Adobe Photoshop software comes with a large collection of tools to create digital artwork, but for editing photographs, its "lighter" version of Photoshop Elements may be ideal. Working in Elements puts you in control of how your photographs appear, regardless of what happened on the other end of the camera lens. Make corrections on-screen, such as removing sun glare and toning down brightness, with just a few clicks of Elements' tools.
Step 1
Open Photoshop Elements, click the "File" tab and select "Open." Browse to a photo, and double-click the file name. The picture opens in the Elements workspace.
Video of the Day
Step 2
Pull down the "Window" menu, and select "Layers" to open the "Layers" palette. Notice there is one layer called Background.
Step 3
Click the "Magnify" tool (which looks like a magnifying glass) on the bottom of the "Tools" palette on the left side of the screen. Zoom in on an area of the picture with sun glare.
Step 4
Click the "Lasso" tool on the "Tools" palette. Draw an outline around just the part of the glare you want to correct. Blinking lines appear, surrounding the outline; right-click them and select "Layer via Copy." Notice the "Layers" palette has a new Layer 1.
Step 5
Pull down the "Image" menu at the top of the screen, click "Adjustments" and select "Levels." Drag the "Levels" window off to the side of the screen so you're able to see both the glare area and the window. Slide the white triangle under the "Output Levels" section to the left, reducing the glare by darkening the selected area. Note the number in the box under the white triangle, and click the "OK" button.
Step 6
Click the Background layer in the palette and repeat the "Lasso" and "Layer via Copy" process on another area of sun glare. Repeat the "Image," "Adjustments" and "Levels" process, but instead of sliding the white triangle, type the number into the box to ensure that the exact same color changes for areas of the same location, such as a window pane or someone's shirt. Click "OK" when satisfied.
Step 7
Repeat the layering process, always starting from the Background layer, to correct any other areas of sun glare in the picture. Click the small lines icon at the top of the "Layers" palette. Click "Flatten Image."
Step 8
Click the "File" menu, click "Save As" and type a new name for the picture so you don't overwrite the original.
Video of the Day