Mobile photography editing is where mobile photographers can make or break a photo. With so many filters, sliders and presets available, it is easy to get carried away and over-edit a photo. The key is to enhance a photo, not change its essence.
A good edit should feel invisible. If the first thing people notice is that a photo has been edited, then it’s too much.
Begin by correcting, not decorating.
Before adding any effects, it is essential to make basic corrections. The first step in most photos is simply adjusting the exposure, contrast, and color temperature to correct problems. If a photo is too dark, make it a little brighter. If a photo’s colors are too blue or too orange, make the color warmer or cooler. If a photo is too flat, add a touch of contrast. It is amazing how little it takes to make a significant difference. This step is like cleaning up a photo, not changing it.
Keep colors natural.
Beginners often go overboard with color corrections. An overly saturated sky, neon skin tones, and heavy-handed filters might seem dramatic, but they often make photos look false. Instead, try to keep the colors natural. Make the colors of a photo only as saturated or desaturated as it is in life, or slightly more dramatic, but not unrealistic. Subtlety and restraint make a photo look professional. With color, less is almost always more.
Contrast should be subtle.
Contrast can add drama and dimension to a photo, but the problem is that too much contrast can be overdone. Too little contrast can result in flat, bland, photos. Adjust the contrast only as much as is necessary to keep an image’s subject in sharp focus, but not so much that it loses detail in the highlights and shadows. Many mobile photo apps offer the option of adding contrast through clarity or structure adjustments. This tool should be used with great care; if at all. Contrast is to enhance a photo’s depth, not overpower the scene.
Do not rely on presets.
Presets and filters can be helpful as a starting point, but they should not be the finished result of a photo edit. A lot of mobile photographers will apply a preset to all of their photos without thinking twice about it. The result is photos that are all edited in the exact same way. Instead of using presets as the final edit, consider them a point of departure. Apply a preset to your image, and then adjust it based on the specific image’s needs. Every photograph will have different lighting and colors, so it should be treated as such. It is the manual adjustment that sets apart casual from conscious editing.
Knowing when to stop is important.
The hardest part of editing is knowing when to stop. It is easy to endlessly play around with sliders and filters, thinking every tweak will make the photo “just a little bit better.” In truth, every edit makes a photo worse.
It’s useful to pause and walk away from an image, and then return and take another look at it in a short while. When you return to a photo, and you cannot think of a way to make it look “better,” then you’re probably done.
Editing should not be perfect, it should be balanced.
Edit like you are polishing, not restoring. The best photos are taken in-camera, with careful consideration of the light, composition, and timing. Editing should only help bring out a photo’s best elements. The sooner you can learn to stop editing, the more natural, consistent and professional your mobile photographs will look.