You have learned how to take good photos, but how about taking that photo from good to great?

The fastest way you can take your photos from drab to fab is editing. It's truly a perfectly rated activity that enhances the visual appeal of your photos and makes them tell the story you want them to tell.

If you have been looking to know more about editing your photos, you are in the right place. We share in this article 10 tips for creative editing and enhancing of your photos. Applying these tips and tricks to your photos will help you stand out from the crowd and be unique.

Let's get into them!

• Try Filters and Presets

We just have to admit that sometimes in-app colors, shadows, and lighting aren't enough. This is why you have to try filters and presets in and out of the game.

For many virtual photography artists like Amich, using editing apps like Lightroom is the go-to option. Apps like this give you the creative vision to embrace what your photo is saying fully and the ability to bring that story to life. Applying filters and presets can help you remove unwanted shadows, and cast lights where you need to, as well as many other things.

Another thing you can do is add external software like ReShade to your game to better your gameplay and provide better lighting for your photos. Admittedly, doing this can pose a risk of lagging your game but what greater gain than getting the best of your photos?

• Play with shadows and highlights

If you think using filters and presets is a stretch, then we suggest you try editing your shadows and highlights. Doing this can bring your photo to an incredibly different dimension, enabling your photo to be seen in another light.

For example, if you are looking to have an ominous-looking picture to get your viewers shaking in their boots, you must play around with shadows and the blacks of your photos. Doing this creates some sort of illusion of fright and conveys the actual message you're trying to pass across.

On the other hand, if your picture is a pretty nature pic, you want to enhance the beauty of that. For this, enhancing the lights and highlights to a considerable level works, giving the photo the exact story of innocence, beauty, and splendor of nature. It's just important to play around with your editing software to enhance details and properly let your photo showcase the art of storytelling and properly tell the story that it's intended to tell.

• Remove distractions

It is okay not to have every single detail in your photo. If it's not working for your photo, remove it! Removing unwanted elements from your photos does not only help you get a cleaner image, but you are also able to focus on the important bits of your photos.

There are many editing software with the object removal/healing feature so find the one that works best for you if you need to remove any part of your photo to achieve a cleaner and better photo.

• Experiment with black and white

Need your photo to have a timeless feel? Try black and white filters. It's worth it! If you don't believe us, check Amich's photos on Picashot. Converting your photos to black and white gives your photos an artistic feel. Using your editing software, experiment with different black-and-white conversion techniques to get the best version you need.

• Add text to your photos

This can give your photo a sense of intrigue. Think of your favorite quote, the name of the game, or any other text you want to share from a game and add it to your photo, and voila! a visually appealing and mind-stimulating photo is set.

Do this to add better context to your image or to enhance the storytelling. Ensure that the font and style of your text match with the photo so that it doesn't take away from the visual appeal of your photo. Fonts like Bebas, Clarendon, Requiem, Carena, and more can be used to enhance your image depending on the vibe you are going for.

• Add overlays and textures

Adding overlays and textures to your image can give it the visual interest that it needs. It will also enhance the atmosphere of your photo. Whether you are going for a vintage feel or an artsy feel, using the right overlay or texture can bring that to life.

You can get overlays and textures from places like Adobe, Etsy, and WeGraphic. Ensure to carry out your research before using any overlay to get the result you want.

• Pay attention to photo composition

Following rules might just be the thing you need to take your photos to the next level. The rule of thirds, leading lines, depth of field, and other rules of composition can enhance your photo and give it a better look.

Create depth with depth of field by selectively blurring the background or foreground. This can help create a sense of depth and draw attention to the main subject. Doing this can help guide the viewer's eye to what's important in the image.

It's the same as using leading lines to create a sense of depth and visual interest. By incorporating leading lines into your photo, you can enhance the overall composition and draw attention to the main subject. Leading lines can be actual lines in the scene, such as roads, paths, or fences, or they can be implied lines created by the arrangement of objects or elements within the frame.

For the rule of thirds, the most popular and usual starting point for many VP artists, the main idea is to position the important elements of your image along the grid of nine equal parts of two horizontal and two vertical lines. Placing the subject off-center and utilizing negative space can create a balanced composition, creating a visually pleasing photo.

• Experiment with color adjustments

Adjusting the color tones and hues can dramatically change the mood and atmosphere of your photos. Play with saturation, contrast, and white balance to achieve the desired effect. With this, you improve your creative vision and ability to create and edit stunning images as time goes by.

• Use vignettes

Vignettes are an underrated way to get your photo looking fab in seconds. It can help draw attention to the center of the frame and create a more immersive experience. The shadows bouncing off the photo can help improve its storytelling, so you must experiment with different vignette styles to enhance the overall impact of your photos.

• Adjust sharpness and clarity

Sometimes, this is all you need. Enhance the details and sharpness of your photos by adjusting the sharpness and clarity settings in your preferred editing software. This can bring your photos to life and properly showcase the details that need to be shown.

However, it's also important that you are careful not to overdo it, as it can result in an unnatural look.

• Keep practicing

This is the most important tip here. The more you practice and experiment with different editing techniques, the more you'll develop your own unique style and creative voice. Don't be afraid to try new things and go beyond the boundaries of your editing skills.

And that's it, Picashot fam!

We hope you learned one or two things from these and put them into practice. Practice truly brings you closer to perfection and doing this regularly can help you find your style, voice, and creative vision. As you experiment with different things, don't forget to share them on Picashot, the best virtual photography portfolio app for your photos. We are always available to cheer you on!

Get started on Picashot today!

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Photos from @VrPhotoGamess, @PikaPod, @horace0816 and @Rasori
Cover Photo from @Yama