Single-Click Fixes in Photoshop Album

The quickest and easiest Photoshop Album edits to make in the Fix Photo dialog box are what are called Single Click Fixes. These are automatic edits, meaning you really have no say-so in how Album applies them.

You click the Fix you want to apply, and an algorithm (or mathematical formula) churns. Then, boom, the edit is applied.

With Single Click Fixes, you're putting your trust in Album's hands. Often, the quality of your images is improved.

In image editing, there is no right or wrong. The most important factor in whether an edit is good is what your eye perceives and likes or dislikes. The contrast and color may look great to you and downright lousy to someone else. If you're editing images to please yourself, that's all that matters. If you're editing images to please someone else, well, maybe the two of you can reach a happy compromise.

One thing to keep in mind. Although your image may benefit nicely from using one of the automatic fixes (Auto Color, Auto Levels, or Auto Contrast), using more than one probably won't make the image look any better. In fact, it may make it look worse. Feel free to go ahead and experiment. That's why the Undo button is in close proximity.

Here are the steps to apply a Single Click Fix:

1. If your photo isn't already displayed in the Fix Photo dialog box, select it in the Photo Well. Then choose Edit --> Fix Photo.

Or simply double-click the image once to enlarge the view and double-click again to bring it into the Fix Photo dialog box.

2. Select the Single Click Fix option in the top right of the Fix Photo dialog box.

3. Choose one of the following options:

• Auto Color: This option fixes two problems. First it removes color casts and adjusts the color balance of an image. Your image has a color cast if its image looks too red, as in Figure 1 or too blue. It also corrects oversaturated (neon like) or washed out colors, as shown in Figure 1. The black-and-white figures just don't do this editing command any justice.

• Auto Levels: This command lightens the highlights and darkens the shadows in a photo. In other words, it automatically improves the contrast of an image, shown in Figure 2. This algorithm works by defining the lightest pixels as white, the darkest pixels as black, and redistributing the gray, or midtone, pixels in between.

• Beware that although adjusting Auto Levels may vastly improve the contrast quality, it can sometimes also produce an undesirable color cast.

• Auto Contrast: This option also lightens the highlights and darkens the shadows of an image. It does so by converting the lightest pixels white, and the darkest pixels black. This option may not be quite as effective in improving the contrast, but it also preserves the color balance of an image and doesn't cause any unsightly color casts. It works especially well with hazy images like the New York City skyline shown in Figure 3.

• Try using Auto Levels first, and if it causes a color cast, click Undo and apply Auto Contrast instead.

• Sharpen: This command adds clarity to an image by sharpening the edges of objects in the photo, as shown in Figure 4. Sharpening is a technique that increases the contrast between pixels to give the illusion of improved focus. Try applying the Sharpen fix more than once to further improve a fuzzy picture.

• Don't get too carried away, however. It can't take a photo that was shot out of focus and make it look like it was taken on a tripod. In fact, you can oversharpen an image. If it starts looking grainy, you know you've gone too far. So hurry and click Undo.

4. Choose the Before and After tab in the top left of the dialog box and compare the original unedited image with the edited version.

5. If the image looks better, click OK to exit the Fix Photo dialog box, unless you have more editing to do.

The edited image replaces the original image in the Photo Well.