Digital Focus: Digital Darkroom Essentials, Part 2

PC Darkroom: Software

Critical software: image editors, photo albums, and more.

Feature: Digital Darkroom Essentials, Part 2

By now, you've probably realized that there's more to digital photography than just owning a camera. You also need a PC, a printer, some software, and other accessories. Last week I discussed PC hardware requirements--memory, hard drive, ports, and that sort of thing. This week, let's continue our overview of the digital darkroom and discuss the software you'll want to use.

Image Editing

When it comes to digital photography, the single most important piece of software is your image editor. A good image editing program lets you do all sorts of common tasks like crop, rotate, color correct, airbrush away background elements, and print. There are a lot of good programs out there, but I have two favorites: Adobe Photoshop Elements and Paint Shop Pro.

Take some time to learn how to use your image editor. Read the manual, or buy a good how-to book that focuses on your software. You'll find that you can turn so-so pictures into excellent photos with just a little fine tuning.

Cataloging Your Photos

You'll also want some way to manage your photos. At first it might not seem hard to keep track of them, but it doesn't take long to build up hundreds or even thousands of files on your hard drive--and that's when photo management can become a nightmare. Thankfully, there's a whole class of software out there designed to help keep track of photos. Any one of these programs is perfect for helping to organize your digital photo collection: Adobe Photoshop Album, H&M Software StudioLine, and Jasc Paint Shop Photo Album 4.

All three programs are good, but I've fallen for Adobe's new software because of the clever way you can "tag" pictures with keywords without typing--you drag and drop pictures onto little thumbnails to associate them with easily searchable topics. And the timeline lets you narrow your search for images, a powerful way to track down pictures.

For tips on organizing your image files, see "Take Control of Your Digital Photos."

Memory Card Reader

Equipped with enough memory, lots of hard disk space, some USB ports, and image editing and management software, you've got everything you need to get busy with digital photography. But I have one last item to suggest.

I highly recommend that you purchase an inexpensive memory card reader so you don't have to mess with your camera's USB cable. Card readers come in many varieties. You can get a reader that accepts just the kind of memory card used by your digital camera, but I prefer multicard readers because they let you insert memory cards for any other portable devices you might happen to have.

I like the Dazzle 6-in-1 Reader, which attaches to a spare USB port on your PC. Once it's connected, you just insert your camera's memory card, then drag and drop the images to any folder on your hard disk.

Dave's Favorites: The Plugin Site

One of the great things about using an image editor like Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, or Jasc's Paint Shop Pro is that those programs work with universally accepted plug-ins.

Plug-ins, also known as plug-in filters, are small programs that give an image editor additional features and capabilities. Some plug-ins are more advanced versions of features already in the image editor--like an improved blur or sharpen filter. Others might add a special effect, like a page curl. Some are extremely useful; for example, they can remove distortion in a photo caused by a wide-angle lens or correct the color in a photo that has an obvious tint.

The Plugin Site is packed with tons of useful plug-ins (commercial programs as well as freeware), a short introduction for beginners, and other cool stuff.

Q&A: Erase Those Devilish Horns

I need to edit some photos that I took of my friend's family. There is a sculpture in the background of the pictures that ended up making it look like there is a horn coming out of the side of my friend's head. I knew it was there, but that was the best background available for the photo. I need to edit out the horn. What software should I use to do that?

--Bob McMillian, San Diego, California

Thankfully, Bob, that's a pretty simple editing job in many cases. Any image editing program that includes a Clone tool will work. This tool lets you paint over part of the picture with a different area of the photo. That means you can paint over the horn by simply copying a nearby section of background over it.

Hot Pic of the Week

Get published, get famous! Each week, we select our favorite reader-submitted photo based on creativity, originality and technique. Every month, the best of the weekly winners gets a prize valued at between $15 and $50.

Here's how to enter: Send us your photograph in JPEG format, at a resolution no higher than 640 by 480 pixels. Entries at higher resolutions will be immediately disqualified. If necessary, use an image editing program to reduce the file size of your image before e-mailing it to us. Include the title of your photo along with a short description and how you photographed it. Don't forget to send your name, e-mail address, and postal address. Before entering, please read the full description of the contest rules and regulations.

This week's Hot Pic: "Who's There?" by Len Kowalik, Ottawa, Ontario

Len has this to say about his photo: "I took this picture in Merida, Mexico, while on holiday there. We were walking down a street in the downtown area when the cat stuck his head through his private doorway. I took the picture with a Nikon CoolPix 995."

We want your feedback! Send your comments, questions, and suggestions about the newsletter itself to comments@bydavejohnson.com. If you have a question that you'd like to see answered in the weekly Q&A, send it to question@bydavejohnson.com.

For back issues, visit our Digital Photo Tips archive. Sign up to have the Digital Focus Newsletter e-mailed to you each week.