iPhoto (Photos) Practice #1 - basic light & color

1. iPhoto (Photos)
Practice #1

2. What is Photos?
An Apple program for making light, color, and
clarity adjustments to photos. (It used to be
called iPhoto). The program is good to use if you
need to make quick/simple adjustments, but you
should use Photoshop for more complex changes
to your photos.

3. First Steps: Import & Organize
1. Import photos by going
to “File” > “Import” and
selecting one or more
photos to add to your
iPhoto library.

4. First Steps: Import & Organize
To organize your photos:
• Highlight them and click the “+” icon on the top
menu bar.
• Select “Album,” and your highlighted photos will
be placed into a photo album together.

5. First Steps: Import & Organize
Double click on a photo to view it.
Click the “Edit” button on the to menu bar to edit.
Preview Screen
Editing Screen

6. Editing Set-Up
1. Not all of the adjustment
options are visible at first.
You need to make them
visible because we will
eventually use all of them.
2. After opening the
Adjustments panel, click
“Add.”
3. Place check-marks next to
ALL of the editing options.
4. Click “Save as Default”

7. The Histogram
The histogram is a graph that represents all of the
pixels in your image. On the far left, you have your
blackest pixels (shadows). On the far right you
have your whitest pixels (highlights). In the middle
you have your midtones...which is everything else.
Lightest >< Darkest

8. The Histogram
Histograms looks different in Photoshop and other
photo programs, but they always have a similar
shape.
If your histogram does not
reach the end of the graph, it
means you don’t have any true
black or true white pixels in the
image.

9. The Histogram
Histograms looks different in Photoshop and other
photo programs, but they always have a similar
shape.
Clipped highlights
(pure white)
Clipped shadows
(pure black)
If your histogram touches the
edges of your graph, it means
those pixels are pure black or
pure white. When pixels are
on the edge of the graph we
say that the pixels have been
“clipped” or “blown out.”
Clipping pixels is bad
because it causes a loss of
fine details in your image.

10. The Histogram
Move the adjustment sliders to see how it changes
the histogram.
Click when you are done to discard changes.

11. Light Adjustments
Click the arrow symbol next to
“Light.” This should open
more detailed adjustment
options.
Experiment by moving the
light sliders and observing the
results.

12. Exposure: Affects the overall amount of light in the photo.

13. Exposure: The overall amount of light in the photo.Highlights: Affects the brightest/lightest tones in the photo.

14. Exposure: The overall amount of light in the photo.Highlights: the brightest/lightest tones in the photo.Shadows: Affects the darkest tones in the photos.

15. Exposure: The overall amount of light in the photo.Highlights: the brightest/lightest tones in the photo.Brightness: Affects the amount of light in the midtones of
the photo.

16. Exposure: The overall amount of light in the photo.Highlights: the brightest/lightest tones in the photo.Brightness: Affects the amount of light in the midtones of
the photo.
Contrast: Affects the difference between the darkest and
lightest tones of the photo.

17. Exposure: The overall amount of light in the photo.Highlights: the brightest/lightest tones in the photo.Black point: Affects the tones in photo that are pure black.

18. Color Adjustments
Experiment by moving the
color sliders and observing
the results.

19. Saturation: Affects the intensity and vibrancy of colors in
the image.

20. Color Contrast: Affects the difference between color tones of
the photo (this time it adjusts contrast in tones/colors, not
brightness and darkness).

21. Cast: Adjusts the color temperature of the photo (warm/cool).

22. Black & White: Allows you to convert your image to grayscale
and customize the tones in your image.

23. Practice
Find a terrible image with color
and lighting problems, and do
your best to fix it!
Before

24. Practice
After