How to Enhance Photos in Gimp | Improve Image Quality using Gimp 2.10.22

Introduction

This tutorial will guide you through the process of enhancing photos using GIMP 2.10.22. You'll learn how to improve image quality by adjusting sharpness, contrast, saturation, and balancing shadows and highlights. Whether you're a beginner or looking to refine your skills, these steps will help you elevate your photos effectively.

Step 1: Open Your Image in GIMP

• Launch GIMP on your computer.
• Go to File and select Open to choose the image you want to enhance.
• Navigate to the folder containing your image and click Open.

Step 2: Adjust the Sharpness

• Go to Filters in the top menu.
• Select Enhance, then click on Sharpen.
• A dialog box will appear; adjust the Sharpness slider to your liking.
• Click OK to apply the changes.

Step 3: Improve Contrast

• Navigate to Colors in the menu.
• Click on Brightness-Contrast.
• Adjust the Contrast slider to enhance the difference between light and dark areas.
• Click OK to apply the contrast adjustments.

Step 4: Increase Saturation

• Again, go to Colors.
• Select Hue-Saturation.
• Adjust the Saturation slider to make colors more vibrant.
• Click OK to confirm your changes.

Step 5: Balance Shadows and Highlights

• Open the Colors menu once more.
• Click on Levels.
• Use the input sliders to adjust shadows (left), midtones (middle), and highlights (right).
• Observe the changes in real-time and adjust until you achieve the desired look.
• Click OK to finalize your adjustments.

Step 6: Adjust Overall Exposure

• Still in the Colors menu, select Exposure.
• Adjust the Exposure slider to brighten or darken the overall image.
• Ensure the image maintains detail in both shadows and highlights.
• Click OK to apply.

Step 7: Save Your Enhanced Image

• Go to File and select Export As to save your edited photo.
• Choose the file type (e.g., JPEG, PNG) and name your file.
• Click Export and adjust the quality settings if prompted.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you learned how to enhance photos in GIMP by adjusting sharpness, contrast, saturation, shadows, highlights, and overall exposure. These techniques will significantly improve the quality of your images. Experiment with these steps on different photos to develop your skills further. Happy editing!