What are some of the most common mistakes in image editing that can detract from the overall quality?

When it comes to Photoshop image editing, there are a few common mistakes that can really hurt the overall quality of your work.

One big mistake is over-editing. It’s so easy to get carried away with filters, sharpening, or noise reduction, but too much can make your image look unnatural. The trick is to keep it subtle—enhance the image without overpowering it. Another mistake is ignoring the resolution and file size. Working with low-res images or saving files in the wrong format can lead to poor quality, especially if you’re printing or displaying on larger screens. Always use high-res images and save in formats that preserve the quality, like TIFF or PNG when needed.

Getting the color balance wrong is another pitfall. If the colors don’t look natural and consistent, it throws off the whole image. Make sure the white balance is spot-on. Also, don’t forget to use layers. Not using layers can make edits irreversible and hard to manage. Layers keep your editing process organized and non-destructive. Then there’s lighting and shadows. If you add elements or make changes without considering the original lighting, it can look fake. Match any new elements with the existing lighting conditions to keep things cohesive.

Lastly, over-smoothing skin is a common issue in portrait editing. It’s easy to go too far and make the skin look plastic or unrealistic. Aim for a natural look by reducing blemishes without losing all the texture.

By steering clear of these mistakes, you can really boost the quality of your image edits and make your work look more polished and professional.

Common Image Editing Mistakes That Detract from Quality:

Over-Smoothing Skin:
Excessive skin retouching can remove the natural texture, making the subject look plastic. Use frequency separation or dodge and burn techniques to preserve details.

Oversaturation:
Boosting colors too much can make the image look unnatural. Subtle adjustments and selective color grading help maintain realism.

Improper White Balance:
Neglecting white balance can cause unnatural color tones. Always correct it before other edits for consistent results.

Excessive Sharpening:
Over-sharpened images can appear grainy and artificial, especially in high-resolution prints. Use edge sharpening techniques instead of global sharpening.

Neglecting Noise Reduction:
Failing to remove noise in low-light images can ruin their quality. However, over-applying noise reduction can erase details.

Incorrect Cropping:
Poor composition due to random cropping can disrupt the image's story. Always follow the rule of thirds or golden ratio for balanced framing.

Ignoring Color Profiles:
Editing in the wrong color space (like sRGB instead of Adobe RGB for printing) can lead to inaccurate colors in the final output.

Halo Effects from Poor Masking:
Improper masking during selective edits or compositing can create visible halos, making the edit obvious and unprofessional.

Unnatural Shadows and Highlights:
Incorrect manipulation of shadows or highlights can flatten depth. Always enhance light naturally to maintain the dimension.

Ignoring Perspective and Alignment:
Skewed horizons or misaligned objects make images look amateurish. Straighten and correct perspective to ensure professional output.

Overuse of Filters or Presets:
Relying on presets without customization often results in generic edits. Fine-tune adjustments to suit each image's unique needs.

Overlooking the Background:
Distracting elements in the background can take focus away from the subject. Use subtle blur or clone stamps to clean up distractions.

Banding in Gradients:
Poor gradient transitions can create visible banding. Use higher bit depth and add subtle noise to smooth out gradients.

Forgetting to Calibrate Monitors:
Editing on uncalibrated screens leads to color inaccuracies when viewed on other devices or in print. Regular calibration is essential.

Ignoring Metadata:
Stripping or neglecting metadata can cause copyright issues and reduce professional credibility. Always embed proper metadata.

Avoiding these mistakes elevates the quality of your edits and showcases professionalism.

In my opinion, Understanding the image features (image environment) is a vital approach to solving the problems. To understand it, the designer needs to ask the following questions:

• Where is this photo taken?
• What kind of light is used? (natural or artificial Following this question, what is the strength of light?
• What is the direction of light?
• What is the colour of light? There might be colourful lamps...
• Where is the focus point? This might be checked by zooming in on the image from different areas if the image is focused on multiple areas. The blurry areas are out of focus...
• Where are the most dark and bright areas?
• What is the direction and the strength of the shadows?

Answering these questions will help the designer determine what can and cannot be done to the image.

Working on the image without understanding it, will lead the designer to make mistakes.

Whatever changes the designer makes to the image, it should be done with the information of the image environment otherwise the result will not be realistic.

Here are some common image editing mistakes that can detract from quality:

Over-Saturation

Excessive color saturation can make images look unnatural and overly edited.

Tip: Use subtle adjustments and monitor on a calibrated screen.

