Picture Perfect: Photography Tips

Troubleshooting tips for 9 common problems

If this happens:

The horizon isn’t straight

Try this:

Level it with the Image Rotate Custom (or Arbitrary) tool

If this happens:

You wanted black-and-white, not color

Try this:

Try the Remove Color or Desaturate command. Advanced methods: www.bythom.com/bandw.htm

If this happens:

You need a bigger image than your camera produced

Try this:

Use your editing software’s Resize Image Size command

If this happens:

The images completely disappeared from the card or your hard drive

Try this:

Retrieve the files with PhotoRescue (www.datarescue.com/photorescue)

If this happens:

The pictures don’t look sharp

Try this:

Use the Unsharp Mask tool (from the Filter menu). Try 100, .8, and 0 (or 50, 4, 4) as the values. Advanced methods: www.bythom.com/sharpening.htm

If this happens:

The color never looks right on your computer screen

Try this:

Look at the color management settings for your editing software and make sure that it’s set to “Web” or “sRGB”

If this happens:

The color looks off in the lab prints

Try this:

Purchase a color profile for your lab at www.drycreekphoto.com

If this happens:

The color varies from your screen to your ink-jet prints

Try this:

Assuming you know your screen is accurate, check the settings in your printer’s device driver. Or consult an online forum like those at www.dpreview.com

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