How To Quickly Edit A Single Photo In Zoner Photo Studio X

We want to help you get started with Zoner Photo Studio X (ZPS X) and the easiest way to get to grips with this really rather excellent photo editing software is by simply editing one photograph. 

Even though there are some clever workflows available in ZPS X, you can also quickly and easily make changes to just one image with the help of the Manager and Develop modules that are built into the software.

In simple terms, all you need to do is decide which photo you want to edit, open it in ZPS X via the Manager module and then switch to the Develop tab where you can apply quick edits that make a big impact. 

Select Your Photo(s)

Make sure the Manager module is selected then you can select photos from the photo folders on your computer via the lefthand column in ZPS X. When you click on a folder, all of the images in that folder appear in the middle area of the software in a grid format. To see a preview of a single photo you can either double-click on it or click the Preview button at the top of the screen. This will open up the photo as a larger preview with the other images found in the same folder presented as a film strip at the bottom of the screen. On the right, you find image information such as EXIF data and a histogram. You can also use this column to add star ratings and other details to photos (as you can in Lightroom). This helps with organisation and makes it easier to arrange and search for images when using the Catalog system (something we won't be going into today). 

Switch To The Develop Module

Once you've opened the image you wish to edit, click the Develop tab found towards the top of the screen to access all of the photo editing tools. ZPS X works in modules as this keeps the interface cleaner and easier to work with as only tools specific to the task in hand are displayed.

Using The Develop Module

The Develop Module is where you'll find all of the essential tools you need for editing an image which includes automatic adjustments, retouching tools, Noise reduction, sharpening, colour work and more. For more complicated edits, such as removing and replacing skies, you'll need to use the 'Editor' module where you can use masks and layers for more detailed work. 

Bonus Tip: One great thing about the tools in the Develop Module is that they are presented to you in the order you should apply edits to images, starting with white balance and ending with applying effects.

Crop & Straighten

We also agree with the ZPS X team that you should apply any cropping or horizon straightening before applying edits which you can do by selecting the crop and/or perspective tools circled in the image below. The image we are editing doesn't need any straightening so we'll not be applying this step but it's a really straightforward process that's very self-explanatory should you need to do it with AI doing all of the heavy lifting for you. 

Moving Through The Photo Edits 

When your image is straight and perspectives are adjusted, you can work your way through the tools found in the user interface. On the right, you'll find tools for adjusting White Balance, Exposure, Colour, Tone Curve, Colour Shift, options for shifting primary colours, Split Toning, Noise Reduction and Sharpness.

A slider system makes it really easy to apply adjustments and it's worth mentioning that all edits are non-destructive so you'll always have the original image to return to unless you permanently delete it or save over the original file. 

For those who want to speed the process up, you can use the 'Automatic Enhancement' tool which applies edits for you which you can then tweak. There are also Presets built in that apply specific looks which, again, can be adjusted to suit your taste once applied. 

Bonus Tip: You won't always want to apply changes to the whole image and the ZPS X team has thought of that by giving you a filter brush, radial filter and gradient filter you can use to mark up specific sections of your shot that you want to adjust. These are known as local edits and they are great for fine-tuning shots. With the Brush tool, for example, you just brush the area you want to edit, click 'Add Mask' and make your changes. The Brush tool's diameter can be changed to make it smaller/larger as can the opacity, density and blur which controls the transition area between mask and no mask. 

White Balance Adjustments

To give an image a cooler or warmer feel or to fix green/purple tinting, use the White Balance tool sliders. You can also use a dropper to make white balance adjustments based on a neutral colour (grey or white) in the image itself. 

Work With The Exposure Panel 

You can lighten or darken your image with the Exposure slider while Lights and Shadow will allow for adjustments in the lightest and darkest area of the shot. You want good dynamic range throughout your image so use the Histogram to see how levels are distributed through your shot. You can pull Contrast levels up if you feel it's needed and the Clarity slider is useful for adding contrast to edges allowing subjects to 'pop' a bit more. 

Colour Corrections

There are various ways to apply creative colour options, or indeed to correct colour balance, in a shot with the help of ZPS X. With the Color tab, you can use the eyedropper tool to select a colour in your image that is then applied to the whole shot (or mask if you have one applied). You can adjust this further via the Saturation and Vibrance sliders. Lowering Saturation and increasing Vibrancy can often result in a more balanced image so do give it a go. You can also use the Tone Curve tool to manipulate a line on a graph to change the brightness and contrast levels in an image. 

A rather cool function for adjusting the Hue, Saturation and Luminance of an image in ZPS X is with the eyedropper tool. When you're in the Color Shift function, you can click on a spot in your photo and then drag the slider that appears to change the Hue, Saturation or Luminance of the pixels in the specific colour spectrum selected.

For a bit of creative fun, have a go at Split Toning where you use colour wheels to choose the colours you want ZPS X to use in the shadows and highlights of your image. It's basically like making your own photo filters and the options are endless but the ZPS X team recommend you stick with colours that complement each other and these sit at the opposite side of the colour wheel to each other. 

The last colour-based to is the 'Shift Primary Colors' option and this is built in as cameras have different sensors and as a result, they see colours slightly differently. You can, of course, use this function to simply change colours for creative reasons as well.

Apply Vignettes & Grain

These effects don't work on all images and they certainly don't look right if you overcook them so subtly is key. A vignette is a great way to draw the eye to the centre of an image while grain is something that can enhance a black-and-white image, giving it a vintage feel, when used correctly.

Save Your Photo

Don't forget to save your image using the Export button and you can also save any changes you have made to the functions on the right as a preset to apply to other images which can help speed up workflow but you'll need to apply them to similar images otherwise they might not look right. There are also tools for sharpening and removing noise which we haven't touched on as these subjects can be a whole tutorial on their own. 

You can also pop your photos into the Zonerama free online gallery where there's no limit on the amount of photos you can upload and it doesn't compress images. Plus, it's free to use without the need to buy a ZPS X license. 

Start Editing Photos In ZPS X Today

To put these tools to the test, you can download a free trial of Zoner Photo Studio X and then use our exclusive link to save 20% when buying a ZPS X license (usually pricing: $59 annually). 

Buy Zoner Photo Studio X