Photography Software Overview

Left Image: Converted from color to black and white in Photoshop.

Photography software is one of the most important tools of the digital darkroom. Digital cameras, scanners, and printers are often looked at as the main tools for creating digital images, but photography software and its importance is overlooked by many. In traditional darkroom, chemicals and filters are used for achieving best results. It takes several tries and many hours to produce a print which shows good exposure and colors. A contact sheet has to be made and then several prints at different exposures and filtration. All of these and much more can now be done in digital darkrooms with image-processing software to create images never possible before. Best of all, no chemicals are involved and it can be done with the lights on while you drink a nice cup of coffee.

Just as there is no perfect camera or lens for all situations, there is no perfect software either. If you own a digital camera or a scanner, chances are that it was supplied with some sort of image editor. Probably a light edition of a software. This may be fine for some of you, but for serious work, look into programs with more sophisticated features for ultimate control. Programs are available at low affordable prices to well over 500 dollars such as Adobe Photoshop.

Just as there are cameras for beginners and pros, there are software made for beginners and professional photographers. A beginner camera may cost $300 while a professional model can cost $2000. However, many of today's beginner cameras have features found on more expensive models and they are certainly capable of producing quality results. Photography software available today is the same. You can buy an affordable software and still get dozens of tools to create and improve your digital images. Some less inexpensive programs actually have tools that are easier to use and even work better than more expensive software. For those of you who want all the tools available and willing to pay the price for it, there are several software in the market so loaded that some colleges actually offer courses to teach how to use them. I can tell you right now, no matter how much you spend on a software, you will probably need more than one to do the job. As I mentioned before, there is no such a thing as a perfect software. I currently use three programs-- Adobe Photoshop, Jasc Paint Shop Pro, and ACDSee. I use three programs for the same reason I own several cameras and lenses in different formats. Each tool helps me do more with my photography. I have other programs and have downloaded the trial version of several programs and continue to do so as newer ones become available to see what each program has to offer. Almost all beginner to advance programs include the following important features.

Brightness & Contrast Control: This allows you to lighten or darken the image as well as increasing or decreasing contrast.
Curves: Curves is used to adjust brightness and contrast of each tone separately.
Levels: Similar to brightness and contrast control, except it allows the user to adjust highlight, shadow, and mid-tone areas separately as well as colors through channels.
Layers & Layer Masks: Layers is used to separate parts of the image and stack them on top of another. Layer Masks lets you make parts of a layer visible or invisible without removing any of the layer.
Magic Wand: By clicking in part of an image, the tool selects everything of a similar tone or color.
Dodge/Burn Tools: Similar to traditional darkroom, dodging lightens and burning darkens parts of the image.
Hue/Saturation: Hue allows you to adjust the color and saturation controls richness or intensity.
Variations. Several thumbnails of an image being edited with different colors, brightness and contrast.
Color Balance: This control allows you to adjust specific color balances.
Histogram: A diagram of tonal values in an image from black to white. It is used to evaluate brightness and contrast.
Clone Tool: This tool copies an area inside the image which can be pasted to other areas within the image.
Red-Eye Tool: You guessed right. It is used to remove red-eye.
Multiple Color Modes. Color modes that includes RGB and CMYK.
Unsharp Mask:. A sharpening tool with full control over amount, radius and threshold.
Templates: Designs for calendars, postcards, T-shirts, etc.
Plug-Ins: Special programs made for Photoshop that can also be used in some other programs as well.