Digital Photography: The Missing Manual

Quick Fix Suggested Workflow

The tools in the Quick Fix window are pretty simple to use. You can try one or all of them—it’s up to you. And whenever you’re happy with how your photo looks, you can leave Quick Fix and go back to the Standard Editor or the Organizer.

No hard and fast rules exist for what order you need to work in when using the Quick Fix tools. But if you’re the type of person who likes a set plan for fixing photos, then here’s one order in which to apply the commands the Quick Fix has to offer:

1. Rotate your photo, if necessary.

   No sense trying to edit an upside down or sideways photo, right? Use the rotate buttons below the image preview, which you can see in Figure 11-3.

2. Fix red eye, if necessary, as described in Section 11.3 .

   In people pictures, red eye is the most important fix, and sometimes it’s the only one necessary. Take care of it now, so if you adjust the color or sharpness later, you’ll be starting from eyes that are already the right color.

3. Try the Auto Smart Fix and/or the Smart Fix slider.

   See Section 11.4 for detailed instructions on how the Smart Fix works.

4. If Smart Fix wasn’t smart enough, work your way down through the other commands until you like the way your photo looks.

   See the sections on Lighting (Section 11.5) and Color (Section 11.6) later in this chapter.

5. Sharpen (Section 11.7).

   Try to perform sharpening as your last adjustment, because other commands can give you unpredictable results on already-sharpened photos.

6. Crop.

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