FIGURE 10-27 The same photo after the sharpening tool is used Improving Photos with Soften and Blur Effects There are times when you might actually want to blur a photo to achieve a certain effect. Most image-editing programs come with softening and blurring tools that are useful for the following purposes: Creating the effect of motion Slightly blurring a portion of a photo can create the impression of motion. I’ve used this technique on the batter’s feet in the photo in Figure 10-28 to create the illusion that she’s about to run to first base. 184 How to Do Everything with Your Scanner Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. FIGURE 10-28 Blurring the area around the batter’s feet creates an illusion of motion. CHAPTER 10: Which Photo-Editing Tools Are Useful for Specific Tasks 185 10 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. Obscuring background and emphasizing your subject In Figures 10-29 and 10-30, I’ve used this technique to make the subject stand out against the relatively uninteresting backdrop of the computer lab. FIGURE 10-29 An attractive subject against a busy, uninteresting background 186 How to Do Everything with Your Scanner Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. FIGURE 10-30 Blurring the background enhances the subject of the photo. Making photo retouching less apparent It’s generally impossible to get a perfect match when using the clone tool described previously in this chapter to retouch a photo. Using the softening tool to blend the retouched area can make it nearly indiscernible. See Figures 10-21 and 10-22 earlier in this chapter. CHAPTER 10: Which Photo-Editing Tools Are Useful for Specific Tasks 187 10 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. Correcting Under- and Overexposed Photos Do you have photos of meaningful memories—but the memory is obscured or ruined because the photos came out too light or too dark? Scanning and editing can salvage your precious memories. It’s simply a matter of correcting the effects of the initial under- or overexposure. How Exposure to Light Affects Photo Quality Regardless of what type of camera you use to take a photo, the brightness and darkness of your shot are controlled by a measurement called exposure. Exposure refers to how much light reached the film inside the camera at the time you took the photo. Two factors determine the level of exposure: Camera shutter speed Your camera has a component, called a shutter, that covers the lens. The shutter allows light to travel through the lens to the film when the shutter is opened. Shutters are set at different opening and closing speeds. The faster the shutter speed, the more quickly the shutter opens and closes and the less light is allowed to enter. Film sensitivity If you look at any box of film, the packaging displays a rating, for example, 100, 200, or 400. This rating tells you how sensitive the film is to light. The higher the rating, the more sensitive the film is to light. The more exposure the film has and the higher the sensitivity of the film, the lighter and brighter the final picture. Too much light, and the image appears washed out, or overexposed. Too little light, and the image appears dark, or underexposed. When you’re taking a picture and not sure of the shutter setting to use, it’s generally better to err on the side of overexposing rather than underexposing. Overexposed photos have more stored image data, and can be corrected more effectively using your scanner and image-editing software than underexposed photos. Enhancing an Entire Photo Image-editing programs have a variety of different tools to allow you to compensate for the under- or overexposure of a photo. These tools might be called gamma 188 How to Do Everything with Your Scanner Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. . in the photo in Figure 10-28 to create the illusion that she’s about to run to first base. 184 How to Do Everything with Your Scanner Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove. have a variety of different tools to allow you to compensate for the under- or overexposure of a photo. These tools might be called gamma 188 How to Do Everything with Your Scanner Please purchase. It’s generally impossible to get a perfect match when using the clone tool described previously in this chapter to retouch a photo. Using the softening tool to blend the retouched area can make it nearly