Google Photos is more than just a storage hub for your photos and videos. Both its web interface and mobile apps are equipped with a variety of image editing tools that allow you to enhance your pictures before sharing them with the world. Google consistently updates these editing features, and a substantial upgrade has recently landed on the web version, introducing new elements that were previously exclusive to the Android app. These additions include preset color profiles and more precise control over aspects like brightness and contrast adjustment.
To explore these features, follow these simple steps:
Access Google Photos: Open your web browser and navigate to Google Photos.
Select an Image: Choose the image you want to edit and click on it.
Enter Editing Mode: In the top-right corner, you'll find an "edit" button represented by a series of sliders. Click this button to enter the editing interface, which will appear as a sidebar on the right side of your screen.
Within the editing interface, you'll find four (or five for Google One subscribers) different editing panels, each serving a specific purpose:
First Tab: Suggestions
Icon: Star
Description: This tab presents suggestions, much like the Android Photos app. It provides recommended tweaks to enhance your image. Different suggestions appear based on your image's content. For example, "Enhance" applies various optimizations, while "Warm" and "Cool" adjust the overall temperature of the picture.
Note: Google One subscribers have access to additional features, including "Blur" to blur the background, "Color pop" to highlight foreground colors, and "Dynamic" to apply HDR processing for improved detail in darker and lighter areas.
Second Tab: Crop
Icon: Corner markers and arrows
Description: This tab allows you to crop and rotate your image. What's new are preset aspect ratios for quick adjustments to the image shape and size.
Actions:
Select an aspect ratio, and use the handles at the corners to adjust it.
Click and drag inside the crop selection window to change the focus of the crop.
Adjust the rotation by dragging along the bar marked with angles.
Rotate the image by 90 degrees in an anti-clockwise direction using the rotate button.
Click "Reset" to undo all changes and revert to the original framing and rotation.
Third Tab: Tools
Icon: Hammer and wrench
Description: This tab, exclusive to Google One subscribers, provides relevant tools based on the image you've opened. For example, a portrait shot may offer "Portrait Light" to introduce artificial lighting, while a landscape photo might provide a "Sky" tool for adding styles like "Radiant" or "Storm."
Usage: Click on the desired tool, and a slider usually appears to adjust the effect's strength.
Fourth Tab: Adjust
Icon: Various sliders
Description: This tab offers a range of sliders to modify different image characteristics, from brightness to skin tones. Although not new, it has been redesigned and includes new features like HDR (for Google One users only) and White point (for adjusting white balance).
Actions:
Drag the sliders to make adjustments; the blue line indicates changes from the original settings.
Changes are instantly previewed in the image.
Click the blue icon next to a slider to undo changes and restore the default value.
Fifth Tab: Filters
Icon: Star inside a rectangle
Description: Filters transform the image with a single click, similar to filters on platforms like Instagram.
Usage:
Filters come with thumbnail previews of their effects. Click on a filter to see how it alters the image.
Adjust the filter's strength by dragging the slider beneath the image.
Click "None" to remove the filter and revert to the original appearance.
When you've completed your edits, click "Save" in the top-right corner to save the changes. If you want to keep the original image intact and save the edited version as a new file, click the three dots next to the "Save" button and select "Save copy."
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