Chicopee wrote:
I'm just a 'low key' photographer. However I took quite a few pic at a wedding last week. HORRIBLY hot and I lost my train of thot. Usually I use the pop up flash to 'stop' minor movement and give face good tonal quality. Well I forgot to pop up flash. While pic were in focus, the tonal quality of faces were dull and no matter what I did to try and adjustment, it was not.....much better. I am pretty basic in my knowledge of editing programs. But here is my question...is there an editing program that offers something like a 'flash' simulation on a slider? ....to correct?
Thanks
I'm just a 'low key' photographer. However I took ... (
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It sounds like what you need is a parametric editor that can make tonal adjustments such as white balance, hue, tint, black levels, shadow levels, exposure, highlight levels, white levels, etc., and THEN add a bitmap editor to do some dodging and burning or masking.
You may get deeper into software than you wanted to, but it can be a fun adventure!
Hopefully, you recorded raw files and not (just) JPEGs. Raw files are adjustable over a wider range of tones and will yield better final results. But JPEGs can be edited with decent results, within their limits.
Start with anything your camera manufacturer makes available on their website for download. Chances are, it will be free with your serial number, or cost under $200, and usually runs on Macs and Windows.
Serif Affinity Photo is a good bitmap editor. It runs on Macs and Windows ($55) and iPads ($20).
Photoshop Elements is Adobe's offering. It also runs on Macs and Windows. ($100)
There are some shareware/freeware programs such as GIMP and Dark Table worth looking at, but remember that support can be lacking. If you aren't self-sufficient with computers, think twice.
Mac users should look at the EXCELLENT Raw Power ($40) from Gentlemen Coders. It combines well with Apple Photos (free with Macs), Affinity Photo (see above), and other programs. It is essentially the raw file editor from the old Apple Aperture, but on steroids. It can be a plug-in for Apple Photos or run as a stand-alone application. Some Mac users use Apple Photos as a simpler file manager than Adobe Lightroom, add Raw Power in place of Adobe Camera Raw, and use Affinity Photo in place of Photoshop. There is a LOT of power in combining those three programs.