Excessive Smoothing

Overusing skin-smoothing tools can erase natural textures, making subjects look plastic.

Tip: Retain some imperfections for a realistic look.

Inconsistent Lighting

Adding or removing elements without matching lighting and shadows breaks realism.

Tip: Analyze the original light source and adjust accordingly.

Ignoring Perspective

Misaligned or improperly scaled additions can disrupt the image’s flow.

Tip: Use grids or guides to maintain correct proportions and angles.

Clipping Highlights/Shadows

Over-adjusting exposure or contrast can result in loss of detail in bright or dark areas.

Tip: Check histograms to preserve dynamic range.

Overuse of Filters and Effects

Applying too many stylistic filters can overwhelm the composition and reduce clarity.

Tip: Use effects sparingly and only when they enhance the image’s purpose.

Poor Edge Refinement

Sloppy cutouts or harsh edges around subjects make edits obvious.

Tip: Use feathering and refine masks for seamless blending.

Ignoring Resolution and File Formats

Using low-resolution images or saving in improper formats can degrade quality.

Tip: Always work on high-resolution files and export in suitable formats (e.g., PNG for transparency, JPEG for photos).

Neglecting Final Touches

Skipping overall checks for color harmony, noise, or alignment can leave the image incomplete.

Tip: Zoom out and review as a whole before finalizing.

I am an award winning photographer. But it's the simple things that matter and always will.

Lighting. Natural light brings out the best in everything. It's also a very low-tech way to get the best shots. When you feel lazy and think, I will just correct it in post production...wrong!

It's the same with voice over. When you get a natural photo or clean voice over, the editing is just simple corrections. You have to get a clean shot first. Don't be lazy! The more you start messing with the photo, the more people look at it and say..."ughh what's wrong with the photo?" or "her voice sounds like a robot!" am I right??

Avoid anything that causes a distraction. Look for them first.

Hair can look amazing "in person" but the second you add a camera, it starts taking on a different look. Pay attention to the details of hair. It can be very distracting to have a piece sticking up or a weird piece on your neck. The same can be said for a nature shots.

There is nothing worse than photographing a landscape or city shot only to find out that a telephone pole breaks up the shot or a trash truck is way in the back of the scene. You can crop these things out but it's better to get a clean shot first and have the eye you need to avoid distractions.

"Can you make me look skinnier and younger?"

Don't promise what you can't deliver in a natural way! Find the best ANGLES BABY! You should be able to take anyone and find the most flattering angle for the shot. It takes moving around, light and confidence to direct things. But it should be a skill you can use in any situation. DO NOT rely on editing. It's too much time and work to make a photo profitable. It's way easier to have this understanding and use it every time.

Some of the best photographers just wait. They know what to look for and when to take the shot. But even the best ones can take hundreds of photos just to get the right one. It depends on you and what works.

It's the same in voice over. You can take out disgusting mouth noise but then you are also taking out important sounds that make it sound natural. The best thing is to record when your mouth sounds good!

As a professional photographer and digital retoucher with over 15 years of experience, I have seen countless images.

In my opinion, the 3 most common mistakes in image editing that can detract from the overall quality are:

1. Over-saturation:

There is nothing more unnatural that screams to the eyes: "FAKE" than an overly saturated image.

For some reason many image editor think that if they will boost the colors in an image, it will look more vibrant and "professional".

Increasing the intensity of the colors only result in unnatural looking images that reveal the fact that the image had been heavily edited.

2. Over-sharpening:

Same as for saturation, many image editors believe that high quality images should be sharp (very sharp), which is true as a general rule but the image should be naturally sharp as an outcome of proper photography and can be easily overly sharpened while editing.

Digital sharpening can introduce many artifacts and cause distracting issues in the image.

Sharpening should only be applied in the final step of the editing and very subtly.

3. Over-retouching:

Retouching is when we cover up an unwanted imperfection, be it naturally present on the subject such as a scratch on the surface or maybe an unwanted stray hair.

Usually we use a kind of "painting" method to cover up such details.

Some image editors are taking it to the extreme by "painting" almost the entire subject, resulting in a plastic looking images that clearly reveal that we are looking at a fake image.

Of course, there are many other image editing mistakes that can detract from the overall quality of an image.

As many other fields in the creative industry, experience is a key factor when you choose an image editor.

If you need any assistance with image editing, please don't hesitate to contact me and I'll do my best to assist you.

Good luck.

Ivan