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Fix problems with your images (Part 1, lighting) |
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Discover how to improve and fix photos with the free Paint.NET
image-editing tool
It's very rare that a photo comes out perfectly. Whether you snap
away with a digital camera or used a more traditional film-based camera, there
will be photos in your collection that have not come out the way you hoped. You
might be tempted to ditch the photo and move on, but before doing so, you may be
interested to learn that your PC can go a long way to fixing and improving poor
photos - in this three-part series we'll look at techniques for improving your
image's lighting (below), plus reveal how to use the different selection tools
for adjusting specific parts of your image (see
here) and finally reveal how to fix red-eye and remove other blemishes like
scratches and hair (see
here).
Most people have at least one image-editing tool in their armoury,
but in this tutorial we're going to introduce you to a free tool that you can
use alongside any existing image-editing applications you have. Paint.NET
is completely free to use, and is designed as a replacement for the built-in
Paint program bundled with Windows. But in terms of raw power, features and
usability, Paint.NET is much closer to commercial tools like Paint
Shop Pro and Photoshop Elements.
We assume you already know how to connect up your digital camera to
your PC to transfer images across, or that you have a scanner to scan in your
film-based photos. We open with a step-by-step guide to installing Paint.NET,
then we'll crack on and reveal how to darken or lighten images using a variety
of different tools.
Level: Intermediate
What you'll learn:
Install and set up Paint.NET; fix poorly lit photos; select individual
parts of images for editing; remove red eye and other blemishes from your
images
What you'll need:
Paint.NET (click here)
More information:
Scanning tips |
| Installing Paint.NET |
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1. Install .NET Framework 2.0
Paint.NET requires that .NET Framework 2.0 is
installed on your system - if it isn't, download the larger
file and the set-up process will install it. |
2. Choose custom installation
Once the .NET Framework is set up, the installation proper
will begin. Select Custom at the first screen and click
Next. |
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3. Remove file associations
When prompted, untick the two "default editor" options if
you have another image editor installed. Complete the set-up
wizard. |
EXPERT TIP
There are two versions of Paint.NET available for download - if you
have the .NET Framework 2.0 installed on your PC (check in Add or Remove
Programs for Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0), then download the smaller
version. If not, download the larger version, which includes the
additional components Paint.NET needs. |
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Fix lighting problems
Image-editing tools like Paint Shop Pro and Paint.NET - which
you'll find as a free download
here - offer different ways of altering the lighting in images, enabling you
to fix problems with over- or underexposed shots. Although we've used
Paint.NET in this tutorial, you'll find the tips will work in most image
editors.
If you're about to scan in a photo, the time to make adjustments is
during the scanning process. Check your scanner's software to see what advanced
tools it offers - most should offer a Levels dialog or something similar.
Another tip: before you start tweaking your image, make sure you have a backup
in case your adjustments go awry. |
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Image editors offer more than one way of improving the lighting
levels in an image - some have more options than others, but Paint.NET
has all four major options available, as the annotated screenshot below reveals.
You'll find them all on the Adjustments menu.
The best tools for the job are Levels (sometimes
known as Histogram) and Curves. Before getting your hands too dirty, start by
selecting Adjustments > Auto-Levels - this will greatly improve
most images immediately, but you don't have to stop there - you can either
tweak the levels further or click Reset (or choose Edit >
Undo) to start again from scratch.
Annotation: Using Paint.NET's lighting tools
Fix problems with over- and under-exposed lighting |
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1 Brightness/Contrast tool
This is the simplest - but least effective - way of
fixing lighting problems with your image. It works
across the entire image as opposed to individual
pixels based on their colour. The contrast slider
helps prevent brightened images becoming washed out
2 Curves tool
This is the tool to select if you want to fine-tune
the intensity of the colours in your image - select
Luminosity to adjust the whole image, or RGB to
control the red, green and blue colours separately
3 Set curve points
The straight line represents the colours in the image
(darker at the bottom left, lighter at the top right).
Click to create a curve point, then move the line down
to darken, up to lighten. Create multiple points for
finer control
4 Auto levels
The Levels dialog is used to alter the exposure of an
image, so is of most use for correcting images that are too dark or too bright.
In many cases you'll get the best improvement simply by clicking the Auto button
5 Manual levels adjustment
Use the sliders to adjust the white and black points -
lightest and darkest areas - of the image. The grey slider adjusts the "average"
colour of the image. Experiment to see what effect each has. The RGB boxes offer
colour control
6 Hue and saturation controls
Use Hue to quickly replace one colour with another,
the position of the slider determines how extreme the change is. Use Saturation
to make the colours paler or more vibrant - slide it all the way left to remove
all colour
7 Lightness control
This offers a similar - but not identical - control to
the Brightness slider, and works in conjunction with the Hue and Saturation
controls. Again, it's not as effective as either the Levels or Curves dialog
boxes |
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