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By Candy Cuenco

When you get to a certain level in your photography, a good image may no longer satisfy. After a while, you might begin to notice that your images look almost identical in terms of angle, lighting, or even subject matter. You become a more discerning photographer, noticing that what you thought was a properly exposed image, well, needs a bit of tweaking here and there to really bring out the highlights and shadows. If you find yourself in this quandary, it may be time to start mixing things up and seeing your photos in a whole different light.


Enter the exciting world of image editing. These days, almost everyone does some form of image editing or enhancement before they share or print their photos, and rightly so. There are so many choices at our fingertips, from basic photo editing software (such as Adobe Photoshop Elements, Corel Paint Shop Pro, and Ulead PhotoImpact 12, among others), to plug-ins (offered by companies like onOne Software, nik Multimedia, and AlienSkin, for instance) that make it even easier to work with more advanced tools available in programs like Photoshop CS3. "New" companies are joining the software mix as well, like Nikon, with its introduction of Capture NX, touted as an more intuitive editing alternative for digital photographers.


In this issue, you will learn several tips and techniques on how to transform your ordinary photos into works that will define your style. Our resident InStep writer, Theano Nikitas, shows you the basics of using Levels and Layers in her column. From there, move on to learning how to add a simple starburst to your images, to using digital filters that lend different looks to your photos, and onto stitching individual images into dramatic panoramic shots. Finally, if you're feeling bold, why not try mixing colors and black-and-white images? The results are quite unexpected, just like the feeling you'll get when you see what you can achieve when you stretch yourself and add a little pop to your photos.