Do you ever find an image and wonder if it’s copyrighted? I’ve found myself asking that question more often as I work on content marketing or email outreach projects. It turns out, you don’t have to wonder — there are ways to find out if an image has been copyrighted.
1. Brighten your image.
Whether you’re taking a photo in a dimly lit room or the sun just didn’t want to cooperate that day, your images can come out looking a little dark. Luckily, you can easily brighten your photos to make the colors and details pop.
To brighten your images, you can use the exposure, highlights, shadows, whites, and blacks tools in the Light panel. If you’re looking to brighten just one part of your image, you can use the brush tool to adjust the exposure of certain areas.
If you’re editing in HubSpot, you can use the exposure and contrast tools to brighten your images.
2. Straighten your image.
If you took a picture and the horizon looks crooked, you can easily fix this with the straighten tool. This tool will automatically straighten the image or you can manually adjust it.
In the example below, I wanted to straighten the image so the horizon was parallel to the top of the image. I clicked the straighten tool and then clicked “Auto” to have the tool automatically straighten the image for me.
If you need to manually adjust the angle, you can click and drag the slider left or right.
3. Crop your image.
Cropping is an easy way to remove unwanted areas in your image. It also allows you to change the aspect ratio of your image to better fit the platform you’re sharing it on.
For example, you might want to crop a photo to a square if you’re going to post it on Instagram. Or, you might want to crop an image to a 16:9 aspect ratio if you’re going to use it in a presentation.
4. Remove dust and scratches.
If you’re scanning an old photo or you just have a really dirty lens, you might have to remove some dust and scratches from your image.
In Photoshop, you can use the Dust & Scratches filter to remove these imperfections, and in Lightroom, you can use the Spot Removal tool. Keep in mind that this tool is best for small, faint specks of dust, and might not work as well for larger, more noticeable scratches.
5. Remove red eye.
Red eye is a common side effect in photos of people and animals. It happens when the camera’s flash reflects off the back of the eye, making it look red. Even though it’s a quick and easy fix, it can be a big distraction in your photos. Most editing tools have a one-click feature to remove red eye.
In HubSpot’s photo editor, you can find the red eye tool under the “Retouch” tab. Simply click the red eye tool, then click on the red eye in your photo. Voila, it’s gone!
6. Make small color changes.
If you need to make a photo brighter, darker, or cooler, you can do so in under a minute using a photo editor.
In the example below, I used the “Exposure” tool in the HubSpot photo editor to darken the background of the photo. This made the text in the image stand out more.
7. Sharpen your image.
The sharpening tool is like the icing on the cake. It’s a great way to enhance the detail in your image, but it’s not always necessary. Use it sparingly.
If you’re working with a product image, you might want to sharpen the image to make the details pop. But if you’re working with a portrait, you might want to be more conservative with the sharpening tool.
In the example below, I’ve sharpened the image to make the text more legible. I’ve also increased the contrast to make the text stand out more.
But I’ve left the woman’s skin soft to make the portrait more flattering.
8. Soften your image.
If you want to soften your image, you can use the blur tool to do so. This can be helpful if you want to create a more subtle background, or if you want to blend a few colors together.
You can also use the blur tool to add a soft focus to your image. This can be a great way to draw attention to your subject, and it can also help to create a more dreamy look.
9. Add a vignette.
Vignettes are a great way to draw attention to the subject of your photo. They also help to create a mood and add a little drama to your image.
You can add a vignette to your image in less than a minute using the effects and filters in the photo editor app on your phone. You can also add a vignette in Photoshop by creating a new layer and using the paint bucket tool to fill it with black.
Then, create a circle using the elliptical marquee tool and feather it by going to Select > Modify > Feather. You can choose how much you want to feather the selection by entering a number in the Feather Radius box. I usually use a feather radius of around 200 pixels.
Next, press delete to get rid of the center of the circle, and you’ll be left with a vignette.
10. Convert to black and white.
Black and white photos are a classic look, and they can be a great option if you have a photo with a lot of colors that don’t quite match your brand.
To convert your photo, you can use the “color” tool in the filters section of Canva. Then, adjust the “saturation” slider to remove the color and create a black and white photo.
If you want to add a little more contrast to your black and white photo, you can also use the “black and white” filter in the “adjust” section of the filters.
11. Change to a sepia tone.
Sepia is a reddish-brown tone that you can use to give a vintage look to your photos. It’s a great option if you’re not a fan of black and white, but still want to simplify the colors in your image.
To create a sepia tone, change the color scheme of your image to a light brown. You can do this by adding a Color Overlay in Photoshop.
12. Add a border.
If you’re not a big fan of filters, you can still add some style to your image with a simple border.
You can choose a color that’s already in your image, or you can add a border to make the image stand out on a blog post or other content.
13. Resize your image.
If you want to use your image in a blog post, email, or social media post, you might want to resize it.
Most images you take with your smartphone or camera are high resolution, which is great for printing but can make your file size large. If you upload a large file size to your website or email, it can slow down your page speed or load time.
You can resize your image in any editing tool, but we recommend using the image resizer tool in the HubSpot CMS.
Simply upload your image and choose the width and height you want it to be. Then, click “Download” and it will save a new version of your image to your computer.
14. Add text to your image.
If you want to add a quote, a fun fact, or an announcement to your image, you can do that with the text tool in the photo editor.
To add text to your image, select the text tool from the left-hand toolbar. Then, click anywhere on your image and start typing. You can change the font, size, color, and alignment of your text. And, you can even add a text box to make your text stand out against your image.
In the image below, we added the text, “New Arrival” to let people know about a new product launch.
15. Add a filter.
Filters are a great way to make your images pop with color and style. You can use filters to create a consistent look and feel across your images, or you can use them to add a little extra something to your favorite photos.
There are so many different filters available, so you can find one that matches your brand and style. You can also adjust the intensity of the filter to get the perfect look.
Conclusion
There are a lot of ways to edit images quickly and effectively using a wix affiliate plugin. From resizing and retouching to removing backgrounds and adding text, these tools can help you make the most of your image content.