Pen tablets
Sketch, draw and edit images with a responsive pad, a precise pen and see your creations appear on screen.
By playing around with desaturation tools, you can turn your images black and white. While this can be done automatically within most programs and apps, you can also use the hue/desaturation functions within photo editing software to tweak the saturation levels and change just how black and white an image will appear.
By using this second method, you can also add in some color from the original images. This will create a more muted look. Using this slightly more advanced, manual method has the benefit of not making the original permanently black and white.
When you’re editing a lot of images or want to take your editing beyond the basics of cropping and adjusting color, it pays to learn about your software’s shortcuts so you can make changes faster.
These can usually be found in your editing software’s menus, with explainers of the keys you need to press next to the function itself. For copying, press Cmd + C; for pasting, press Cmd + V. There are shortcuts for a huge number of functions, from fixing auto levels to adding filters. Take time to learn these and the editing process will become a lot more efficient.
Wacom's pressure-sensitive pens are recognized in the two dozen or more tools and brushes in Photoshop. From the Clone Stamp and Healing Brush, to Layer Masks and Adjustment Layers, you can dynamically adjust color temperature exposure, tone, contrast, and most other features, all by how lightly or firmly you press your pen to the tablet. Your creative edits and enhancements will look more natural and organic using a Photoshop tablet.
In accomplishing all of these tasks in Photoshop, you can experience levels of precision and control when using the pressure-sensitive pen.
Shooting in RAW mode on a DSLR camera gives you much more data to work with when it comes to editing images on your computer. Because these images are unprocessed, it means editors have more scope to play around with things like exposure and white balance.
Opening RAW files on a computer requires the very best photo editing tools, as they are often in a proprietary format. It’s possible to convert files so they can be opened though, so you can pour your creative energies into making a unique image.
Sharpness will need to be fixed as soon as a file is opened, as RAW files are not sharpened by the camera. It’s also much easier to boost contrast in RAW images, with curves giving you greater control over every pixel. Likewise, changing and tweaking color is a lot easier.
Layers are a key tool for all expert photo editors. They allow you to put together composite images, add special effects or bring in different graphics without actually changing the main image underneath. Think of it like laying acetates on top of each other.
There are a wide variety of layers available, including adjustment layers that contain color and tone changes and smart objects, which contain multiple layers themselves. Spending time within the layers section of your photo editing software will help you grasp the basics, letting you work on different aspects such as tone, saturation and color one by one. And you can edit safe in the knowledge that the base image is still the same as it was when you opened it.
Layer masks are a smart way to merge two images together. Rather than lowering the overall opacity of an entire layer, layer masks make it easier to hide part of a layer, so you can create composites that look professional.
Learning how to use the dodge and burn tools will give you greater control over the lightness and darkness of specific parts of an image.
All the best photo editing tools have dodge and burn functions. The dodge tool allows you to lighten areas, while the burn tool darkens aspects by increasing exposure.
Dodging and burning requires changing the shadow, midtones and highlights, as well as using different brushes and the airbrush function to make refined changes to very small areas of an image. This works intuitively using a pen tablet or display. It’s also possible to use curves adjustment layers to have a brighter or darker exposure, allowing you to dodge or burn an image without working on the original, giving yourself different editing options.
Take your editing to the next level with Wacom Intuos Pro. This sleek tablet comes with the super-sensitive Wacom Pro Pen 2, enabling you to hone the finest details in your pictures. It’s built from premium materials and rigorously tested to professional standards, so you can push it as far as your imagination goes. Photo editing expertise starts here.
Recommended product
Wacom Intuos Pro
Sketch, draw and edit images with a responsive pad, a precise pen and see your creations appear on screen.
Sketch, draw and edit images with a responsive pad, a precise pen and see your creations appear on screen.
Draw, design and create directly on a high resolution screen with a precise pen.
Wacom’s vision is to bring people and technology closer together through natural interface technologies. This has made it the world’s leading manufacturer of interactive pen tablets and displays as well as of digital styli and solutions for saving and processing digital signatures. The advanced technology of Wacom’s intuitive input devices has been used to create some of the most exciting digital art, films, special effects, fashion and designs around the world and provides business and home users with their leading interface technology to express their personality. Founded in 1983, Wacom is a global company based in Japan (Tokyo Stock Exchange 6727) with subsidiaries and affiliate offices around the world to support marketing and distribution in over 150 countries.