Image Enhancement Software - Selection Tools

     In one of my previous posts I touched on the use of software programs to enhance your images.  I thought that in this post I would expound on that subject and show you a few applications that I have found to work well.  First of all the program with the most name recognition when it comes to image enhancement is Adobe Photoshop, and rightly so.  Photoshop is used by graphic artists, publishers, and even Hollywood effects artists due to its robust features and flexibility.  No doubt that everyone would probably own it if not for one little catch, the full version is around $1500.  Now does the average photographer need the full on version, well I guess that depends on your budget and needs, but off hand I would say no.  However Adobe also offers Photoshop Elements, and although it can’t match the power and benefits of its big brother, for around $70 it does some pretty fantastic things.  Also they have a specialty image program called Lightroom which sells for around $150 and would be more than adequate for even high end professional photographers.
     Personally I use Corel Draw, Corel Photoshop, and Paintshop Pro along with Adobe   Photoshop Elements for all of my image enhancement.  I have found that with these products I can create just about any effect or enhancement that I care to use.  There are also some fine free image enhancement products available for free download that can do a descent if not stunning job.  So there, all you have to do is purchase or download any one of these great products and you’re off and running!  Ah if it were only that simple.  If you already have one of these products I don’t need to tell you that being able to fully utilize them takes only slightly longer than getting a Masters Degree in Micro Biology, so unless you are a geek prodigy, only take on the task of learning to use them one program at a time.
     The shame is that most people who purchase one of these programs never get passed the auto-fix selection in the adjust/drop down menu.  Don’t get me wrong, if you need it fast or aren’t too picky about your finished product this function will do just fine.  But if you find that you need to work on a selected portion of the image you will have to know how to segregate that portion from the rest of the image before making the improvements.  One of the most useful tools that these programs offer is what is called a selection tool.  It may go by slightly different names from one program to another and it may have options like quick select or magic wand, but when it comes down to it they all do about the same thing.  They select an area of the photo to be worked on without effecting the rest of
the photo.  We will now look at an example of this on the following photos.

     Here we have a public domain copy of an old impressionist painting with a small amount of enhancement added to bring out the colors.  But lets say we want to center more attention on the mother and daughter without changing the rest of the photo. By using the selection tool we can add more or different colors to specific areas that will hopefully catch the viewers eye and direct them to what we want them to notice.
     In this image I added more pink to the little girl’s dress and more blue highlights to the mother’s umbrella, thereby focusing more attention on the human elements of the painting.

     Being able to effect a color change, or light setting can take a nice photo from okay to something special.  Remember that anything you can apply to the entire photo can be applied to the selected area.  With a little practice the selection tool will become one of your favorite tools for creating eye catching appeal in your photos.