Personally I do believe there are thousands tutorials like this explaining how to use Photoshop for improving our images but this time I decided to share what I do – all the ‘genius’ secrets, tips and tricks.

Some people don’t need this tutorial because they have good cameras and therefore good quality images. But for others (like me), having their mobile phones everywhere with them and shooting unexpected interesting things on the streets, this tutorial is a must.

Here is the original file of an example image taken with my HTC Diamond:

If you want to print your photo you should follow a few steps before starting the retouching.

• The first one is changing the image mode from RGB (Red, Green and Blue – the colours our screens mix to produce what we see) in the menu path Image/Mode/CMYK Color (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black – the names of the inks our printers use).

• Changing the image resolution to 300 pixels/inch – Menu/Image/Image Size

In my case I have decided to not to print my image so I am supposed to work in RGB.

Colour Retouching.

I always prefer trying the automatic functions first and if I notice they don’t make the photo realistic (in some rare cases) then use another methods relying on my Photoshop skills and sense of balance. This time they are a good base for a good colour transformation.

• Let’s start with the first automatic function in the Menu/Image/Adjustments/Auto Levels:

• Then I use Auto Color in the same sub menu.

It is also important to mention that when using the RGB mode I am allowed to use the automatic colour corrections that are usually not active in the CMYK mode.

Being more interested in the auto functions I decided to make an experiment using ‘Auto Levels first and then Auto Color’ and ‘Auto Color first and then Auto Levels’. The colours difference was big. So I tried the same thing using other images and the conclusion is that ‘Auto Levels first then Auto Color’ works much better!

• The third step is like a miracle to me – a play with the shadows and the highlights – Menu/Image/Adjustments/Shadow-Highlight. You can control more when clicking the ‘Show More Options’ tick. Here is my result on this stage:

• The next step is not really necessary but I usually want to make sure that my colours look realistic so I use the Auto Colour function again.

• Another optional step I cannot explain why I use is making the image a bit warmer. I’ve noticed that the human eye accepts visual warmth much easier than coldness. Maybe that’s the reason why I prefer sunny and friendly look of my images. Go to Menu/Image/Adjustments/Color Balance and move the midtones towards Yellow and Red – just a soft touch, nothing too bright.

• Another important function is the Brightness/Contrast located in the Image/Adjustments sub menu. Here you can play with the final colour adjustments of the low quality image. That was my result:

• The final(my favourite) step is the function Menu/Filer/Noise/Reduce Noise. All my phone images pass through this filter and I’m happy people don’t really notice I use my mob. phone camera.

Here is the final result compared with the original image.

…and a crop from the actual size of the image (2084 x 1536 px):

Hope that was a helpful quick tutorial anyone can use ! Thanks a lot =)

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