How to Salvage Photos Gone Horribly Wrong

News
By
published

Not everybody has time to learn photography 101. Here’s how to make the best of bad images after the damage has been done, with software.

How to Fix a Bad Photo

The wealth of affordable (but not always high-quality) consumer cameras, plus camera-enabled devices such as cell phones, has us taking more photos than ever before.  And the abundance of photo-oriented Websites such as MySpace, Flickr, and WebShots gives us ample places to share our photos.  But unfortunately, none of this has really helped us to take better photos. In this article, we look at how to fix common problems that can make a good photo go bad.

I use Ulead’s PhotoImpact for my tutorial, but the same concepts apply in Adobe Photoshop, Corel Photo-Paint, Jasc Paint Shop Pro, and just about any other photo editor.

See more Computing News
TOPICS
Tom's Guide Staff
Tom's Guide Staff

Tom's Guide upgrades your life by helping you decide what products to buy, finding the best deals and showing you how to get the most out of them and solving problems as they arise. Tom's Guide is here to help you accomplish your goals, find great products without the hassle, get the best deals, discover things others don’t want you to know and save time when problems arise. Visit the About Tom's Guide page for more information and to find out how we test products.

Latest in Creative Software
Screenshots of Final Cut Pro 11
Apple releases Final Cut Pro 11 for Mac, plus iPhone and iPad updates — here's what's new
A smiling asian woman wearing a tank top and a ball cap sitting at a computer with creative doodles surrounding the top portion of the image. Text reads, "Wondershare Filmora. Filmora 14. More AI, Videos in Less Clicks. Bring AI-powered efficiency and simplicity to your everyday editing."
Wondershare Filmora’s latest update streamlines video editing and content creation with new tools
Microsoft Surface Pro 11
Microsoft confirms when Adobe apps will natively run on Qualcomm Snapdragon PCs
Wondershare Filmora 13.1.0 update
Wondershare Filmora Offers a new AI Music Generator for Video Editors at All Levels
A black and white double exposure of a farmhouse with the silhouette of trees around the edges of the frame
How to create a double exposure in Photoshop
A screenshot showing the Lightroom logo opened in Adobe Lightroom
How to copy and paste edit settings in Adobe Lightroom
Latest in News
Galaxy Z Fold 6 shown in hand
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 just got these major upgrades with One UI 7
OnePlus 13
OnePlus is ditching this iconic feature — and there's serious backlash
Robert Pattinson in "Mickey 17" movie (2025)
When is ‘Mickey 17’ coming to streaming? Here’s our best guess
Horizon Forbidden West on PC
AI-powered PlayStation characters are being tested at Sony — what we know
(L-R) Will Smith as Robert Clayton Dean and Gene Hackman as Edward "Brill" Lyle in "Enemy of the State"
Prime Video’s top 10 has just been crashed by a ‘90s action-thriller with Will Smith — now's the perfect time to stream it
iOS 19 logo on an iPhone
iOS 19 could give your iPhone a whole new Vision Pro-inspired look
More about creative software
Screenshots of Final Cut Pro 11

Apple releases Final Cut Pro 11 for Mac, plus iPhone and iPad updates — here's what's new
A smiling asian woman wearing a tank top and a ball cap sitting at a computer with creative doodles surrounding the top portion of the image. Text reads, "Wondershare Filmora. Filmora 14. More AI, Videos in Less Clicks. Bring AI-powered efficiency and simplicity to your everyday editing."

Wondershare Filmora’s latest update streamlines video editing and content creation with new tools
Apple Mac Studio M4 Max review unit on a desk

Apple Mac Studio M4 Max review: More powerful than ever
See more latest
14 Comments Comment from the forums
  • aevm
    Loved the article. Thanks guys!
    Reply
  • superhighperf
    how about fixing the photo that was in the cover?
    http://media.bestofmicro.com/adjustment-saturation-tuning,0-4-178852-2.jpg

    bait and switch article ?!?!?!?!
    Reply
  • Damn... You didn't fix the photos, you actually RUINED mosto of them...
    Reply
  • As a professional VFX artist, I have to say that this article is a little on the juvenile side. Some of the "after" photos contain less information than the "before" photos. You never want to clip information in your photograph, and always want even exposure. Never underestimate a good matte for affecting only certain portions of your image. Furthermore, a good levels adjustment never hurt, and can always add some "punch" to your image.
    Reply
  • The article text provides a reasonable introduction to basic photo editing, but the "fixed" photos are perfect examples of what happens when a beginner goes way, way overboard. It's too bad because the miserable "after" photos significantly undermine the credibility of the article.
    Reply
  • mediv42
    Why do people insist a bluer sky or greener trees make a better picture? Isn't the point of photography to capture what actually is, not whimsically change it to what you want it to be? Sure I understand if you underexposed the photo, or your white balance is off or whatever, but shouldn't the goal generally be what the subject actually looked like?
    Reply
  • cruiseoveride
    good stuff. Now to see if this works in gimp.
    Reply
  • idisarmu
    This reminds me of the millions upon millions of teenage girls who see a picture of themselves and say, "Oh noes!!! ACNE!" *cries for hours and then suddenly has epiphany* "WAIT! I've GOT IT! I'll just crank up the brightness and make the picture black&white! THANK YOU COMPUTER!"
    Reply
  • idisarmu
    It's a shame that the raccoon now looks like it is hovering.
    Reply
  • AARRGGHHH
    idisarmuThis reminds me of the millions upon millions of teenage girls who see a picture of themselves and say, "Oh noes!!! ACNE!" *cries for hours and then suddenly has epiphany* "WAIT! I've GOT IT! I'll just crank up the brightness and make the picture black&white! THANK YOU COMPUTER!"
    Black and White hides zits? That IS an epiphany.

    I enjoyed the article.

    Reply
Most Popular
MacBook Air M4
MacBook Air M4 benchmarks are here — here's how it compares to the MacBook Pro, Windows laptops and more
ExpressVPN Lightway Turbo logo
Fast just got faster – introducing ExpressVPN's Lightway Turbo
Robert Pattinson in "Mickey 17" movie (2025)
When is ‘Mickey 17’ coming to streaming? Here’s our best guess
Galaxy Z Fold 6 shown in hand
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 just got these major upgrades with One UI 7
OnePlus 13
OnePlus is ditching this iconic feature — and there's serious backlash
(L-R) Will Smith as Robert Clayton Dean and Gene Hackman as Edward "Brill" Lyle in "Enemy of the State"
Prime Video’s top 10 has just been crashed by a ‘90s action-thriller with Will Smith — now's the perfect time to stream it
Horizon Forbidden West on PC
AI-powered PlayStation characters are being tested at Sony — what we know
Asus VU Air Ionizer Monitor on desk with person relaxed in office chair
This Asus monitor acts as a makeshift air purifier — your allergies will thank you later
samsung galaxy s25 edge mockups at galaxy unpacked 2025
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge leak could be bad news for battery life — what we know
Catalina Sandino Moreno as Tabitha and David Alpay as Jade in "From" season 3
‘From’ season 4 producers reveal release window — and I’m starting to get nervous