If you’re anything like me, then you appreciate the beauty and value of a treasured memory in the form of a photograph; whether it feature the presence of family, friends, beloved pets, or a picturesque landscape.
But when it comes to maximizing that photograph by ensuring that it’s in an ideal file format, adding color, text, visuals, or filters, it’s possible that you may not the most experienced person to consult. Well, we all have a room to learn and grow, right?
No, you likely won’t realize a skill set along the lines of Ansel Adams, but you’ll definitely learn a thing or two about how easy it is to enhance your favorite images using programs that are built-in to Mac OS X.
Preview for Mac
Preview is essentially Mac’s version of Adobe PDF viewing/editing software. You can easily edit a photograph using the software, as well, by adding text boxes, personal signatures, mouse-guided color handwriting, or by resizing and exporting the photo to an alternate format.
Using Preview, you can also add or edit in several different attributes to a photo. When a photo is selected and the app is open, you’ll notice a toolbox icon at top of your image, from which you can select various options.
You can zoom in and out on the photo, add a text box or annotation, add signatures, shapes, or emoticons, and even add some color to the image by adding mouse-guided handwriting or drawings.
Save the Photo as a Share Friendly Image Format
To do this, or to simply verify that the image is in your desired format, simply right click the image > select Open With > then select Preview (default).
Once the application opens, select File > Export, at which point a sub menu will open, asking what you’d like to name the new file, where you’d like to save it, what format you’d like to export to (JPEG, JPEG-2000, OpenEXR, PDF, PNG or TIFF), and what quality you’d like to export to on a numerical scale (if applicable).
Enhance the Color
Crop the Image
Share Your Photo
To easily send a photo to your iPhone using AirDrop, make sure both devices have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned on, and AirDrop is set to “Everyone” in the control panel. On your Mac, find the image file, right click, click share, and select AirDrop. A popup should appear, allowing you to select your iPhone from the list.