Windows 10's default Photos app can handle most photo editing tasks with ease.
If you're using a Windows 10 PC, you might be tempted to install and use one of your favorite photo editing programs and set it as your default program.
Before installing them, you should first give the default Windows 10 Photos app a go because it contains some lesser-known features from programs you may otherwise turn to. Many of these features can be easily overlooked, unless you know where to find them.
Check out our useful tips to improve your photos.
1. Add Other Folders to the App
Search for and open the Photos app on your Windows 10 PC. By default, the app contains all the photos in your Pictures folder, as well as the photos saved to your OneDrive account.
To add photos stored on another folder on your PC, click Settings at the bottom left, click + Add a folder at the bottom, select the folder you want to add to the app, then click Add this folder to Pictures.
2. Import Files from an External Drive
Often, you'll need to add photos from an external source, such as a memory card or pen drive. To do that, insert the drive into your PC, click the Import icon at the top-right. The app will detect your drive and all its photos will be ticked by default. Click Continue to import them. On the following screen, you'll see the option to delete the photos from your drive.
3. Locate the Photos You Want Quickly
The app saves all your photos based on the date they were taken (using your photos' EXIF data). The Collection section at the top contains all these photos arranged by date (in reverse chronological order). Click the date at the top to see other months that you can quickly click to jump to.
To find photos you recently uploaded, click the Albums section, then click Last import.
4. Delete, Copy, or Share Multiple Photos in One Go
The app's useful batch-select feature lets you delete, copy or share multiple photos in one go. Tick all the files you want to perform an action to, then select the relevant option at the top right. To share photos, you'll need to ensure you've installed and logged into compatible apps, including Outlook, Facebook, or Twitter.
Photos that you mistakenly delete can be restored from your PC's Recycle Bin.
5. Play Images in a Folder as a Slideshow
For this point, please close the Photos app.
To play all your images in a folder as a slideshow, just open the first image. If you see a pop-up asking you which program you want to use, select Photos, then click OK. Now hit the F5 key on your keyboard and all your photos will start playing as a slideshow. You can also use the left and right arrow keys to navigate between files.
6. Enhance Your Photo With One Click
Most good photo editing programs (even apps) have one-click fix options. This basically analyzes your image and applies basic fixes to it. These include making a blurry image sharper, enhancing the photo's brightness, contrast, and so on.
To apply these fixes using the Photos app, open any photo you want to enhance, then click the Edit icon at the top right. This is where the app's best editing features are located. Click the Enhance option at the top right to add the one-click fix to your photo.
As with all the other features in the Editing section, use the options at the top right if you want to undo any change, save your image, or save a copy of it. You can also compare the before and after effects of a change by keeping the Compare option clicked. If you don't use a mouse, then press and hold the CTRL + / keys to compare your last change.
7. Crop, Rotate, and Remove Red Eye
The options below Enhance (top right) let you make quick basic edits, including rotating, cropping, and straightening your photo. We've featured free red eye removal tools, but the Photos app lets you do this with one click. Retouch lets you quickly removes blemishes or pimples and smoothen roads.
8. Add Filters
The Photos app is no Instagram when is comes to adding filters, but it does contain a decent mix of six filters that can make your photos more dynamic. Click Filters on the left to access them.
Check out these free websites to add effects to your photos.
9. Boost Your Brightness, Contrast, and Temperature
Click the Light section on the left. From here, you can adjust the brightness, contrast, highlights, and shadows of your photo by clicking and moving each option to the left or right (like a circular slider). Similarly, click Color on the left to tweak your temperature, tint, saturation, and color intensity.
10. Add Selective Focus
Selective focus is a brilliant photo editing tool and is the primary domain of DSLR cameras. For anyone that doesn't know what it is, it lets you focus on an object in the foreground/background, while lightly blurring out the rest of the image. Read a more in-depth version of how focus works.
To use this feature in the Photos app, click Effects at the bottom left, then click Selective Focus on the right. You'll see a semi-circle with four dots on your image. You can re-position this semicircle and click and drag the four dots to reshape your area in your focus. To set how blurry the rest of your image appears, click the circular Blur icon at the top right, then select one of the five options (Strongest to Weakest).
Using these tools, you can make almost any of the photo edits you need without installing any third-party program.
Are there any features you'd like to see added to the Photos app in the next big Windows update? Which photo editing program do you prefer using and why?