How to Edit Digital Photos

This How.com.vn teaches you how to edit photos on your computer. Both Windows and Mac computers have free, built-in photo editing software.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

On Windows

1
Move the photos onto your computer. If the photos which you want to edit are currently on your smartphone, you'll need to place them on your computer before proceeding.
- If the photos are on an SD card from a digital camera, you'll need to plug the SD card into your computer's SD card reader (or a USB SD card adapter) before you can move the photos onto your computer.
Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen. This prompts the Start window to pop up.
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3
Open Photos. Click the Photos app icon, which resembles a pair of white, stylized mountains on a colored background. Doing so will open the Photos app.
- If you don't see the Photos app icon anywhere in the Start window, type photos into the search bar at the bottom of the window, then click Photos at the top of the search results.
4
Select a photo to edit. Scroll through the available photos until you find the one that you want to edit, then click it to open it in its own window.
- You can change the folder that the Photos app displays by clicking the Folders tab at the top of the window and selecting your preferred folder.
This option is in the upper-right corner of the window. Doing so prompts a drop-down menu.
It's in the drop-down menu. Doing so opens the photo in the "Edit" menu.
7
Use a filter. By default, opening the "Edit" menu places you on the Enhance tab, which lists several Microsoft filters on the right side of the window. You can add a filter to your photo by clicking the filter in question.
- To adjust the level of filter used, click and drag the slider at the bottom of the photo left or right. Dragging it left will decrease the filter's effect, while dragging right will increase the filter's effect.
8
Auto-enhance your photo. If you want to allow Windows to determine and apply the best settings for your photo, click the rectangular "Enhance your photo" button near the top-right side of the window. This will automatically enhance your photo's brightness, contrast, and so on.
- You can drag the vertical bar that appears in the middle of the "Enhance your photo" button after clicking it left or right to decrease or increase the amount of auto-enhancement.
It's in the upper-right corner of the window. Doing so opens a list of manual adjustments you can make to your photo.
10
Manually edit your photo. On the right side of the window, you'll have several options you can use to edit your photo:
- Light — Click and drag this slider left or right to decrease or increase the light in the photo. You can also click the Light heading to open a list of individual light aspects (e.g., "Contrast") which can be adjusted.
- Color — Click and drag this slider left or right to decrease or increase the amount of color in the photo. You can also click the Color heading to open a list of individual color aspects (e.g., Warmth) which can be adjusted.
- Clarity — Click and drag this slider left or right to decrease or increase the sharpness of your photo. Keep in mind that increasing sharpness also increases the photo's grain.
- Vignette — Click and drag this slider left or right to decrease or increase the photo's vignette, which is a black border around the photo.
- Red eye — Click this option and then click a red eye to remove the redness from your photo.
- Spot fix — Click this option and then click a spot that you want to remove from the photo.
11
Click Save a copy. It's in the bottom-right corner of the window. This will save your changes in a copy of the original photo; you can find the edited version of the photo next to the original version in its folder.
- You can also just click Save to save the changes to the original without making a copy.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

On Mac

1
Move the photos onto your computer. If the photos which you want to edit are currently on your smartphone, you'll need to place them on your computer before proceeding.
- If the photos are on an SD card from a digital camera, you'll need to plug the SD card into your computer's SD card reader (or a USB-C SD card adapter) before you can move the photos onto your computer.
Click the Photos app icon, which resembles a multicolored pinwheel on a white background, in your Mac's Dock.
Find a photo that you want to edit, then double-click it to open it in its own window.
It's in the top-right corner of the photo's window. Doing so opens the photo in the Photos editor view.
5
Add a filter to your photo. Click the Filters tab at the top of the window, then click a filter which you want to use on the right side of the window.
- Skip this step if you don't want to use a filter with your photo.
You'll find this at the top of the window. Doing so will open a list of editing options on the right side of the window.
7
Manually edit your photo. On the right side of the window, click the triangle to the left of any of the following options (or any other options here) to open the option's editing mode, then use it as needed:^{[1]XResearch source}
- Light — Click and drag the "Light" slider left or right to decrease or increase the photo's light settings. You can also click Options below the "Light" heading to view and adjust specific light aspects (e.g., contrast).
- Color — Click and drag the "Color" slider left or right to decrease or increase the photo's color settings. You can also click Options below the "Color" heading to view and adjust specific light aspects (e.g., saturation).
- Black and White — Edit the available options, or click Options to view more aspects to edit.
- Retouch — With the "Retouch" menu open, click a spot to remove it from the photo. You may first have to zoom in.
- Red-eye — With the "Red-eye" menu open, find and click an instance of red-eye in your photo to remove it. You may first have to zoom in.
- White balance — With the White Balance menu open, click a color on your photo to adjust automatically the white balance. You can also click Options to view and edit specific white balance options.
8
Save your changes. When you're done editing your photo, click Done in the top-right corner of the window. The changes will be saved.
- You can revert your changes to the photo at any time by double-clicking the photo in Photos, clicking Edit, and clicking Revert to Original in the upper-left side of the window.
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Question
How do I find pictures on my phone?
Community Answer
Most phones have a photos app. Click on it and you should find all of your photos.
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Tips

Both iPhones and Androids have some editing options built into their respective Photos apps.^{[2]XResearch source}
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You can always use a third-party program, such as Photoshop, to edit your photos. To do so, make sure the program is installed on your computer, then right-click your photo, select Open With, and click the name of the program you want to use.
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Warnings

It's best to edit a copy of an image rather than the original, as editing the original copy of an image may result in losing the original version if your computer loses track of the editing history. To make a copy of a photo, find the photo on your computer, click it once, press Ctrl+C (Windows) or ⌘ Command+C (Mac), then press Ctrl+V (Windows) or ⌘ Command+V (Mac) to paste the copied photo in the current location.
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