Image Editing Software

Early next year, Microsoft will release PhotoDraw 2000, an even more powerful tool that can be used for photo editing, image saturation and creating graphics for documents and the Web.

With all these choices, it helps to get a grip on the basics first before wandering into the deep end of Salvador Dali-like photosurrealism. There are a couple of things you can do with almost any image editor to improve sub-par photos. The first is cropping - trimming the image to focus on a specific part of the photo and get rid the extraneous stuff that finds its way into your pictures. Most image editing tools let you select a part of the photo and remove everything outside it with one or two easy steps.

Next on the list are adjustments to contrast, brightness and color balance. If you're taking pictures with a small flash or in a marginally lighted room, these features will save many images from the digital trash can. Some packages, such as Sierra Imaging's Image Expert, have a single mouse-click auto fix feature that corrects common problems, as well as interactive tools for all three common adjustments.

Many image editors bundled with hardware include a set of elementary special effects. For example, the Image Expert packed with my Epson PhotoPC 600 digital camera includes distorting effects like fish-eye and glass block, and a color inverting feature to create digital negatives. Use these sparingly, unless you want to induce seasickness or faux acid flashbacks.

PhotoDeluxe Home Edition, which retails for $ 99, includes EasyPhoto, a basic image editor. But the PhotoDeluxe add-ons include special effects such as image repair, which automatically removes scratches from scanned photos and red-eye from flash pictures. You can apply artistic touches, such as colorizing an old black-and-white picture, adding textures or creating effects such simulated motion. There's even a step-by-step menu that takes you through more complicated tasks, such as grafting your head onto someone else's body.

Once you've mastered techniques using Adobe's guided activities, you can strike out on your own to create new effects with PhotoDeluxe's advanced menus. I used PhotoDeluxe's Smart Select tool to do some creative cropping, cutting people out of a photo and deleting the background. Once that was done, I could relocate my subjects in more exotic locales, or put them in a setting with people they'd never be seen dead with. If you've ever had trouble getting people together for a family picture, PhotoDeluxe is your answer.

Another attractive feature the PhotoDeluxe Home package is a collection of templates (predesigned documents) for turning photos into greeting cards, calendars, posters and other simple desktop publishing projects, as well as a library of professionally prepared images and clip art. PhotoDeluxe can also copy images to your personal Web site or drop them into Adobe's PageMill Web page editor.