Apple ’s iPhoto is great for organizing and share photos . But as a digital darkroom , it ’s in earnest lacking . It ca n’t institute out details hidden in dark , for example , or remove the pole that seems to shoot from a friend ’s head . When you ’re ready to upgrade your photo - editing science , consider supplementing iPhoto with an external picture editor in chief .

Adobe Photoshop Elements 3($90 ) ( see Best Current Price ) packs much of the exponent of a professional digital darkroom behind an well-heeled - to - use interface . Its Quick Fix musical mode simplifies many coarse imaging task — such as optimizing color and brightness — to a single suction stop of the shiner . But Elements also contribute you way to produce : it let in tool for more - innovative task , such as withdraw unsightly utility wire .

The best part is that you do n’t have to abandon iPhoto . The two programs work well together . you may employ iPhoto to import , organize , and share photos , and Elements to raise them .

I ’ll show you how to comprise Photoshop Elements 3 into your iPhoto 4 workflow , and then I ’ll step you through a basic ikon - editing routine that will add immediate sparkle to your favorite photos . ( And for a hand - on tutorial of some specific Elements features — the Spot Healing brush and Clone Stamp puppet — click here . )

Accessing Elements from iPhoto

You have a couple of options for add together Elements to your iPhoto workflow .

As a ReplacementIf you contrive to use Elements for all your editing chore , you’re able to set iPhoto to hand off effigy to Elements whenever you double - select a photo .

To position this up , open iPhoto ’s General druthers pane of glass and set up the Double - Click Photo option to Opens Photo In . In the resulting dialogue box seat , pilot to Applications : Adobe Photoshop Elements 3 , and double - chink on the course of study ’s icon .

Editing with a Safety Net

error happen . When you edit an image in iPhoto or Elements , iPhoto first nominate a backup of the original image . So even if you execute major surgery on an image , the original interpretation is always just a mouse - get across aside . To undo your changes , simply dawn on the photo and choose Photos : Revert To Original .

For this refuge mesh to work out , however , you must not change the Indian file name or file type during redaction ( most of the digital images you ’ll work with will be JPEGs ) . If you ’d like to experiment with unlike redaction trend , twin the file cabinet in iPhoto before open it in Elements ( pick out Photos : Duplicate ) .

The Fast Fix

iPhoto ’s Enhance button optimise brightness , color balance , and contrast with a single click . Photoshop Elements 3 bring home the bacon a similar — but much more effective — one - come home root shout Auto Smart Fix . This feature article analyzes your image for problem and then makes all of its chastening in one pas .

To use Auto Smart Fix , choose Enhance : Auto Smart Fix , or switch to Quick Fix mode by sink in on the Quick Fix push button in the upper veracious recess of the screen . Quick Fix mode combines the most - common prototype - rectification tools with large before - and - after ikon , so you may easily judge the succeeder of your edits .

In Quick Fix mood , elaborate the General Fixes palette and select the Auto button next to the Smart Fix guide . If you do n’t like the solution , then take Undo and try adjusting the Amount slider by hand .

Develop a Routine

The Auto Smart Fix command may be all a particular image needs . If not , there ’s much more you could do to address specific trouble .

Fix BacklightingWhen you photograph someone against a shining desktop , he or she often appears in silhouette . To contribute your hump one out of the shadows and restore some of that miss detail , go to Enhance : align light : Shadows / Highlights . ( Or use the Lighting Levels in Quick Fix mode . ) To reveal shadow detail , cart the Lighten Shadows slider to the right . And if the Sunday or your tv camera ’s flash washed out the bright orbit of your photo , drag the Darken Highlights slider to the right to regain some of the lost detail .

Improve Overall BrightnessIf your entire photo is too drear , or if it just looks dull and flat , you’re able to give the trope a rise by adjusting its levels . In Standard Edit manner , go to Enhance : Adjust Lighting : Levels and drag the black- and white - gunpoint slider ( the little triangles beneath the histogram graph ) so they just meet the leftover and correct edges of the graph . To scale down or increase the brightness of the image ’s midtones , get behind the in-between triangle to the left or correct .

obviate Color CastsGenerally , digital cameras do a good job of set to dissimilar color conditions , such as incandescent or fluorescent Light Within . But if your photo ’s color seems off , you may adjust it in several ways . Here are two of the best :

If the image has an area thatshouldbe gray , white , or opprobrious , select Enhance : Adjust colour : hit Color Cast . Then use the eyedropper dick to cluck on a spot that should be gray , white , or black . Elements remaps the range of a function ’s colors accordingly .

If the Remove Color Cast feature article does n’t do the job , choose Undo ( Command - Z ) and flip to Quick Fix modal value . Expand the Color pallet , and drag the Temperature and Tint sliders to the left over or right until you ’ve corrected the colour balance .

Sharpen Up

Almost all digital persona benefit from a little sharpening before printing . Elements 3 leave several sharpening options . The most precise is the Unsharp Mask command ( Filter : Sharpen : Unsharp Mask ) .

The perfect sharpening configurations are mostly a matter of personal preference . However , if you design to print your photo on an ink - jet printing machine , you ’ll get the secure results by oversharpening a bit .

Here ’s a good start point for sharpen a digital pic : In the Unsharp Mask dialog box , set the Amount setting to between 250 and 300 and Radius to 0.7 . If the image contains areas of coherent color , such as even pelt tones or blue sky , set the Threshold setting to 2 or 3 to avoid sharpening these area .

Adjust these configurations as need to improve definition . You ’ll know you ’ve gone too far if you seesharpening halo — distorted colors that appear along edge and other inside information . To preview how your image will look when print , zoom out to 50 percentage .

Save and Return to iPhoto

When you ’ve finish refine your photograph , take the Save bidding ( Command - S ) . In the JPEG Options dialog corner , mark Quality to 12 . This minimizes compression while maximizing persona quality . Now when you rejoin to iPhoto , it will update its thumbnail image to reflect the enhancements you made .