Using Pixlr

I have never tried to do any photo editing beyond cropping a picture for this class 😁.  I am going to try this with a picture of my grandson at Farmland Adventures in Springdale.  I was so excited about the picture until I realized that I had caught his mom at the top of the tunnel.  I am going to try and make the adjustments on this picture.

I first used the lasso select tool with the magnetic type to outline my daughter in the background.  I then used the brush to "erase" her using white.  I had to do this a few times while zooming in until I was able to completely remove her from the picture.  I had a difficult time using the tool.  I thought you could select and deselect by hitting escape.  No such luck.  I still don't know exactly how to do this.  I just kept trying until I got what I wanted.

I then cropped the image by cutting out part of the bottom and left to center him.

I thought the soles of his shoes were a little bright, so I dimmed them by using the Hue and Saturation tool.  I reduced the Lightness to -15.

I then brightened up the picture by adding another layer with a grayish hue.  I then reduced the Opacity to 30% and changed the Blend Mode to Color-dodge.

To get in the requirement of a gradient adjustment by adding a layer with a gray gradient.  I reduced the Opacity to 30%.  It dimmed the image, but I think it added a little focus to his face.

I've already mentioned my difficulty with getting the selection tool to cancel.  I do think I figured it out.  I also had a problem with the background palette being visible after cropping or moving the image.  My son helped me find the Trim tool and that took care of that problem.

I did have problems with the selection tools.  However, using the lasso tool with the magnetic setting made selecting irregular shaped object much easier.

To be perfectly honest, I am having problems thinking of ways that I would use this tool in the future.  One idea that comes to mind is if I am creating the documentation for an online course similar to what you have done.  I could use Pixlr to edit personal photos that I wanted to use to illustrate concepts.