By Allen Brown
You know how you can enjoy playing a Nintendo or PlayStation game until you reach a certain level and suddenly you just can’t seem to go any further? That is precisely how photo editing can sometimes be. You can be making so much progress, and suddenly you will just find yourself pegged at a certain level for weeks and even months, and you won’t be able to breakthrough. At this point, you have the same three options as to when blocked in games; give up, keep trying everything hoping something would work, or get a hack.
A hack is usually just the knowledge of a little action or technique that will make your seemingly impossible challenge become a very cheap victory when applied. Fortunately, when applied diligently, several hacks can make your challenge in improving your photo editing skills a minor situation. I will be sharing a couple here.
What Is Photo Editing?
Before we go into the hacks, we need to understand what photo editing means. Photo editing is a series of steps and processes which utilize several effects to transform a picture from a specific appearance to another design. A person who is skilled in photo editing is referred to as a photo editor.
A good photo editor’s services are highly sought after because almost everyone loves having their pictures retouched and enhanced. In these days of highly vivid aesthetics, very few people will settle for something simple or untouched.
However, the photo editing skills which were highly applauded last month can suddenly be considered obsolete today. But by how much can a photo editor improve his skill without burning out? Very much, I believe, if the following hacks are followed religiously.
Hacks
● Relax:
This may sound simplistic, but the truth is that photo editing thrives on a high level of creativity. Unlocking your potential requires that your mind is at a certain level of rest. Being restless and agitated will do you no good in this game of photo editing. When your mind is relaxed, you can more objectively access where you stand, where you want to be, and what you need to do for you to get there. Indeed, calming down will do you much more good than falling for the temptation of freaking out when you encounter obstacles.
● Keep It Simple:
Ever heard the idiom “the devil is in the details”? It means that sometimes we can get so wrapped in the big picture that we lose sight of the little things that count. However, we photo editors are usually guilty of the exact opposite of this. We can get so caught up in the details that we lose sight of the big picture. A lot of times, we try to apply so many ideas to one picture. Many other times, we try to do too many things in different areas of the picture, and everything ends up so unsuitable, and we feel frustrated. The truth is that any reasonably shot picture does not need much effect for its beauty to be revealed. If we can stay true to the photo enhancement’s overall goal, we won’t encounter any problems.
● Don’t Stick To The Plan:
Often, when we have a photo to edit, we usually analyze the picture and make up our minds on the best plan or manner of approaching the project. While that is highly commendable (good planning always is), never be so fixated on your initial goal that you are too rigid to change your design plan. This is because being dynamic does a lot in opening up your creativity.
● Get help:
Yes, I admit that you are a highly talented photo editor. I also acknowledge that you are a well-trained professional. I can even recognize that among your colleagues you are one of the best. However, despite all these, the fact remains. When you are stuck, get help. No one is an island. No matter how good you are, you can’t have a complete perspective on the craft of photo editing. There is always someone who has a perspective different from yours, and that perspective might just be the solution to your problem. Feeling stuck is a part of the journey, so just check out some tutorials such as at parkerphotographic.com/how-to-use-layers-in-gimp and solve your problem instantly.
Someone once told me that a problem only remains as one until it encounters a certain amount of knowledge; when it does, it gets resolved in no time. So whenever you feel stuck or uninspired, just relax, keep it simple and get help.
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