (rather than the whole thing) using masking techniques.

Sharpening tools have their limits—they can’t bring an out-of-focus photo into focus, and too much sharpening can create an artificial “halo” effect.

Exposure & contrast

Exposure refers to how light or dark a photo is overall. Contrast refers to the difference between the lightest and darkest values in a photo. If a photo looks a little dull, try increasing the exposure. If it’s glaringly bright, reduce the exposure.

Playing with increased or decreased contrast can be used for small tweaks or artistic effect. Softer contrast gives photos a dreamy, hazy look, while higher contrast adds boldness and drama. Go slowly and aim for a balanced, realistic appearance.

Highlights and shadows

Highlights are the lightest areas of any image, while shadows are the darkest areas of a photo. Strong, defined highlights and shadows add depth to your photos. If your photo seems too dark, try increasing the highlights. If it seems too flat, try increasing the shadows.

White balance & color temperature

There’s a lot of variation in the temperatures of the white parts of any photograph, which affects the overall style. White with yellow tones make a photo feel warm, while whites with blue tones makes it seem cool.

Photo-editing tools let you adjust the color balance to fix odd-looking color casts (artificial lighting is a common culprit). Warm up a photo by shifting the color balance into the yellows, or cool it down by shifting toward blues.

Saturation & vibrancy

Saturation describes how bright the colors in a photo appear. If your photos seem dull and you want to make their colors pop, increase saturation. You can decrease saturation if you want to achieve a faded or vintage look.

Saturation tools alter all the colors in a photo. Adjusting the vibrancy, on the other hand, only affects the more muted/neutral color tones. Vibrancy adjustments can give you more nuanced and subtle edits than saturation adjustments.

Brightness

Brightness refers to the overall lightness of an image. Maybe you took a picture of your family in your backyard while it was overcast, and it looks dim or gloomy. You can bump up the brightness to make the photo look lighter. Take care with these edits, as too much brightening can look artificial or glaring, and cause bright white spots to appear in the photo.

Noise

Digital photos often have noise, which is used to describe any unwanted signal interruptions in a picture. Noise includes pixelation as well as grainy black or white spots on images. Using the noise reduction setting in your photo editing app reduces noise and makes your image look softer. You can also add noise to make an image look slightly hazy or give it a vintage, artsy style.

Experiment with filters

Filters are an amazing, easy way to transform the mood and style of a photo in a single click or tap. A handful of filters are available in Mixbook Studio™, with countless more offered in various editing programs and apps. Some are dramatic, while others are more subtle. They range from color transformations like black-and-white or sepia, to novelty effects like adding sparkles or making your photo look like a cartoon.

For naturalistic photos, be thoughtful about the filters you use. Using the same filter across a whole set of photos will give your photo book—or select layouts—a cohesive look. Avoid using multiple different filters for the same project.

Time to try out our top photo editing tips

Remember that practice makes perfect. It will take more than one try to learn new photo editing techniques, but the effort is well worth it, and it can be a fun and creative way to express yourself.

Knowing these basic photo editing tips and tricks will make all of your Mixbook creations look their best. Don't forget to show off your photo editing know-how by starting a custom photo book or photo calendar today!