Traditional photo editing is ‘destructive’. That means every adjustment you make permanently changes the pixels in the photo and there’s no way back unless you’ve saved a copy of the original and you’re willing to start again. ‘Non-destructive’ editing is fully reversible. You can go back and undo or redo all of your editing work at any point in the future. Naturally, there’s a catch
General
Lens aberrations and what you can do about them
Aberrations, or optical imperfections, exist because no lens is optically perfect. Almost all lenses show aberrations from the ‘perfect’ image.
Color spaces, profiles and color management explained
The whole topic of color management can get pretty dry and technical, but stick with it because there’s information here that’s useful and puts lots of other things in context.
Aspect ratios and why you need to know about them
The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of its width to its height. The larger the ratio, the ‘wider’ the image; the smaller the ratio, the ‘squarer’ the image.
Bits and bit depth explained
Bit depth is an important concept in digital imaging if you want the best possible image quality and if you intend to manipulate images heavily.
Levels vs curves vs luma curves: ways to adjust contrast in photos
Levels and curves can both be used to adjust the contrast in photos, but how are they different, which should you use and is one better than the other?
Composition in photography: recognising and handling shapes
Composition in photography can become very dry and technical when it’s reduced to a science. Here’s a way to see and work with shapes that’s simpler and more visual.
Instagram image size still matters: non-square photos may not fit
How do you stop your photos being cropped awkwardly on Instagram? It’s not about pixel sizes, it’s about aspect ratios, and here’s what you need to know.
How to create a polarising filter digitally, and why it’s not the same as the real thing
Polarising filters are often used to darken blue skies. You can do this digitally instead – though polarisers do more besides that you cannot do digitally.
How LUTs work in photo-editing
LUTs are the new big thing in photo editing software, but what are they, how do you use them and why do they matter?