Chapter 5: Editing Photos

Use the Edit View

Edit view allows you to apply various commands to change the orientation, lighting, and coloring of your photos. You can crop and rotate photos, improve photos that are over- or underexposed, and brighten the colors in photos that look washed out.

Use the Edit View

Click a photo thumbnail.

Click Edit.

iPhoto opens the edit view.

• Click a thumbnail to edit other photos in your library. Which thumbnails appear depend on the source list selection when you entered edit view.

• You can click to enter the edit view in full screen.

Click and drag the slider to zoom in or out on the photo.

iPhoto zooms the photo and the Navigation window appears.

• You can click and drag to view a different part of the photo.

Click to close the window.

Click an edit command.

iPhoto applies the command.

In this example, the photo is rotated.

Note: To undo the command, click Edit and then Undo.

Click Done to exit edit view.

How do I undo all the commands that I have applied in the edit view?

You can revert your photo to its state when it first entered the edit view.

Click Photos.

Click Revert to Previous.

iPhoto reverts the photo.

Rotate a Photo

You can rotate a photo to change its orientation. A landscape-oriented photo can be changed to portrait, and vice versa.

A landscape photo has the longest side oriented horizontally, whereas a portrait photo has the longest side oriented vertically.

Rotate a Photo

Using the Rotate Button

Click a photo thumbnail.

Click Rotate.

• iPhoto rotates the photo 90 degrees counterclockwise.

You can click Rotate again to turn the photo another 90 degrees.

• To undo the rotation, click Edit and then Undo.

Note: You can also rotate a photo using the same button in the edit view. See “Use the Edit View” for details.

Using the Menu Command

Click a photo thumbnail.

Click Photos.

Click Rotate Clockwise or Rotate Counter Clockwise.

• iPhoto rotates the photo 90 degrees.

Note: To undo the rotation, click Edit and then Undo.

How do I straighten a photo?

You can fix a tilted photo by rotating it up to 10 degrees to either side. This can be helpful for fixing scanned content.

Enter the edit view. See “Use the Edit View” for details.

Click Straighten.

The straighten guidelines appear.

Click and drag the slider to straighten the photo.

Click Done to exit the edit view.

Crop a Photo

You can crop a photo to remove unneeded space on the sides. By cropping, you can remove unwanted background elements or reposition the subject in the photo.

Crop a Photo

Select a photo and open the edit view.

Note: See “Use the Edit View” for details.

Click Crop.

iPhoto displays the Crop tool.

Click and drag a side to adjust the vertical or horizontal dimension.

Click and drag a corner to adjust both dimensions at once.

iPhoto adjusts the crop box.

Click Apply to perform the crop.

• You can click Cancel to close the tool without cropping.

iPhoto crops the photo.

Click Done to exit the edit view.

How do I constrain my cropping to fixed dimensions?

You can select the Constrain option to crop your photo to a fixed height and width ratio. You might want to do this if you are printing the photo to fit a certain-sized frame.

In the Crop tool, click Constrain ( changes to ).

Click the Constrain and select the dimensions.

Repeat the steps in this task to crop your photo.

• iPhoto adjusts the dimensions of the Crop tool and keeps the height and width the same relative sizes if you adjust either of them.

Enhance a Photo

You can quickly improve a photo that is too dark or too light with the Enhance tool. You click the tool and iPhoto makes automatic adjustments to the photo.

To make more controlled adjustments, see “Adjust Lighting in a Photo” or “Adjust Colors in a Photo.”

Enhance a Photo

Select a photo and open the edit view.

Note: See “Use the Edit View” for details.

Click Enhance.

iPhoto applies the enhancement.

• To undo the enhancement, click Edit and then Undo.

Click Done to exit edit view.

Remove Red Eye

You can use the red eye tool to remove the red eye color that a camera flash can cause. Red eye is a common problem in snapshots taken in dim light, where the light from the camera flash reflects off the back of the subject’s eyes.

Remove Red Eye

Select a photo and open the edit view.

Note: See “Use the Edit View” for details.

Click Red-Eye.

The red eye tool appears.

• You can click Auto to apply the tool automatically throughout the photo.

Click and drag the slider to set the tool to the same size as the subject’s eyes.

Click an eye.

• iPhoto darkens the eye and removes the red color.

Click to close the tool.

Click Done to exit edit view.

Retouch a Photo

You can clean up flaws or erase elements in your photo with the Retouch tool. Clicking an object in a photo erases the object by covering it with the surrounding color and texture. The tool works best when an object is on an even-textured background.

Retouch a Photo

Select a photo and open the edit view.

Note: See “Use the Edit View” for details.

Click Retouch.

The Retouch tool appears.

Click and drag the slider to set the tool to the same size as the object you want to retouch.

Center the tool over the object.

Click the object.

• iPhoto removes the object by covering it with the surrounding color and texture.

Press and hold .

• iPhoto displays the previous version of the photo with the object visible again.

You can press and release to compare the before and after versions.

