How to Edit a Group Wedding Picture

Customize your own wedding photos with photo-editing software.

Wedding photos are a record of one of the most special days of your life. A wedding album will include photos of the couple and group shots with family, friends and attendants. After spending money for hiring a photographer for the special day, you may want to consider editing your wedding photos yourself to save on the costs. With the use of photo-editing software, you can edit group wedding photos to add your own personal touch.

Things You'll Need

• Photo editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop

Instructions

1. Open the software and select "Open" from the File menu to open the desired group photo. Browse and select the photo to open it.

2. Use the red-eye tool in the software to remove red eyes from the photo. Select the red-eye tool and drag the tool over the red eyes.

3. Select the crop tool and drag the tool across the photo while holding down on the left button on your mouse. Adjust the size of the crop box as desired to resize your photo.

4. Remove blemishes, beauty marks and acne that are too visible with the clone tool. Select the clone tool in the software. Locate a skin area that is not affected by the blemish, beauty mark or acne. Click the left mouse button while holding down "Ctrl" on your keyboard to make a source of the area. Paint over the affected area with the clone tool to remove the area.

5. Convert the image in black and white for a more nostalgic feel by selecting "Mode" and "Grayscale" from the Image menu in the software.

6. Adjust the brightness in the image to make a dark picture lighter or a light picture darker. Select the Image menu and click on "Adjustments." Select "Brightness/Contrast" from the drop-down list. Adjust the sliders by moving them to the right and left for both the brightness and contrast until the image is as desired.

7. Adjust the levels for the image to boost shadows, midtones and highlights. Click on "Levels" from the Adjustments drop-down list in the Image menu. Adjust the three sliders by moving them left and right until the image is as desired. The leftmost slider represents the image's shadows, while the rightmost represents the highlights. The center slider is the midtones.

8. Create a duotone with two desired colors such as black and blue. Follow the procedures in Step 6 to convert the image to duotone. Click on "Duotone" in the Mode drop-down list from the image menu. Select the two desired colors by clicking on the colored squares.

9. Adjust the curves for your duotone to boost the colors. Click on the graph-like figure next to the colored squares in the duotone menu. Place points on the curves by clicking on a spot in the curve. Click and drag the curve up or down to make changes to the image. Remove points by clicking and dragging the point away from the curve. Click "OK" when you are satisfied with the image.

10. Add text to the photo such as commentaries or a summary of the photo. Select the text tool and click on the image in the desired spot. Type the desired text. Highlight the entire text and change the font, color and size as desired using the options in the Character or Paragraph palettes. Use the Selection tool to move the font to the desired position on the photo.

11. Save the file as a copy, rather than overwriting the original file. Click on "File" and select "Save" from the menu.

Tips & Warnings

• Experiment with the various effects in the Filter menu on your photo. Click on the menu and select the desired effect to apply it to the photo.

References

• Adobe: Photoshop Help and Support
• Digital Photography Tips: Digital wedding photography tip -- carefully edit the photos