EDIT PHOTOS WITH PAINT.NET
Quickly fix unnatural colours
Due to light coming in via the stained glass window, our photo (right) has taken on a garish purple tone. You might be tempted to simply switch it to a blackand-white image (we’ll explain the best way to do this later), but there are ways to correct its colours - such as with Paint. NET’S Hue and Saturation controls. To start, open your photo, then select ‘Hue / Saturation’ from the Adjustments menu (or press Ctrl+shift+u).
You can now drag the top slider (Hue) left and right to correct the colours. This requires a little trial and error, but as we’re looking to cool down the image we’ve moved the pointer to the blue and green tones on the scale. Now drag the Saturation slider to the left or right to reduce or increase the strength of the new colour. Finally, use the Lightness slider to manage the tone of the colour being applied, with darker tones to the left and lighter to the right.
Compare the before (left) and after (right) shots of our photo and you can see that these three sliders, used together, have produced a more natural result.
Fix white balance errors
Most cameras do a good job of adjusting the white balance in photos (meaning areas that should be white, such as clouds, don’t end up as insipid shades of grey, yellow or other colours). However, they don’t always get it right. If you have photos with this problem, press Ctrl+l to open Paint.net’s Levels window.
The window comprises two charts, known as histograms, which illustrate the distribution of tones in your image; lighter tones at the top of each scale, darker tones below. By dragging the small sliders in the middle, you can change the balance of those tones and fix whitebalance problems. Drag the upper slider for the left-hand histogram, for example, and everything in your image that’s lighter than the position you move it to will turn white. Drag the lower slider up, and everything darker than the slider’s position will turn black.
In our photo (below left), the sky had a nasty yellow tint. So we dragged the handles on the left-hand slider down until we recovered the missing white tones. Likewise, if your image has no true blacks – only deep greys – drag the lower slider up to darken those tones and give a more punchy result.
If you need some help, click the Auto button to see how Paint.net thinks the levels should be adjusted, then try making further small adjustments.
Crop using rule of thirds
The rule of thirds is a widely used convention whereby images are divided into an imaginary three-by-three grid, and important elements like horizons, people and points of focus are aligned with the horizontal and vertical lines on the grid. This results in more eye-catching compositions.
Some cameras include grids that let you compose your shots when taking them, but you can also fix wonky images retrospectively. One method is to crop your photo using trial and error, but using guides in Paint.net is more effective. Download the free Grid Maker plug-in by clicking ‘Here is the DLL’ at www.snipca.com/35101 (at the bottom of the first post). Close Paint.net, then copy the contents of the ZIP file you’ve just downloaded to C:\program Files\paint. Net\effects. Restart Paint.net.
The photo we’re going to work with is 1200x900 pixels. The dimensions of our finished image will be smaller since repositioning the image will mean it’s also cropped.
In our example (see screenshot above), we’ll first create a new canvas that’s a third smaller than that of our original image. To do this, click File, New, then enter 800 and 600 in the Width and Height boxes respectively. Open the Layers window (press F7), then click the first icon at the bottom to create a new layer. Click the layer to select it (it will be called Layer 2).
Now click Effects, open the Render submenu and click Grid Checker Maker. This overlays a fine grid on to your image. As you only want a grid of three by three, divide the dimensions of your cropped image by three to determine the size of each block in the grid. We need 266 by 200 pixels, so untick ‘Same step H/V’ and enter 266 in the horizontal step box and 200 in the vertical step box. Click OK. Click the spanner icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and drag the opacity slider left until you reach 100 to make the grid layer semi transparent.
Open the image you want to crop, press S to switch to the select tool, then Ctrl+a to select everything. Press Ctrl+c to copy the image, then switch to the image you
just added the grid to. Click Background in the Layers panel and press Ctrl+v to paste the image. Because the picture is larger than the document, Paint.net asks what you want to do with it. Select ‘Keep Canvas Size’.
Drag the image until the focal point lines up with one of the spots where the lines on the grid intersect. Optionally adjust the size of the pasted image by dragging the handles on its edges, then press Enter. Untick Layer 2 (see screenshot on page 51) to hide the grid, then save your picture.
Quickly fix poorly exposed photos
Using Paint.net’s ‘Brightness/contrast’ tool might seem like the best option if you have an under- or over-exposed photo, but it can result in lost detail. A better method is to use layers.
First, duplicate the layer containing your image (press F7 to open the Layers window, then click the Duplicate Layer – 1 in our screenshot). Now select this duplicated layer and press F4 to open the Layer Properties window. If the original image is too dark, set the duplicated layer’s Blend Mode to Additive , then adjust the opacity slider until you’ve lightened the darkest areas. If it’s too light, set the Blend Mode to Multiply and use the opacity slider to adjust the intensity of the result.
Straighten horizons
When trying to fix a photo with a wonky horizon, you’ll probably be tempted to use your image editor to rotate it by a few degrees. However, it’s hard to make fine adjustments using this method.
Instead, load the image in Paint.net, press S to enable the Select tool, then select the entire image by pressing Ctrl+a. Now switch to the Move Selected Pixels tool by pressing M. Move your cursor so it sits close to one of the corners of your image (but slightly outside of the selection) and you’ll notice that it transforms into a curved, double-headed arrow. Hold down the left mouse button or press on your trackpad and drag left and right to rotate the image to exactly the position you need.