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Make Your Amateur Photos More

Professional
With everyone and their grandmother having a digital camera you can make almost anybody look like a
professional photographer, well, better-than-amateur at least. You can use this simple process on almost any
photo you take.

Lets start with our regular, old, point-and-shoot photo. This one was taken with a little higher-end camera, but it
can still use a lot of work.

First, were going to sharpen our image a bit using the Unsharp Mask [Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask]. We
dont want anything too drastic, so I used some low settings. Amount: 40%; Radius: 0.9 pixels; Threshold: 1 level.
You basically want enough to make a difference, but you dont want any glowing or hard edges.

Now were going to add a Levels Adjustment layer [Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels]. When the Levels
dialog opens, just click on Auto. A lot of people frown on the Auto Levels, but if you dont know what youre doing,
theyre a lifesaver.

Next step is to add a Brightness/Contrast Adjustment layer [Layer > New Adjustment Layer >
Brightness/Contrast]. Increase the Contrast a little bit, 10 is usually a good standard amount. Too much and it
looks fake.

One more adjustment layer the Hue/Saturation Adjustment layer [Layer > New Adjustment Layer >
Hue/Saturation]. Increase the Saturation very slightly. I usually never use more than 5-6.

Now you can probably already see how much of a difference these few steps make. One of the features of
Photoshop CS is the Photo Filter Adjustment layer. I went ahead and added a Photo Filter Adjustment layer
[Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Photo Filter], with the default Warming(85) setting.

Its a subtle change, but it usually makes the photo look nicer.

You can stop now and still end up with a nice photo, or you can continue on to add a little bit of background blur.

Im going to start by duplicating my Background Layer [Ctrl + J]. Then go to [Filter > Blur > Lens Blur]. I left the
settings default, and just lowered the Radius down until I get a decent, but not too drastic blur.

Now add a Layer Mask to your blurred layer [Layer > Add Layer Mask > Reveal All] and paint the focal areas
black to hide the blur. Once youre done, you can even alter the opacity of the blurred layer to reduce the amount
of the blur.

Heres a comparison to the original:

Original:

Retouched:

16 Comments
1.

July 30, 2008 5:16 pmSarai

For a moment I thought the original shot was nice; like what was the point of retouching it a bit.
Then seeing the retouched picture, it was actually nice. I love photography and I have learned that
you dont have to add a lot into an image. For example adding a lot of Hue/Saturation,
Brighten/Contrast, Sharpen, etc.

2.

September 18, 2008 6:14 pmJenn Harrison

This was very helpful and I was so excited until you said to: add a Layer Mask to your blurred layer
[Layer > Add Layer Mask > Reveal All] and paint the focal areas black to hide the blur. Once youre
done, you can even alter the opacity of the blurred layer to reduce the amount of the blur. Im new to all
of this how do you paint that???

3.

October 5, 2008 11:13 amGeorge Fisher

Theres a basic point to emphasize: a few seconds extra care when you are taking the picture can
save you an hour of repairing carelessness. Going back to retake the picture is an extension of the
same idea.

Retouching and cleaning up are most worth the trouble when there is no hope of re-taking the
picture, as in tourist shots when you will never go back, photos of people who are now dead or
greatly changed in appearance. Now that digital cameras eliminate the cost of film, take lots and
lots of pictures, bracket the exposures, bracket the color balance, Fire your camera like a machine
gun and then throw away most of the rejects. After you get to that stage, then retouch.

4.

November 25, 2008 7:09 pmDee

Thanks for this! Until I can afford an expensive camera, this page had some awesome tips!

5.

January 12, 2009 9:57 pmVandelay Design Blog 60 Photoshop Tutorials for Photo Touch-Ups

[...] Make Your Amateur Photos More Professional [...]

6.

January 12, 2009 11:12 pmWeb Page Design For You Blog Archive 60 Photoshop Tutorials for Photo TouchUps

[...] Make Your Amateur Photos More Professional [...]

7.

January 13, 2009 9:41 amkorrie

i totally loved this one. i learned a lot of things from it. im deff going to use it. lol an i totally did the
same thing i was like whats the difference it looks the same then i started doing it an saw such a
difference an learned a lot of tricks i like it a lot! thanks :]

8.

January 19, 2009 11:06 am60 tutoriais Photoshop para retoque de fotos Resistor Conspiracy

[...] Faa suas fotos amadoras parecerem profissionais [...]

9.

March 21, 2009 11:02 pmJonathan

If you consider, all the effects that youve added to the picture are not made onto the picture layer
and are separate layers. So if you add them into a folder and copy that folder to another picture
youd get the same outcome as starting from the beginning all over again. Your just copying the
hue/saturation settings to another image without having to go to Layer > New Layer Adjustments
and do all that.

10.

April 9, 2009 9:26 amRenad

gr8 tutorial thnx ! but how do i even alter opacity ?

11.

April 18, 2009 8:58 pmTrish

Wow, thanks. I pretty much do most of that stuff, but these are simple, yet amazing techniques!
Thanks!

12.

May 8, 2009 12:52 pmHwa

On a similar note to Jonathans comment, you can record this sequence of steps into an action, assign
it to a hotkey (F2 for example), and just use that for automation. An extra bonus of adjustment layers is
that they can be individually edited after initial application. For example, if you applied an adjustment
layer for a Blur at +3, you can click on the layer and change it to +5 at any point thereafter. This is in
contrast to applying direct effects on a single layer where mistakes or alterations must be undone and
reapplied.

13.

May 16, 2009 3:49 am60 Photoshop Tutorials for Photo Touch-Ups Online Free Application Software Tips Tools
Wallpapers

[...] Make Your Amateur Photos More Professional [...]

14.

July 21, 2009 1:24 pm10 Must Learn Photoshop Techniques | Almost Pro Foto

[...] 8. Overall Image Enhancement [...]

15.

September 27, 2009 1:42 amMeb1718

This was really helpful! Especially for people like me who dont have a good camera to begin with.
Subtle changes make a world of difference. Thank you for this simple yet useful Tut.

16.

October 5, 2009 3:48 amPhotoshop Tutorials for Photo Touch-Ups | Cosmos Blog -- Internet
News,Life,Culture,Polices,Resource,Make Money

[...] Make Your Amateur Photos More Professional [...]

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Post Details

Posted at April 4th, 2005 05:22pm

Posted by Tommy Maloney

Filed under Photography

Tagged with camera, digital, Photography, photoshop,Tutorials

16 Comments have been made

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