How to Brighten Web Images without Photoshop

how to brighten your images without photoshop fotor pop shop america

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Having great product shots is absolutely essential for selling goods online. First you need a great photo backdrop like a large white table, pop up light tent or one of these diy photo backdrops. You need photos at different angles to capture the complexity of your product. You need photos that show the item being used or being worn to give it context. You need photos that set the stage and show the vibe of the object – like who would use it and where it would be used.

It is recommended that you have 5 product shots per item. SEO and Web Experts agree that you never have less. It’s also claimed by most web and data analysts, that most people don’t actually read product descriptions! They just look at the photos to make their decision. That means your photos need to be on point if you want to sell.

Photos need to be bright and beautiful! Photos need to look clean and free from shadows so that the subject can stand out.

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 After

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Believe it or not photoshop is not the end all be all of photo editing. It can be expensive and come sometimes take more steps and thus take longer, that other photo editors.

When I’m doing quick brightening, I use a couple of clicks on an app called Fotor. I have a free version of Fotor for Mac and I also found a Beta version here. I’m able to work a lot faster and it’s a lot easier for me to use.

So here’s a quick guide on How to Use Fotor to Brighten Product Photos – as long as you can get your products in front of a white background, these tips should do the trick!

After you open Fotor and add your photo, you will see the menu of the right hand side. The only part of the menu that we are using for this tutorial is Adjust! That’s it!

how to brighten your photos without photoshop

Under Adjust, you will see the subcategory of tone. Exposure and Brightness are located there. Exposure is my choice of where to start. Capturing good white balance can be tricky and most whites come out gray when you are using automatic settings on a camera.

Of course when you are using manual controls, you can ensure a better white balance, but you will still often have a bit of brightening to do.

To get started, first move the Exposure Button to the right until the background is the brightness that you are looking for. Just a slightly brighter exposure will help remove fabric wrinkles and make everything more professional.

Next, while still under tone on the menu, slide the Brightness Button slightly to the right. This will add just a pop of lightness to the whole image.

how to brighten photos without photoshop

There is one more feature that I use frequently, to brighten product and blog images in Fotor. While still under Adjust, find White Balance in the menu and locate the tab called Temperature. 

A white backdrop is often too blue or too yellow and needs correction. White backgrounds are blue when shooting outdoors in the evenings. White backgrounds are yellow when shooting around brown floors, warm tone wall paint, or under indoor lighting.

Temperature is something you must be really careful with, but if you find your photos are even slightly blue or yellow, slide the button in one direction or the other. Just move it a touch. Don’t move the temperature a lot.

Before
After

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My last recommendation is before you finish editing, be sure to test the photo in your Etsy, website, social media – wherever you plan to use that photo.

Photos often appear slightly different across media, so checking them before you exit out of Fotor will help you a lot.

The best thing about Fotor is that you can undo what you’ve done and start over! You can always make new and better changes for even better product photos. We love helping you grow your business! Need even more business tips? Check them out here.

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