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    Editing Smartphone Pictures

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by Generic User #2, Mar 12, 2012.

  1. Generic User #2

    Generic User #2 Notebook Deity

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    Anyone have a preference for software for editing smartphones pictures?

    The smartphone pictures mainly being low-light indoor 'portrait' shots.

    Major issues with the pictures being: high noise, white balance issues, motion blur, poor exposure (from the flash)

    I am personally trying out LightRoom 4 at the moment and it works surprisingly well. Some other contenders include: Windows Live Photo Gallery, PhotoShop Elements 10, GIMP(?).

    I don't work professionally, so 'good at organizing' doesn't qualify as a benefit.

    Any thoughts?

    Remember: we're talking about smartphone pictures here, not regular cameras. Don't tell me to 'get a real camera'.
     
    Generic User #2, Mar 12, 2012
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  2. H.A.L. 9000

    H.A.L. 9000 Occam's Chainsaw

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    1.) For indoor shots, don't expect anything above a 640x480 to be actually usable, since you'll likely have to downsize to keep detail and to lower noise.

    2.) For Lightroom, the Luminance slider is your friend.

    Otherwise, there's not really much you can do with bad indoor smartphone shots. They just have too much noise to be usable, usually.
     
    H.A.L. 9000, Mar 12, 2012
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  3. Peon

    Peon Notebook Virtuoso

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    A good (software) tool helps, but you'll likely have to spend hours, perhaps even days, tweaking various settings and subjectively trying to determine whether or not the photo looks better than before. Modern technology isn't advanced enough for there to be a 1 click fix for bad smartphone photos.
     
    Peon, Mar 13, 2012
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  4. H.A.L. 9000

    H.A.L. 9000 Occam's Chainsaw

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    lol. It's a catch-22. Once software gets that good, noise on smartphone camera sensors won't be an issue. :rolleyes:
     
    H.A.L. 9000, Mar 13, 2012
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  5. trvelbug

    trvelbug Notebook Prophet

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    gimp is the most powerful photo editing tool amongst those you mentioned and i consider it the best free photo editing tool.
    lr is more a photo browser/cataloger with basic photo editing features.
    you will get much more control with gimp like sharpening and siftening filters, curves, channel mixers, adjusting highlights, hdr, etc.
    the down side is you have to feel your war through it and maybe read the manual a bit since it doesnt have the most intuitive interface.
    try to give it a go.
     
    trvelbug, Mar 13, 2012
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  6. Peon

    Peon Notebook Virtuoso

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    That's true. Well, Nokia is leading the way with their 41 MP PureView phone (though it's more like a phone-camera than a camera-phone :rolleyes:). Let's see how long it takes for this kind of thing to catch on with mainstream smartphones :D
     
    Peon, Mar 13, 2012
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