Today I messed around with some photos that looked too busy and cluttered. You know the type – family pics where everyone’s squeezed in and you can’t even tell who’s who. Tried these three simple tricks and wow, they actually worked.
Crop Like a Madman First
Opened my phone gallery and grabbed this awful park photo. My kid was playing soccer, but the shot included trash cans, random strangers, and a dog taking a dump in the background. Just held my finger on the screen and started chopping away until only my kid and the ball were left. Felt savage cutting out half the picture but suddenly you could actually see the cool moment instead of visual garbage.
Fix That Stupid Lighting
Indoor shots were always too dark or weirdly yellow. Tapped the magic wand icon – bam! Instant fix. For real control though, I slid those brightness and shadow bars like a DJ scratching records. Pulled shadows up just enough so grandma’s face wasn’t a dark pit, dropped highlights so windows didn’t look like nuclear explosions. Didn’t even touch the fancy color stuff, this alone saved like 20 terrible pictures.
Blur Your Own Mess
Had this nice portrait ruined by piles of laundry behind my wife. Went into edit mode, found the blur tool and circled her face with my finger like drawing a halo. Presto – anything outside that bubble got fuzzy while she stayed sharp. Accidentally made her nose fuzzy once which looked hilarious, but undo fixed it. Now my chaotic bedroom looks like a professional studio backdrop.
Seriously thought I needed Photoshop skills before trying this. Turns out free phone apps let you do all this stuff in seconds. Photos that used to embarrass me now look like I meant to take them that way. Still can’t believe how much difference cropping crap out and sliding bars around makes.
