If you’ve ever toyed around with any digital camera for five minutes, you know that the pictures it takes often look different than what you saw in real-life. Common complaints include photos being too bright/dark or having an odd-looking color balance. Looking for a one-click fix to these problems? Read on.
The tool we’re going to use is the recently overhauled Paint.NET. It has been around for some time now and gained quite a following since its inception. It’s great for the occasional photo resizing and cropping job and supports layered picture editing. It was only recently that I discovered that it also has an auto-fix function to make your pictures look better. Here’s how it works.
- Open an image in Paint.NET.
- Go to the Adjustments menu and select Auto-Level.
Pretty easy, right? I’ve taken a few pictures with my cheapskate digital camera to test it out. The results range from pretty good to downright awkward. Let’s have a look. (Click a thumbnail to enlarge it.)
| Before | After |
|---|---|
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As you can see, your mileage may vary. Still, for that tiny bit of extra production value, it’s always worth a try before showing off your pictures to friends and family . For a look at some of Paint.NET’s other functions such as red eye removal, click here.
Download Paint.NET (Windows only; Freeware)
This function or its equivalent is present in many image applications. Paint.NET doesn’t allow you to process a whole set of images (batch processing), as several others do. I’ve compared some of them and noticed obvious differences in the results, so I’d recommend trying a couple and seeing which one you like best:
MS Live Photo Gallery: “Auto-adjust” in the “Fix” interface. As with Paint.NET, you must do each image individually.
Picasa: “Auto-color” or “I’m Feeling Lucky” (which does both color and contrast) in the “View and Edit” interface
OR select multiple pictures in the gallery view and choose Picture -> Batch Edit -> I’m Feeling Lucky
XnView: from the menu, choose Image -> Map -> Automatic Levels (or just hit Ctrl+Alt+L)
OR use batch processing, which is too complicated for a one-line description
IrfanView: from the menu, choose Image -> Auto Adjust Colors (or just hit Ctrl+U)
OR use batch processing, which is too complicated for a one-line description
FastStone Image Viewer has my favorite interface (full-screen image view, with different toolboxes that pop up when you move the mouse to different screen edges), but only allows you to enhance colors manually.
For power without bloat, try IrfanView or XnView – both are available in unzip-and-run portable versions. XnView has a better Explorer-like and tabbed interface, but IrfanView brings a few extra features to the table.
Cheers.
Wow AshGhost… What a comprehensive list of how to do auto corrections in the various apps!
When i dont use photoshop to enhance photos, the one i use is Irfanview, my number 1 photo little tool :)
I personally don’t like the floating toolbar-palettes found in many applications included Paint.NET.