4 More Techniques for Editing with iPhoto

1. Cropping

Cropping is pretty straightforward, except for one thing. There are two types of cropping in iPhoto: free cropping and constrained. Free cropping is when you draw a rectangle around the area you want to highlight and click "crop." The photo will reduce to the given dimensions, which might make it a rather strange size when you print it out.

If you are going to print a photo, you'll probably want to use the constrain feature. If you want to constrain the size while editing with iPhoto (for example, to print well at 4x6), choose the size you want from the drop down window, then click "crop."

The areas iPhoto will cut appear in white on the photo. You can move them around, then click "crop" again to complete the resizing. You can repeat this process as many times as you like.

2. Retouching

Retouching is one of iPhoto's weakest functions, and for the most part, I advise leaving it alone. The retouch function lets you smudge an area, eliminating imperfections. Most of the time, though, you can tell where it's been used.

The two photos below illustrate the uses and limitations of retouching. The photo on the left shows the remaining red eye after using the red eye reduction to its limit. The second photo shows the retouched eyes. As you can see, the rabbit on the left worked quite well because the surrounding area matches the eye color. The rabbit on the right, however, looks like she has cataracts -- AND she still has red eye besides!

3. Adjust

The adjust icon is located near the bottom right of your window, and it's one of the more useful functions when editing with iPhoto. Using the adjust function, you can straighten your picture, change the brightness and contrast, or even alter the tint. I find that messing with the exposure works wonders.

Another word of warning, though: get carried away with this, and your pictures will have that grainy, overtouched look digital photos sometimes pick up along the way.

5. Effects

I saved the best for last, because the effects are the best thing about editing with iPhoto. This is where you get to have fun with your pictures! You can stick to the basics (altering them to black and white, especially useful when you have a surprisingly good photo you want to make "artsy"), blur the edges, or give them an antique feel. Fool around with the effects.

And when all else fails, you can always select "revert to original" from the photo menu and start all over again! That's the great thing about editing with iPhoto -- you always get a second chance.