What do you do first???

[lou975]

hey guys,
this may be a really silly question, so sorry in advance if it is...!!
i use Corel Paintshop Pro X2 for editing - which probably isnt relevant, but anyways........is there any order that you should edit?? for example should you resize - crop - fix colour - clone , or is it just personal preference to get the effect that your after..??? im only new, well since xmas, to PSP and editing, and im just fiddling around with things until i like the photo, so i dont have clue what im doing - anyhelp or advice i would appreciate and take on board...thanks

[RexK_Cozumel]

You should always crop and resize last. When processing the image can change drastically and something that you may have cropped off at the start suddenly looks good and interesting. I normally will fix the color first then clone out any distractions then crop.

[wulf]

I think it depends on what you are doing to the image. Sharpening is normally best left until after any resizing as, otherwise, that transformation will often result in a softer picture.

Personally, I tend to do my cropping right at the start (so that I judge later changes on the elements in the final image without being influenced by something that will later be excluded or play a smaller role in the final composition) and frequently resize straight after that.

Wulf

[jdepould]

Resize and sharpen should be the last two steps.

Personally, I start with cropping, white balance, and then exposure adjustments. De-noising, then any pixel or curve editing.

[KathrynWilson]

I crop first, then remove noise if it's needed. Then any cloning that needs done. Then contrast, then color, then selective shadow/highlight work, then sharpening/resizing.