Click to close the tool.

Click Done to exit edit view.

How do I retouch wrinkles on a face?

You can set your Retouch tool to a small size and then click and drag along the wrinkles to remove them.

Open the Retouch tool.

Click and drag the slider to the left to shrink the tool size.

Click and drag along a wrinkle.

iPhoto retouches the wrinkle.

Apply Effects to a Photo

You can apply one of several effects to your photo to boost or fade color, change the photo to black and white, add a matte, and more. You can combine effects to get just the look you want.

Apply Effects to a Photo

Select a photo and open the edit view.

Note: See “Use the Edit View” for details.

Click Effects.

The Effects tool appears.

Click an effect.

iPhoto applies the effect.

Click another effect.

iPhoto applies the effect, combining it with the first.

• With effects such as Vignette you can click multiple times to increase the intensity. iPhoto increments the number overlaying the effect each time you click.

• You can click Original to remove the effects and start over.

Click to close the tool.

Click Done to exit edit view.

How do I keep an unaffected copy of a photo?

You can duplicate the photo before you apply the effect to keep an original copy in your library.

Click Photos.

Click Duplicate.

• iPhoto creates a copy of the photo in your library.

Adjust Lighting in a Photo

You can use the Adjust tool in iPhoto to change the exposure and contrast of a photo. This can improve an overly light or dark photo. You can also fine-tune colors using the tool. See “Adjust Colors in a Photo” for details.

Adjust Lighting in a Photo

Select a photo and open the edit view.

Note: See “Use the Edit View” for details.

Click Adjust.

The Adjust tool appears.

• iPhoto displays a histogram that shows the distribution of the colors in the photo. Darker colors are on the left and light colors are on the right.

Click and drag the Exposure slider to adjust the overall lighting.

Click and drag the Contrast slider to the right or left to increase or decrease the contrast.

iPhoto adjusts the photo.

You can adjust dark and light tones in the photo more precisely with the Levels sliders.

Click and drag the left slider to boost the darker tones.

Click and drag the right slider to boost the lighter tones.

Click and drag the middle slider to adjust the midtones.

iPhoto adjusts the photo.

You can press and release to compare the photo before and after the adjustments.

• You can click Reset to reset the tool.

Click to close the Adjust tool.

Click Done to exit edit view.

How can I enhance the details in the shadows and highlights of a photo?

You can boost details in these areas by using the Shadows and Highlights sliders.

Open the Adjust tool.

Click and drag the slider to adjust the dark areas of the photo.

Click and drag the slider to adjust the light areas of the photo.

Click to close the tool.

Adjust Colors in a Photo

You can use the Adjust tool in iPhoto to boost or lessen the colors in a photo. This can enhance a photo that appears washed-out or remove color to convert a photo into black and white.

You can also adjust color using the Effects tool. See “Apply Effects to a Photo” for details.

Adjust Colors in a Photo

Select a photo and open the edit view.

Note: See “Use the Edit View” for details.

Click Adjust.

The Adjust tool appears.

Click and drag the Saturation slider to change the intensity of the colors.

iPhoto adjusts the photo.

Click and drag the Temperature slider to the left to make the colors in the photo cooler, by boosting the blue component, or to the right to make them warmer, by boosting the yellow component.

Click and drag the Tint slider to shift the colors in the photo.

iPhoto adjusts the photo.

You can press and release to compare the photo before and after the adjustments.

• You can click Reset to reset the tool.

Click to close the tool.

Click Done to exit edit view.

How do I convert a color photo to black and white?

You can convert a photo to black and white in the Adjust tool by moving the Saturation slider all the way to the left. You can also convert it using the B & W option in the Effects tool. For more about the Effects tool, see “Apply Effects to a Photo.”

How can I correct an unwanted color cast in a photo?

You can use the eyedropper () located in the Adjust tool to correct a color cast. Sometimes sunlight can cause a bluish cast, whereas incandescent light can cause a yellowish cast. Click the and then click a part of the photo that should be white or gray. iPhoto adjusts the colors to remove the cast. This is also called a white point adjustment.

Compare Multiple Photos

You can compare two or more photos by opening them simultaneously in the edit view. This allows you to easily pick the best photo out of several similar ones. You can also edit the photos side by side to match their lighting and coloring.

Compare Multiple Photos

Open Multiple Photos

-click to select two or more photos in the photo browser.

Click Edit.

iPhoto opens the photos in the edit view together.

• Editing commands are applied to the outlined photo. You can click a different photo to move the outlining.

• Thumbnails for the open photos are highlighted.

-click another photo thumbnail.

iPhoto opens the photo with the others.

Close a Photo

Click .

iPhoto closes the photo.

Click Done to close all the photos.

How do I compare photos in full-screen view?

You can open multiple photos side by side in full-screen view. Other elements of the iPhoto workspace are hidden. Follow these steps:

-click to select the photos to compare.

Click .

iPhoto opens the photos together in full-screen view