Memories were abstract, until technology revolutionised the history of human ideologies and perceptions. From capturing memories into a single thin film to the digitization of photographs into bits of data – truly the technology has left behind humanity.

One such application of photography is photo editing which have become the roots of various operations and tasks in today’s epoch. Photo editing can be defined as the alteration, amending or modification of an image according to the user’s requirement from the smallest resolution, pixel or the largest that an image can have. Photo editing can be done by various software tools depending upon the need or the level of requirement that is with higher professional requirements may require a higher level of tools where as normal editing can be done by usual software applications.

History:

Photo editing was born with photography, photo manipulation, graphics design and web designing services as the foundation of the subject. Earlier, photo manipulation was encompassed using photo retouching with paint, double exposure and then piecing the disparate negatives together in the dark room, or scratching the distinguished Polaroid. Airbrushes were also used for photo manipulation. Airbrush is a process of throwing a spray of color through a venture which leads to the impact of it in the output. A mixture of colours may also be used to generate a new colour out of primary colors.

In digital image editing the image can be manipulated in such a way that the resultant image gets different from the original image. It is a process of transforming the image to the type which is required before the presentation of it. Nowadays retouching is done via readymade filters which enable to remove the noisy effect from the image there by enhancing its look. In early days the retouching procedure was carried out in a dark room and only an experienced or learned person could do it. With advancements there are various filters which are present readymade to remove different type of noisy aspect from the image Also, digital photography and photo retouching can be bifurcated into the following types:

  • Technical Retouching
  • Creative Retouching

Technical Retouching:

Technical retouching involves the manipulation of the image to increase its beauty. This retouching can involve various aspects like color range, brightness, contrast, tints and hues, removal of unnecessary elements such that the image looks flawless. Image retouching of facial features is done generally to enhance the look of an individual and make the beauty look perfect.

Creative Retouching:

Creative retouching is inherited from technical retouching is aspect to the factors in concern. The image manipulation is done to provide fashion aesthetics, adding to the beauty, may be used for advertisement purpose. Creative retouching expands the imagination of the individual and can extend beyond boundaries. Creative retouching can make the image change its ambience and add to the distinctive look to the photograph.

Image editing may be done to give various looks that may be required to depict cultural look, night view, day view, professionalism, a model’s look, editing of the photographs required for advertisement and many more. The range of editing levels and cameras used many vary according to the purpose of the image.