Preparing images for the screen using iPhoto

Before you read this tutorial, you should be familiar with how Photoshop Elements works. If are you aren't, read "A short introduction to iPhoto" first. You should also read "Preparing images for the screen" if you want to understand why we are doing what we are doing.

The steps we'll use

iPhoto is designed to be extremely easy to use so there are less steps than with another editor such as Photoshop Elements:

1. Rotate the image 90° counter-clockwise
2. Crop the image as desired
3. Select Enhance
4. Export your image at the appropriate size

To find out how to do these things in iPhoto, find an image to work with in one of your albums and switch to Edit mode. Then follow along with the tutorial.

Rotating

In iPhoto you rotate images using the Rotate button in the bottom left-hand part of the edit window.

Cropping

In iPhoto, cropping is done in several steps. First make a selection by dragging your mouse across the image. The area not selected will be grayed out and the Crop button will be enabled.

Once your selection is where you want it, click on the crop button to set the crop.

Enhancing the color and exposure

To enhance your image, click the "Enhance" button.

If you don't like the effect of "Enhance", you can make more adjustments by changing the brightness and contrast. Be sure to zoom in to see your image at full size while working with brightness and contrast because the smaller sized preview of the image can be misleading.

Here is the image made lighter and with less contrast:

Export at the appropriate size

Because iPhoto is always working on a copy of your image, to turn it into a picture we can do something with, we need to export it. Select Export from the File menu:

Select JPG as the Format and select the "Scale image no larger than" radio button if you want to make your image smaller. Type in the size you want and select Export. You'll be asked to name your image and at this point you can also put it in a different folder, if you want to.

Here is the image now that we've enhanced it and saved it as a small size, appropriate for sending in an email or posting on a web site:

If you've read the tutorial on preparing images using Photoshop Elements, you may decide that you prefer the photo we created their using the "Auto Smart Fix" feature to this one using iPhoto's Enhance and Brightness & Contrast controls. Now you know one reason why Photoshop Elements cost $90-100 and iPhoto is free!